PEOPLE
Lab Director
BENJAMIN N. JOHNSON, PH.D.
Assistant Professor
My interests lie in better understanding individuals affected by personality disorders, improving our assessment of non-suicidal self-harm, suicide, and other behaviors often linked to personality disorders, and providing individualized treatment recommendations and integrative treatment approaches derived from both behavioral and psychodynamic traditions.
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I am also interested in the role of trauma in the development of personality disorders as well as in the similarities and differences between chronic physical pain and mental pain and the role of self-harm in pain and emotion regulation.
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I endeavor to ground my research in improving clinical care for individuals with personality disorders or related difficulties. I also have a love of data analysis and incorporate various forms of latent variable modeling into my research.
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I received my PhD from Penn State University, completed my predoctoral internship at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and am an assistant professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.
Doctoral Students
5th Year Doctoral Student
MADISON LUKENDA
Madison is in her fifth year of the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She received her B.A in Psychology from The College of New Jersey in 2019, where she was a research assistant in the Clinical Outcomes and Processes Lab. She received her M.A in Clinical Psychology at Montclair State University in 2021. She has clinical experience in both inpatient and outpatient mental health centers where she’s worked with a variety of clients with varying mental health disorders. Her current research interests focus on the effects of childhood trauma on individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). She is also interested in risky sexual behavior as an outcome of both early childhood trauma and BPD.
Masters Students
Clinical Forensic Psychology MA Student
AVA ZOLFO
Ava is a masters student in the APA accredited Clinical Forensic Psychology program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Ava is originally from Old Bridge, NJ, and attended Coastal Carolina University for her undergraduate studies, where she earned a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in Forensics. Ava has experience working in correctional settings with incarcerated individuals who struggled with substance use and mental health difficulties. Ava's research interests include non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), childhood trauma and development, and the effects of rehabilitation versus punishment.
​Collaborators
Kenneth N. Levy, Ph.D.
Lindsey McKernan, Ph.D., MPH
Yogev Kivity, Ph.D.
Lauren M. Lipner, Ph.D.
Igor Galynker, M.D., Ph.D.
Sarah Bloch-Elkouby, Ph.D.
TAPP Lab Pets
Lucy & Ricky
Miniature Schnauzers