Pediatric Anxiety and Related Disorders Center
(330) 672-2200
Meet the PARC Team!

Christopher A. Flessner, Ph.D.
Dr. Flessner is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University and Director of the Pediatric Anxiety & Related Disorder Center (PARC). He earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition, Dr. Flessner completed his clinical internship and postdoctoral training in Child Mental Health at Brown Medical School. His clinical and research interests focus on understanding risk factors for the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), other anxiety disorders, hair pulling disorder (trichotillomania), and tic disorders (i.e., Tourette's syndrome) in children. In turn, he is interested in applying this knowledge towards the development of better treatments for children and their families afflicted with these disorders. Dr. Flessner is also a member of the TLC for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs)-Scientific Advisory Board. More recently, Dr. Flessner and his lab have begun to examine multiple facets to the relationship between pediatric anxiety symptoms and food allergies as well as ways in which behavioral interventions might be used to reduce risk and improve the lives of children and adolescents afflicted with food allergies. Currently, the PARC is conducting a NICHD-funded study to examine the preliminary efficacy of such an intervention for young children from low-income backgrounds.
When he is not teaching, conducting research, or supervising students, Dr. Flessner enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons. He is an avid sports fan and supports the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks, and Wisconsin Badgers football and basketball teams.
Megan DuBois, B.A.
Megan is a second-year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at Kent State University. She completed her bachelor's degree in psychology at St. Olaf College. Megan is interested in studying risk factors for child anxiety disorders, in particular obsessive-compulsive related disorders, tic disorders and their associated comorbidities.

Bridget Feler,
B.A.
Bridget is a first-year clinical psychology doctoral student at Kent State University. She obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology at Temple University, where she worked as a research assistant at the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorder Clinic (CAADC) under the supervision of Dr. Philip Kendall. After graduation, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA) at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine. While at UPenn, she served as the lead study coordinator on a multi-site PCORI-funded comparative treatment trial examining the efficacy of pharmacotherapy, prolonged exposure therapy, and their combination for PTSD. Bridget is interested in researching risk factors for anxiety disorders in youth, such as parental accommodation, and studying the underlying causes of trichotillomania in children and adolescents.
