Phoenix Gender-based Violence Lab

Team member spotlight!

meg credit (they/them), is a research assistant at the Phoenix Gender-based Violence lab. meg is a Ph.D. student in counseling psychology at Lehigh University, where they are a member of the Resistance Lab, a research team focused on gender-based violence intervention and prevention efforts.

They are interested in researching a range of topics related to TGNB peoples' experiences of gender-based violence through art-based and community-centered methodologies.

Before moving to Philadelphia, meg completed their master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where they were a therapist and advocate at Voices of Hope, a domestic violence agency.

meg has experience working as an individual and group therapist in college counselling, outpatient, and community mental health settings.
They are passionate about community, healing, mental health, and how our individual and collective narratives can influence more equitable access to care in all areas of our lives.

In their free time, they enjoy paddle boarding, snowboarding, hiking, camping, taking photos, and spending time with their cats and loved ones.

Team member spotlight! meg credit (they/them), is a research assistant at the Phoenix Gender-based Violence lab. meg is a Ph.D. student in counseling psychology at Lehigh University, where they are a member of the Resistance Lab, a research team focused on gender-based violence intervention and prevention efforts. They are interested in researching a range of topics related to TGNB peoples' experiences of gender-based violence through art-based and community-centered methodologies. Before moving to Philadelphia, meg completed their master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where they were a therapist and advocate at Voices of Hope, a domestic violence agency. meg has experience working as an individual and group therapist in college counselling, outpatient, and community mental health settings. They are passionate about community, healing, mental health, and how our individual and collective narratives can influence more equitable access to care in all areas of our lives. In their free time, they enjoy paddle boarding, snowboarding, hiking, camping, taking photos, and spending time with their cats and loved ones.

Grant Morales, (he/him) is a research assistant at the Phoenix Gender-based Violence lab. He is a former case manager for people living with HIV and is currently in a master’s program studying Couple & Family Therapy at Drexel University.

Grant is originally from Southern California and received his bachelors in psychology at the University of Colorado, Denver and worked as a research assistant studying health behavior in romantic relationships. Presently, he is an intern couple & family therapist in a community mental health setting with Penn Medicine. He has various clinical trainings in substance use, trauma-informed care, HIV & LGBTQ+ health, Narrative Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and other systemic therapies.

Grant’s clinical work includes a humanistic and feminist perspective and incorporates contextual factors such as culture, sexuality, gender, relational attachments, health psychology, social justice, and privilege. His primary clinical and research interests include the healing experiences of q***r individuals, community resilience, relational wounds, and trauma and relevant life events.

In his free time, he enjoys long road trips, playing video games, practicing yoga, swimming in the ocean, going to music events, and spending time with loved ones. Grant’s favorite form of self-care is movement and nature and loves to do yoga nidra to slow down and feel more grounded.

Grant Morales, (he/him) is a research assistant at the Phoenix Gender-based Violence lab. He is a former case manager for people living with HIV and is currently in a master’s program studying Couple & Family Therapy at Drexel University. Grant is originally from Southern California and received his bachelors in psychology at the University of Colorado, Denver and worked as a research assistant studying health behavior in romantic relationships. Presently, he is an intern couple & family therapist in a community mental health setting with Penn Medicine. He has various clinical trainings in substance use, trauma-informed care, HIV & LGBTQ+ health, Narrative Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, and other systemic therapies. Grant’s clinical work includes a humanistic and feminist perspective and incorporates contextual factors such as culture, sexuality, gender, relational attachments, health psychology, social justice, and privilege. His primary clinical and research interests include the healing experiences of q***r individuals, community resilience, relational wounds, and trauma and relevant life events. In his free time, he enjoys long road trips, playing video games, practicing yoga, swimming in the ocean, going to music events, and spending time with loved ones. Grant’s favorite form of self-care is movement and nature and loves to do yoga nidra to slow down and feel more grounded.

We are an interdisciplinary team of health researchers aiming to create a more supportive world for survivors of trauma and violence.

