Meet the Team

Craig J. Bryan, PsyD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist in cognitive behavioral psychology, and an internationally recognized expert on suicide prevention, trauma, and resilience. He is the Trott Gebhardt Philips Endowed Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University and the Division Director for Recovery and Resilience. Dr. Bryan’s research has been funded by the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and multiple foundations. He has published over 300 scientific articles and multiple books including Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention and Rethinking Suicide, and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his research.

M. David Rudd, PhD, ABPP, is a Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Director of the Rudd Institute for Veteran and Military Suicide Prevention and past president at the University of Memphis. The entirety of his clinical and scientific career has focused on the assessment, clinical management, and treatment of suicidality across the full range of clinical settings. He has served as PI, Co-PI, or Co-I on multiple NIH and DoD funded grants. He has also conducted several randomized clinical trials (RCT), all with successful outcomes. Namely, the first RCT for BCBT conducted at Fort Carson that demonstrated a 60% reduction of post-treatment suicide attempts relative to treatment as usual, and recent work with Dr. Gretchen Diefenbach and Dr. David Tolin of Yale on an RCT modifying BCBT for an inpatient setting that resulted in a 60% reduction of relative risk for suicide attempt in comparison to treatment as usual, a 71% reduction in hospital readmission rates, and 75% reduction in emergency department visits.

Justin Baker, PhD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist, Assistant Professor, and Clinical Director of the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative for Veterans (STRIVE) at The Ohio State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. He previously served on active duty in the U.S. Navy as a clinical psychologist, during which he served as the Site Investigator for multiple DoD sponsored research studies and clinical trials aimed at testing various strategies for preventing suicidal thoughts and behaviors among military personnel. He is a certified national trainer for Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BCBT), which is the treatment being adapted to the asynchronous web-based training in this proposal. Dr. Baker is currently Co-PI on a DoD funded clinical trial to pilot a group adaptation of BCBT compared to Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in a randomized non-inferiority trial with US Navy servicemembers. He is also Co-I on several DoD funded research studies to include an ongoing randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of BCBT when compared to present-centered therapy with Marines. Additionally, he is Co-I on a DoD funded study implementing a peer-mentoring suicide prevention program with active duty airmen (Baker et al., 2021). He is also the PI on a pilot study investigating the effectiveness of BCBT when delivered via telehealth.

Kristi E. Pruiksma, PhD, DBSM is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and Diplomat in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (DBSM). She has been integrally involved with developing web-based provider trainings for CBT for Nightmares (cbtnightmares.org) and for CBT for insomnia (CBTiweb.org). She also has clinical research expertise in treating posttraumatic stress disorder. Her work is affiliated with the STRONG STAR Consortium.

Dr. Daruwala is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi after completing her predoctoral internship at the Durham VAHCS. She completed her postdoctoral training with the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention at the Finger Lakes VA and at The Ohio State University. Her program of research focuses on understanding suicide risk and furthering suicide prevention and intervention strategies, particularly among firearm owners, service members, and Veterans. She also provides trainings on lethal means counseling for suicide prevention.

Allison K. Wilkerson, PhD, DBSM is an Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Clinical Director of the Sleep and Anxiety Treatment and Research Program (SATRP). Her research efforts encompass leveraging digital health solutions to improve access to evidence-based mental health assessment and treatment. Her clinical work focuses on insomnia and other sleep disorders in children and adults with comorbid diagnoses, including substance use disorders and PTSD.

C. Rosie Bauder is a Clinical Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center with the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative (STRIVE) in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. She holds a MA in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine from Boston University’s School of Medicine, a MPH from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from OSU. She is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in the state of Ohio and a National Certified Counselor. She is a certified trainer in crisis response planning for suicide prevention, brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention, and lethal means counseling. Dr. Bauder’s research interests include developing, evaluating, and implementing suicide prevention strategies among special populations, including those with gender and sexual minority identities and underrepresented firearm owners. She is a co-Investigator on several DoD funded studies and has secured internal and external pilot funding as Principal Investigator. She is a CATALYST clinical scholar and adjunct professor in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Tabares is a research scientist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center with the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative (STRIVE). He is a quantitative researcher who has interests in suicide prevention and non-linear modeling.

