Stephanie Nicole Ross Foundation, Inc.

Margaux Herrera is a first-year graduate student pursuing her Master of Social Work at Florida State University. She plans to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to practice mental health therapy. Her main area of interest is developmental disabilities, particularly autism and ADHD, and the challenges those populations face in adulthood. Her goal is to provide financially accessible autism evaluations for adults in the South Florida area. When not thinking about neurodivergence, Margaux spends her time organizing fandom spaces both virtually and in person.

Cheshire Hardcastle successfully proposed her dissertation, focusing on exploring the functional brain changes that accompany brain training with the goal of reducing dementia risk in the elderly. She has been directly involved in recruitment and assessment of older adults in the community with mild cognitive impairment as part of a randomized clinical trial exploring the best combination of brain training that results in the biggest improvement of daily functioning. The results from her dissertation will hopefully inform future research about the efficacy of brain training and its ability to impact the daily lives of those in our community. Cheshire was able to present this work at a virtual conference (International Neuropsychological Society) and looks forward to presenting her work at an upcoming international Alzheimer’s disease conference (Alzheimer’s Association International Conference). Additionally, since the pandemic has been stressful for everyone in the community, Cheshire put her clinical skills to use and volunteered as a therapist for Free Therapy Night offered through UF Health Street for uninsured and under-served individuals in the community and joined a clinical task force that offered stress management to front line workers at UF.

Elle Wiggins, a 2018, 2019, and 2020 SNRF scholarship recipient, is entering her sixth and final year of the Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Neuropsychology, at the University of Florida. She has successfully defended her dissertation which aimed to help evaluate the efficacy of digital cognitive screening tools that can be implemented in hospital settings to identify older adults most at risk for negative post-operative outcomes. She is currently completing a pre-doctoral internship in Neuropsychology and Senior Behavioral Health at the University of California San Diego prior to graduation in August 2022. Elle hopes that her research will one day help identify older adults at risk for cognitive decline, resulting in earlier intervention and a more comfortable life. When not engaging in research or clinical work, Elle enjoys exploring her new city and spending time with her pup, Waffle!