Alexa Jimenez

Ph.D., Psychology

I grew up in a small town in southern New York. While I was in high school, I enrolled in an Introduction to Psychology course through my local community college, which made me realize I wanted to study psychology and find a career in the field. As an undergraduate, I attended the University at Buffalo, where I discovered my passion for research in psychometrics, measurement, and psychopathology. More specifically, my interests are focused on Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), or using smart phone technology to collect data from participants in a natural setting, as well as the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) and how it can be used for better classification, assessment, measurement, and treatment of psychological disorders. I want to be part of enhancing the field’s understanding of symptoms and disorders by finding better ways to define and measure psychological constructs, as well as examining how symptoms, states, and other behaviors or experiences fluctuate moment-to-moment, day-to-day. There is a lot to be learned about how symptoms vary over the course of just a few hours or days, and how this may predict the long-term maintenance or general prognosis of disorders. This knowledge can also be used to assess the validity of existing psychological measurements and inform the creation of new measurements. Finally, a major focus of mine is to ensure that my research can help improve clinical practices. While I am not hard at work, I enjoy hiking, camping, kayaking, and anything outdoors!