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Lab Director

​Dr. Sarah Edmunds

​Dr. Sarah Edmunds is an Assistant Professor
in the Department of Psychology at the University
of South Carolina. She received her PhD in Clinical
Psychology from the University of Washington and
completed her predoctoral internship at Duke
University Medical Center and postdoctoral fellowship
at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is glad to be back
in the south, where she grew up. At USC, Dr. Edmunds
is a member of the Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment
(CAN) Research Center. She is also a member of the RISE
research network. In her free time, she enjoys hiking,
reading, theatre, and cooking for her friends. She can be
reached at [email protected].

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Graduate Students

​Alayna Borowy

Alayna Borowy, M.A., is a Ph.D. student in Psychology
with a concentration in School Psychology at the
University of South Carolina. Alayna graduated from
Ohio State University with a B.A. in Psychology. She
is interested in understanding autism and autistic
community perspectives on autism interventions, and
the implementation and social validity of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions within
​ community settings.

Quentin ("Q") Wedderburn

Quentin graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania with a psychology major and a history
minor. He is interested in studying barriers and
facilitators to inclusive classroom settings for autistic
youth. In his free time, he enjoys learning how to play
the bass and running long distance!

​Maya Renaud

​Maya received her master’s degree in Clinical
Mental Health Counseling and ABA from Nova
Southeastern University. At that time, she also
served as an ESE teacher at a preschool for Autistic
children. Most recently, Maya was a research
coordinator with the Summer Treatment Program
working with children with ADHD. Maya is interested
in Autism and co-occurring conditions and how
mental/emotional health services are integrated into
community settings. In her free time Maya enjoys
​reading, crafting, and live music.​

​Dalia Marquez

​Dalia Marquez graduated from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in
Psychology and Music. She is interested in studying
the implementation of family-mediated autism
interventions as well as exploring music as a
supplement to existing evidence-based practices.
In her free time, Dalia enjoys playing the guitar,
​cooking, reading, and hanging out with her
cat, Azula. 

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Research Staff

​Madison Rivers

Madison Rivers serves as the Research
Coordinator for the COLAB. She graduated
​from the University of South Carolina in
December 2025 with a Bachelor of Science
in Psychology and a minor in Spanish.
Madison plans to further expand her research
interests through post-baccalaureate work as
she prepares to pursue graduate studies in
the future. In her free time, she enjoys
​crocheting, baking, and running.

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Undergraduate Research Assistants

​Rani Shelton

​​​Rani is currently a senior at the University
of South Carolina. She is double majoring in
Psychology and English with a minor in Women
and Gender Studies. In the future, she hopes to
obtain her Ph.D. or Psy.D. and become a clinical
​psychologist.

​Thomas Hopwood

​Thomas is currently a junior in the Honors
College at the University of South Carolina. He
is majoring in Neuroscience with a concentration
in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience. In the
future, he hopes to work in the neurology field as
​ a PA or an MD.

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Alumni: Research Staff 

Sarai graduated from the University of South Carolina Honors College with her bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (concentration in Neurodiversity and Family Studies) in December 2025. She is pursuing her PhD in Health Psychology at Clemson and is interested in the implementation of health interventions, pain measurement, and understanding how children conceptualize their own conditions using health literacy. Her most recent COLAB project was organizing recruitment efforts and redesigning the meltdown module materials of Project ImPACT for the Minding Meltdowns project.

Zoe graduated with their bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina in December of 2025, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Counselor's Education. They are now a pre-doctoral research fellow in the ACCESS Lab at Emory University's Marcus Autism Center, where they are diving deeper into understanding how to close the science-to-practice gap with implementation science. They are passionate about making mental healthcare more neuroaffirming and accessible to neurodivergent individuals, with a research focus on improving clinician confidence and competence in supporting these groups. Their most recent work in the COLAB consists of developing the manual of operations and recruitment procedures for the Minding Meltdowns project.

Archer is Sarai's medical alert service dog and also serves as a therapy dog for children through Pet Partners. He assists Sarai by alerting her to low blood pressure and is often found receiving pets and hugs from children who are having a tough day or learning to read. When he's not working, Archer can be found napping with lab mates and through classes.

​Katie Rowland was a Research Coordinator with COLAB from 2022-2024. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in December 2021 with a double major in Psychology and English. Her research interests include studying the etiology of emotion regulation and increasing the accessibility of intervention and supports for autistic children and teens. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, working with Dr. Laura Klinger.

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Alumni: Undergraduate Students

Addison Tallmadge
​Geel Patana
Laney Hankins
Kendall Dinkins
​Kynslea Philcox
​Tatum Tatum
Emily Thomas
Gracie Corns
Lennon Hunt
​Alex Tyner
​Neha Arunprakash
​