AnnaBelle Bryan is the Director of the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative for Veterans (STRIVE) and a Clinical Research Manager in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. AnnaBelle served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years as a public health technician and executive officer at several military installations worldwide, to include a deployment to Iraq in 2009, where she was responsible for disease monitoring and health surveillance for over 25,000 military personnel and civilian contractors. Since her retirement from active-duty service in 2012, AnnaBelle has been conducting research focused on military and veteran suicide prevention, PTSD (combat & MST), moral injury, and performance in these populations. She has written about athletic performance and risk for burnout in Air Force Special Forces. She is the project coordinator on numerous federally- and foundationally-supported grants, and has served as the Co-Investigator of a DOD-funded study to identify optimal methods for enacting firearm safety procedures to prevent military suicide. A certified peer specialist trainer, AnnaBelle provides training and supervision to veteran peer specialists across the state of Utah and helps service members and veterans struggling with mental health conditions to find and obtain empirically supported treatment. AnnaBelle holds a degree in public health from the American Military University, and a master’s degree in Exercise & Sports Psychology from The University of Utah.

Jessee R. Dietch, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Oregon State University where she directs the Sleep Health Assessment, Intervention, and Dissemination (SHAID) lab. Her research focuses on development and dissemination of behavioral sleep health interventions for sleep disorders including insomnia, shift work sleep disorder, and nightmares. She served as a consultant to BCBTweb primarily supporting the development of video content.

Daniel Taylor, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Arizona and a licensed psychologist. He was the PI of a DoD-funded “Web-Based Provider Training for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi)” (W81XWH-17-1-0165) and a Co-Investigator on the DoD-funded “Web-Based Provider Training for BCBT (BCBT)” (W81XWH-21-1-0576). He also has extensive experience investigating the relationship between insomnia and suicidality with the Ohio State team on three grants (e.g., STRONG STAR Consortium and Consortium to Alleviate PTSD) and eight publications. He has served as a consultant on the “Web-Based Provider Training for Brief Cognitive Behavior Therapy (BCBT) for Suicide Prevention” project.

Lauren Khazem, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor of Research within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Her research is focused on identifying underlying physical and psychological processes prompting suicide ideation and suicide attempts. She is Co-I and project lead on currently underway clinical trial assessing the effectiveness of BCBT with US Marines. Additionally, she was recently awarded a grant to adapt BCBT to be delivered and implemented via telehealth for people with physical disabilities.

Dr. James McGraw is a postdoctoral scholar at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, working with the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative (STRIVE) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. His research and clinical work focus on person-centered approaches to suicide prevention. He is particularly interested in: (a) understanding within-person and dynamic processes that contribute to suicidal crises; (b) testing and tailoring suicide-prevention interventions for at risk individuals; and (c) developing and validating collaborative suicide risk assessment methods. He aims for his research to have clear implications for clinical practice and is committed to addressing trauma- and suicide-related disparities among veterans/active-duty service members and marginalized communities (e.g., LGBTQ+ individuals).

Keelin Rademacher is a Senior Research Technician for the STRIVE Suicide and Trauma Reduction Team at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Keelin worked on organizing the scripts and building the website format. She plans to attend graduate school for Clinical Psychology in the future.

Ethan Olson is a Marine Corp Veteran, Marine Corps Reservist and a Research Area Specialist in Fort Cavazos for the STRONG STAR research consortium at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Ethan worked on organizing scripts and playing as a patient for the Military vignettes. He plans to attend graduate school for Clinical Psychology in the future.

Sean R. Williams is a licensed clinical social worker in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. With over a decade of experience treating actively suicidal clients, he is a research clinician and trainer, facilitating PTSD and suicide clinical trials published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. He provides training and consultation in brief cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention, cognitive processing therapy, crisis response planning, and lethal means counseling.

Bret began his studies as a psychology major at Ohio State University, where a course on the psychology of the audience changed the direction of his career. He became fascinated by the art of film and video—and by their ability to capture attention, influence thought, and communicate ideas. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Bret has created content for numerous television networks and production companies, earning Emmys, Addys, and other industry honors. He also served for more than a decade on the board of the American Advertising Federation, including two terms as President. His contributions were recognized with the organization’s Silver Medal Award, its lifetime achievement honor. Bret has also produced numerous educational video series for medical institutions and publishing companies, covering topics ranging from maternity and childbirth to specialized nutrition and feeding, as well as college-level business law. For the BCBTweb project, Bret worked closely with the STRIVE team to develop scripts and visuals designed to maximize comprehension and retention. The project combines instructional modules with demonstrative vignettes to make complex concepts clear, engaging, and easier to remember. At the heart of Bret’s work is a simple idea: start with the audience. He is happiest writing, producing, or directing projects that consider what the audience is thinking, what they need to understand, and how to create content that genuinely helps them.

Kirsi White is a researcher for the STRIVE Suicide and Trauma Reduction Team at The Ohio State University. She primarily works on projects surrounding suicide prevention and treatment.