- Department of Psychology; Clinical Psychology
- Email: zaina.alkurdi@uri.edu
Major Professor: Nathan Cook, PhD
Lab: BEACON Lab
Biography
Zaina is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Rhode Island with a focus in Neuropsychology. She graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with an B.A. in Psychology (Honours) in 2026. During her undergraduate training, she completed honours theses examining perceived control in gambling and metacognition in bipolar disorder. She also conducted projects on predictors of treatment response after concussion and in functional cognitive disorder.
Research
Zaina is particularly interested in understanding why individuals with similar injuries experience different recovery trajectories, with a focus on the cognitive, psychological, and social determinants of persistent symptoms following concussion and in functional cognitive disorder. Her long-term goal is to improve patient outcomes through research aimed at reducing iatrogenic harm and informing more personalized assessment and intervention.