Lab Members
Joel Weinberger, Ph.D.
Joel Weinberger, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and professor at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University, where he teaches and supervises in the clinical psychology program. His research focuses on implicit and unconscious processes, including how motives, emotions, and attitudes outside of awareness shape personality, decision‑making, and psychotherapy outcomes. Previously funded by the NIMH, he has conducted influential experimental work using subliminal priming and other implicit measures to show how “unreportable” stimuli can shift judgments in domains such as politics, marketing, and everyday social behavior. In his scholarly and applied work, he integrates findings from motivation science, affective science, and cognitive psychology to build an empirically grounded model of the unconscious and its clinical implications. Dr. Weinberger completed his doctoral training at The New School and his post‑doctoral training at Harvard University, and he has authored and coauthored numerous articles, book chapters, and books on the unconscious, personality change, and psychotherapy.
Drew Hodis, M.A.
Drew M. Hodis is a fourth year doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. His research spans across personality pathology, affective science, neuroscience, and neuropsychology. His dissertation examines shame and anger pathways and their relation to impulsive self-destructive behaviors in BPD. In addition to his dissertation research, Drew collaborated on a meta-analysis on facial emotion recognition in anxiety disorders and presented research at the 2024 Association for Psychological Science convention examining associations between disorganized attachment stances, loneliness, and friendship quality in young adults. He also recently contributed to a book chapter on normal pressure hydrocephalus in Reversible Causes of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia. Prior to beginning his doctoral training, Drew earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California (USC) and conducted translational neuroscience research at the USC Keck School of Medicine in the Cerebrovascular Laboratory. Clinically, Drew has received training in integrative psychotherapy and comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological assessment across diverse clinical settings.
Andrew Roetman, M.A.
Andrew Roetman is a PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology in the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University. His dissertation project is titled “Modernizing Implicit Motive Assessment: Training and Validating LLMs for Automated TAT Scoring and Prediction.” Andrew serves as a graduate research assistant in the Laboratory for Unconscious Processes. In this role, he develops applications for automated scoring of implicit motives using multi-model ensemble methodology. He is also the co-founder and CTO of AIMS, an AI-powered implicit motive assessment startup. Andrew’s presentation, with his advisor Joel Weinberger, PhD, “The ghost in the machine: Measuring implicit motives with AI,” at the 2024 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, was honored by Division 8 as a Top 5 Abstract. Most recently, Andrew has been applying his knowledge about AI to his interest in clinical work through his funded project from Rose F. Kennedy Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND).
Ilan Ignonin, M.A.
Ilan is a doctoral student in clinical psychology with research interests in the mechanisms of psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic change, particularly in mood disorders. His current work focuses on comparing ketamine and SSRI treatments, examining how each influences symptom change alongside deeper psychological processes such as narrative organization, emotional awareness, and personality functioning. Building on this work, his current research investigates mechanisms of change beyond symptom reduction, including mentalization, affective complexity, and personality structure, using performance-based and clinician-rated measures. He is especially interested in psychodynamic and integrative approaches to understanding how rapid-acting treatments produce enduring psychological change.
Tyler Kilpatrick, B.A.
Tyler Kilpatrick is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University studying under Dr. Joel Weinberger. He joined the lab during his senior year of undergraduate study through the Emerging Scholars Program and has remained involved in the lab since that time. Tyler earned his Bachelors in Psychology from Adelphi University in 2025. His research interests center on motivation and personality psychology, with a specific focus on athlete personality and implicit motivational processes. Broadly, his work examines how unconscious motives and personality dynamics shape performance and behavior. Predoctoral, he conducted a project investigating implicit agreeableness in team versus individual sport athletes. He is currently working on a study assessing implicit motivation in athletes. Together with Dr. Weinberger and other lab members, Tyler also recently published in Psychoanalytic Psychology where the team reviewed literature on unconscious processes.
Preston Hew, B.A.
Preston Hew is a first-year doctoral student in clinical psychology at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. His research interests pertain to personality psychology, psychodynamic research in addictive behaviors, and processes in clinical supervision. Preston is currently working with data from Henry Murray Research Archive at Harvard University in preparation to publish a longitudinal study on father involvement and its associations with borderline personality organization. His most recent work on “Distress Tolerance as a Risk Factor for Specific Internet-Use Disorders” was published in The Journal of Technological Behavioural Addiction found here. Predoctoral, Preston served a year as an associate psychologist at The Therapy Room (Singapore) where he saw patients under the supervision of the principal psychologist and was trained in Choice Theory Reality Therapy (CTRT) and General Psychiatric Management (GPM) for borderline patients. He is now seeing patients through the Derner Clinic at Adelphi University at intake capacity while being in-training for neuropsychological and personality assessments.
Christina Dakis
Christina is currently interested in the field of trauma and clinical psychology, particularly how individuals process and respond to traumatic experiences. Her research focuses on both conscious and unconscious reactions to traumatic events, examining how these responses may differ between men and women. She is especially interested in understanding how trauma can influence behavior, emotional regulation, and long-term mental health outcomes. Through her work in the lab, she is gaining experience analyzing psychological responses to trauma and exploring possible gender differences in these reactions. This research has strengthened her interest in pursuing a career that combines both research and clinical practice. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to pursue a PsyD in clinical psychology. Ultimately, she hopes to open her own private practice where she can specialize in trauma-focused therapy and help individuals process and recover from traumatic experiences.
Solomon D. Thomas, M.A.
Solomon D. Thomas is a first year doctoral student in the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. His research interests include personality theory, the role of values in attention, perception, and action, and how motivation and emotion influence our sense of meaning. Solomon obtained his MA in general psychology from the Derner School of Psychology in 2025 where he also worked with Dr. Weinberger to complete a master's thesis on political extremism and dark personality traits. Prior to becoming a doctoral student, Solomon worked as a behavior intervention specialist working with psychiatric clients living in adult group homes. Prior to obtaining his MA, Solomon was a process engineer at The Home Depot, and he also served four years as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.
Recently Graduated (Past 5 years)
Dr. Joel Weinberger has supervised over 100 students at Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology through the Ph.D, M.A., and B.A. (emerging scholars) programs. Below are recent graduates of the lab.
Soloman Thomas 2026
Emily Chassman 2025
Dorin Levy 2025
Logan Tuminelli 2024
Brian Delado 2024
Kevin Nissan 2023
Matthew Brigante 2023
Alexxa Wolpoff 2022
Sierra Reid 2021