Angela Narayan (ICD 2014) has been selected to receive the American Psychological Association’s Division 56 Award for Outstanding Dissertation in the Field of Trauma Psychology. The annual award recognizes the most outstanding dissertation defended in the prior academic year, including qualitative, quantitative, or theoretical work. Narayan’s was one of two awards given this year, and it was cited as ‘one of two clear standouts in an unusually large number of excellent nominees this year.’ The award will be given at the 2015 APA Annual Convention in Toronto, August 6-9.

In her dissertation, Intergenerational continuity of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in high-risk families, Narayan aims to “elucidate the intergenerational pathways of adversity in homeless families and identify promotive and protective mechanisms to deter ACEs and foster parent and child resilience.” In so doing, Narayan also hopes to disseminate this research to help advance understanding of the “extent of cumulative risk that homeless families experience,” as well as identify key areas for preventative interventions to improve the well-being of families. In her remarks to be given at the awards ceremony, Narayan recognizes the support of her ICD doctoral adviser, Ann Masten, and the collaborative efforts of her fellow graduate students who worked on the study as well—Amy Monn, Julianana Sapienza, Laura Nerenberg, Erin Casey, Amanda Wenzel, and Madelyn Labella.

Currently, Narayan has just finished her pre-doctoral clinical psychology internship at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry, where she will continue to work as a post-doctoral fellow. She describes her current work as focusing on providing Child-Parent Psychotherapy and conducting research with parents and young children exposed to interpersonal trauma.