Marissa is a rising 5th-year PhD student in clinical psychology at Vanderbilt University. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Stanford University and decided to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology because she is interested in both practicing as a psychologist and conducting research in an academic medical center. Her current research is focused on identifying resilience factors in children and young adults with chronic medical conditions and understanding neurocognitive development and executive functioning in these populations. Clinically, she is interested in pediatric neuropsychology (an assessment-focused clinical area that serves children and adolescents with medical conditions that affect brain function), and plans to pursue internship and fellowship training in this area after she finishes her graduate work. Graduate school has been a challenging yet extremely rewarding journey, and Marissa looks forward to meeting you and helping you navigate the admissions process!