We are an interdisciplinary team of health researchers aiming to create a more supportive healing world for survivors of trauma and violence. In order to do so, our lab has the following values which we remind ourselves of before each meeting: 1. Be present and curious 2. Speak & listen from the heart 3. Speak & listen with respect 4. Be clear and transparent 5. Take the learning, leave the stories 6. Have grace for yourself and others 7. Recognize who is not at the table We also strive to be trauma-informed in our approach which involves: 1. Realizing the widespread impact of trauma and understand pathways to recovery 2. Recognize signs and symptoms of trauma in ourselves and others 3. Respond and be proactive with trauma-informed actions 4. Resist re-traumatization 5. Reflect on our own boundaries, healing needs, and signs of stress.

"Hi, my name is Brooke (they/she) and I moved to South Philadelphia in October. I have experience visiting several Philadelphia neighborhoods as my older sibling attended Temple University. I have grown very fond of this city and I am happy to get to know my new neighborhood!

I am a recent graduate from University of Maryland with my bachelors in Psychology and Criminology and a minor in LGBTQ studies. I have experiences in trauma informed care, including on campus mental health hotline and sexual and intimate partner violence advocacy. As a survivor myself, my primary interests involve understanding the experiences of q***r and otherwise marginalized survivors of violence.

Besides conducting research with Temple, I work as an administrative assistant at a small physical therapy practice. In my free time, I enjoy crafting, watching horror movies, doing yoga, reading, and visiting new spots around my neighborhood."

Meet our lab director, Dr. Laura Sinko!

Laura Sinko, PhD, MSHP, RN (she/her) is an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Temple University College of Public Health. She is a former child and adolescent mental health nurse and is currently a practicing sexual assault nurse examiner in Philadelphia. Prior to joining Temple, Dr. Sinko completed a postdoctoral research fellowship and Master of Science in health policy through the University of Pennsylvania’s National Clinician Scholars Program, an interdisciplinary fellowship focused on health policy and social change.

Laura received both her bachelor's and doctoral degrees in nursing at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she was part of the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation, an accelerated BSN-to-PhD program dedicated to making health care more effective, patient-centered and equitable.

Laura's research focuses on promoting healing after gender-based violence (e.g. sexual assault, intimate partner violence, child abuse), with a particular emphasis on social, cultural and structural influences of recovery across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in LGBTQ+ considerations in the survivor care space. She is passionate about creative research translation as well as research that is trauma-informed and healing-centered.

Laura has expertise in both narrative and photography-based qualitative methods and has organized multiple community exhibitions to share her research findings as well as the healing journeys of the survivors she has interviewed. Ultimately, she is interested in leveraging creative, survivor-centered research to bridge the gap between survivor lived experience, the scientific community, and policy makers. By amplifying these perspectives, Laura's goal is to create a more supportive healing world for survivors of violence and abuse.

Our Mission: To create a more supportive healing world for survivors of trauma and abuse by holistically exploring pathways to recovery and exposing, challenging, and eliminating social, cultural, and structural factors that perpetuate violence and negatively impact survivor health and wellbeing.

Hey there! Welcome to our research lab's page.

We are the Phoenix Gender-based Violence Lab--an interdisciplinary research team located within Temple University College of Public Health in Philadelphia.

The mission of our lab is to create a more supportive, healing world for survivors of trauma and abuse by holistically exploring pathways to recovery and exposing, challenging and eliminating the social, cultural and structural underpinnings that promote violence and inhibit healing.

In service of this mission, our lab incorporates trauma-informed qualitative (including photography and narrative-based methods), quantitative and mixed methods approaches with sexual assault, intimate partner violence and child abuse populations both domestically and internationally.

We hope to use this page to share research opportunities, findings gathered through our work, evidence-based information, and ways you can contribute to create a more healing world for survivors of trauma and abuse. Click the link in our bio to learn more about our team and lab director.

Thanks and nice to meet you!