Malissa A. Clark, Ph.D.
Visit Malissa Clark's Research Gate page for full-text copies of many of her publications.
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Hello, my name is Malissa Clark, and I am an Associate Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology. I have been at the University of Georgia since 2013. I earned my B.A. at the University of Michigan in 2002, and my Ph.D. at Wayne State University in 2010. Broadly, my program of research focuses on employee well-being, workaholism, and the intersection of work and family domains. Outside of research, I enjoy traveling and spending time with my family.
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GRADUATE STUDENTS
Rebecca Cole - Lab Manager

My name is Rebecca, and I am originally from Mobile, AL. I attended Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, where I studied Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies. Since graduating, I have done a year of service through the Episcopal Service Corps and worked in the Youth Development Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I am currently a third-year graduate student, and my research interests include workaholism and burnout, especially in underrepresented groups and nonprofit settings.
Nick Haynes

Hi, I'm Nick. I'm a fifth year PhD candidate in the I-O Psychology program at UGA. My research interests include positive and negative forms of hard work (e.g., work passion, workaholism), organizational culture and climate, and employee health and well-being. I also love learning and applying new research methods to projects I'm on. A research accomplishment I'm most proud of is being selected for this year's George C. Thurstone, III scholarship from SIOP. Winning this scholarship means a lot to me not only because it is from my "home" professional association, but because it validates my goal to balance good science with evidence-based practice. A fun fact about me is that I've recently gotten into woodworking, saving money and building my skills by making some of our furniture. A bonus fun fact related to saving money is that I have been referred to as a "finance wizard" by friends for my ability to combine several sources together to get really, really good deals!
Katelyn Sanders
My name is Katelyn Sanders and I am a current PhD student at UGA. I received my Bachelor’s from UGA in 2016 and have been a member of the WAFER Lab since my sophomore year of college. Broadly speaking, my research interests focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace and experiences of minorities at work. Additionally, I am interested in the work-family interface and how organizations can better support employees’ needs to balance these two domains. I’m really proud that during my time as a PhD student, I have received the Richard L. Marsh mentoring award as well as the Dan Mack Memorial Award. My go-to fun fact is that I’m one of six kids!
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Angela Beiler
I’m originally from Arizona, and received my B. S. in psychology at Arizona State University in 2011 before going on to receive my Master’s of Science from Auburn University in 2013. I moved to the University of Georgia this to finish out my PhD with Malissa Clark. Current research interests include workaholism and the differential experiences of male and female workaholics, as well as the unique work-family experiences of female employees. Additional research interests include the influence of mood on employee performance and employee multitasking.
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Skylar Oney
My name is Skylar, and I was born in Champaign, IL, but I have lived in Clermont, FL for most of my life. I graduated in 2021 from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL, where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a specialization in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. My current research interests include organizational citizenship behaviors, counterproductive work behaviors, citizenship pressure, and employee well-being. I'm immensely excited to have the opportunity to continue my academic career at UGA!
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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Erika Abbruzzese
Hi all, my name is Erika Abbruzzese, and I am a 3rd year undergraduate student. Generally speaking, my research interests include children’s mental health and how the family dynamic affects them. So far during my college experience, I am most proud of my constant involvement in UGA HEROs, and recently receiving a position on the board as the Director of Events for the organization. A fun fact about me is that I was a competitive gymnast for most of my life and I can do cool flips! |
Deeya Patel

Hello! My name is Deeya Patel and I am a third-year student majoring in Psychology and minoring in Spanish and Cognitive Science. My research interests include school psychology and IO psychology- specifically how to create and maintain a positive work environment, as well as promoting inclusivity and diversity within the work field. My proudest accomplishment would be joining The Rett lab with Dr. Bhattacharya last semester, and now the WAFER lab! A fun fact about me is that I am on an A cappella team here at UGA called Kalakaar!
Agustin Lorenzo
My name is Agustin Lorenzo, and I'm a second-year undergraduate student with a major in cognitive science and a minor in statistics. During my time here at UGA, I've been proud to call myself a CURO Honors Scholar, and a member of the honors program. My research in the WAFER lab focuses on workaholism, and specifically the internal and external factors that drive it. Aside from school and research, I like to spend my free time exploring my passion in music by teaching myself piano and guitar.
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Anam Fatima
Hello! My name is Anam Fatima and I am a freshmen here at UGA! I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in Nutritional Science. My research interests include female workplace psychology and teenage mental health. After college, I plan to become a psychiatrist. Some things that I could spend hours talking about is books and TV shows!
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Lara Bramel
Hello! My name is Lara Bramel, and I received my Bachelor’s from UGA in 2019. I received my Master’s of Education in School Counseling from Georgia State University in 2021 and am currently serving as a school counselor in Atlanta, GA. My research interests include diversity and inclusion in the workplace, employee well-being, and burnout, specifically in helping professions. Outside of work and research, I enjoy long distance running and exploring new places!
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Abby Robinson
Hello! My name is Abby Robertson, and I am a fourth year majoring in Psychology and Spanish with a minor in Anthropology. I joined the WAFER lab in Spring of 2021 after taking Dr. Clark’s Psychology of the Workplace course, and am particularly interested in workaholism, job insecurity, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Outside the WAFER lab, I work as a barista and love to read and play with my cat, Brienne. A fun fact about me is I studied abroad last year in Valencia, Spain, and plan to return once I graduate!
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Former Undergraduate RAs have gone on to:
• I/O Ph.D. program at University of Houston (Olivia Childers, 2012 graduate)
• I/O Ph.D. program at Wayne State University (Daniel Krenn, 2012 graduate)
• I/O M.A. program at Middle Tennessee State University (Kallie Revels, 2013 graduate)
• I/O M.S. program at University of Tennessee Chattanooga (Christopher Morgan, 2014 graduate)
• I/O Ph.D. program at University of South Florida (Ben Listyg, 2016 graduate)
• Organizational Behavior Ph.D. program at University of Central Florida (Lauren Locklear, 2016 graduate)
• I/O Ph.D. program at Central Michigan University (Ian Armstrong, 2016 graduate)
• Clinical Medical Psychology Ph.D. program at Mercer University (Selin Odman, 2017 graduate)
• Human Development Counseling M.A. program at Vanderbilt University (Kailey Orkin, 2017 graduate)
• Public Health in Epidemiology M.A. program at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health (Amita Joshua, 2017 graduate)
• MD program at the Medical College of Georgia (Dillon Patel, 2018 graduate)
• I/O Ph.D. program at the University of Oklahoma (Divya Patel, 2018 graduate)
•I/O M.A. program at George Mason University (Ivey McCartney, 2018 graduate)
•MSc in International Public Health at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (Fransuave Moore, 2019 graduate)
•MSc in Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Enterprise Development at the University of Westminster (Emily Moody, 2019 graduate)
•I/O Ph.D. program at Georgia Tech (Cooper Drose, 2019 graduate)
•I/O M.S. program at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga (Monica Cheung, 2019 graduate)
•MEd program in Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development at the University of Georgia (Jessica Keever, 2019 graduate)
Former Graduate RAs have gone on to:
• Globoforce (Gregory Stevens, 2014 graduate)
• Post-Doc at the University of Georgia (Melissa Robertson, 2017 graduate )
• Johnson & Johnson (Lauren Zimmerman, 2018 graduate)
• Assistant Professor of I/O Psychology, Louisiana State University (Rachel Williamson Smith, 2018 graduate)
• Assistant Professor of Management at University of New Mexico (Andrea Hetrick, 2018 graduate)