Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic

Daniel “Danny” Kusko, M.A.

Daniel “Danny” Kusko, M.A. is a fifth-year graduate student in the Medical/Clinical Psychology Program with clinical and research interests related to chronic pain, sleep, and mind-body approaches to treatment. The aim of his dissertation is to investigate psychological risk/resilience, sleep quality, and clinically meaningful health outcomes in people with chronic pain. 

Current Appointment: UAB Department of Psychology

Courtney Bolstad, Ph.D.

Dr. Courtney Bolstad is a licensed psychologist and is currently completing a geropsychology postdoctoral fellowship at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. She received her Ph.D. from Mississippi State University and completed her doctoral internship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham – Birmingham VA Medical Center Consortium (VA Track). Her dissertation examined mechanisms of the relation between dog and/or cat ownership and better sleep. She is an active member of the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine, serving on their Clinical Practice Committee. Her clinical and research work focuses on geropsychology and behavioral sleep medicine, particularly the study and treatment of nightmares. 

Current Appointment: South Texas Veterans Health Care System

Gabby Gloston, M.A.

Gabby is a 4th year PhD student in the Medical/Clinical Psychology program. She currently coordinates the AHA “Dipper” study examining circadian contribution to blood pressure variation in Black/African Americans adults. In her master’s thesis, she is investigating the effect of dietary sodium on obstructive sleep apnea in a crossover feeding trial using both intent-to-treat and per protocol analyses.

Current Appointment: UAB Department of Psychology

Lindsay Stager, M.A

Lindsay Stager, M.A. is a fifth year graduate student in the Medical/Clinical Psychology Program with clinical and research interests related to pediatric sleep. Her dissertation project investigates the role of sleep in predicting cognitive outcomes and food choice in adolescents with healthy weight and those with overweight and obesity. 

Current Appointment: UAB Department of Psychology

Cesar Gonzalez, Ph.D.

Cesar graduated from Jacksonville State University with a B.S. in Psychology and earned his M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is presently a doctoral intern at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and part of UAB’s medical/clinical psychology program. His research interests include chronic pain, sleep, and health disparities. For his dissertation, Cesar is examining objective/subjective sleep measures and their longitudinal relationship with pain in a knee osteoarthritis sample. Clinically, Cesar is adult health psychology focused and uses research background to inform behavioral health change in inpatient/outpatient settings, including Spain Rehabilitation Center, Highlands Pain Clinic, Sleep/Wake Disorders Center, and the VA.

Current Appointment: Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis

Christina Mueller, Ph.D.

Dr. Christina Mueller is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Neurology’s Epilepsy Center. Her research examines abnormalities in brain structure and function in non-epileptic and epileptic seizures, with a focus on abnormal interactions between the brain and the immune system. She maintains an active interest in how sleep contributes to seizure disorders and their treatment.

Current Appointment: UAB Department of Neurology Epilepsy Center (Post-Doc)

Christina Pierpaoli-Parker, Ph.D.

Dr. Pierpaoli Parker received a Fulbright-Killam fellowship to the University of Toronto prior to earning her PhD from the University of Alabama and completing her clinical residency at UAB. Her broad research and clinical interests include developing translational behavioral interventions for preventing and managing comorbid psychiatric and chronic health conditions in mid-to-later life.

She has published research in such peer-reviewed publications as Aging & Health, The Clinical Gerontologist, Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, and International Psychogeriatrics.

Dr. Christina Pierpaoli Parker and her work have appeared on CNN, CNBC, Verizon, Kiplinger, and Healthline. She writes a blog called Eng(aging) for Psychology Today, which translates clinical science about aging and health into practical takeaways for optimizing physical and psychological wellness.

Current Appointment: UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology (Assistant Professor)