Curriculum Vitae

Rebecca R. Mendoza
(she/her/hers)
[email protected]
www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccarmendoza/
www.rebeccarmendoza.weebly.com

EDUCATION

George Mason University Fall 2023-Pres.

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Fairfax, VA

San Diego State University 2019 – May 2023

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology San Diego, CA
Minor: Science, Technology, and Society Studies
Overall GPA: 3.86
Major GPA: 3.90
Honors: Outstanding Graduating Senior in Psychology, Phi Beta Kappa,
summa cum laude
Honors Thesis Title: Examining Associations of Borderline Personality Disorder
Symptoms and Eating Disorder Diagnosis

GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS

2023 – 2028 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship Program

Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Title: Cortisol Reactivity to Weight Stigmatizing Events in Latina Women:
The role of acculturative stress
Total Funds: $147,000

AWARDS AND HONORS

International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) Top Ten Poster Award June 2023
ICED Top Early Career Abstract Award June 2023
Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude May 2023
Outstanding Graduating Senior in Psychology at SDSU May 2023
SDSU MARC Program Betty Joe Crawford Memorial Award April 2023
(recognizes commitment to mentoring, outreach, and outstanding
contributions to further the advancement of others in STEM fields)
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Awardee April 2023
SACNAS 2022 Conference Travel Award ($2,000) Oct. 2022
Diversifying Clinical Psychology Presentation Award ($500) Dec. 2022
ABRCMS Conference Presentation Award ($300) Nov. 2021
SDSU Dean’s List 2019 – 2022
Weber’s Honors College 2020 – 2022
NIH/NIGMS MARC Scholarship (tuition and stipend) 2021 – 2023
San Diego State University PSI CHI Honors Society 2023 – 2023
Psicólogos Latinos Avanzando Nuestros Servicios (PLANS) Program 2022 – 2023

PUBLICATIONS

Nolen, E.*, Siegel, J.*, Mendoza, R., Cubbin, C., Vohra-Gupta, S., Dosanjh, L., & Lewis-Smith,
H. (2024) The impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on young
women's experiences of objectification and sexual well-being. Psychology of Women
Quarterly. *Represents shared first authorship.
https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843241238174

Mendoza, R. R., Convertino, A. D., & Blashill, A. J. (2024). A longitudinal study of potentially
traumatic events and binge-purge eating disorder onset in children. Appetite, 193,
107132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.107132

Tesselaar, J.*, Mendoza, R. R.*, Siegel, J. A., Elbe, C. I., Caravelli, N., Dejesus, J., Fenton, M.,
Victoria, B. S., & Blashill, A. J. (2023). A qualitative analysis of relationship advice from
the perspective of people living with and recovering from eating disorders while in
diverse romantic relationships. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and
Prevention. * Represents shared first authorship
https://doi-org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1080/10640266.2023.2206753

Convertino, A. D. & Mendoza, R. R. (2023). Posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic events,

and longitudinal eating disorder treatment outcomes: A systematic review. International
Journal of Eating Disorders. https://doi-org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1002/eat.23933

Convertino, A. D., Elbe, C. I., Mendoza, R. R., Calzo, J. P., Brown, T. A., Siegel, J. A., Jun, H.-
J., Corliss, H. L., & Blashill, A. J. (2022). Internalization of muscularity and thinness
ideals: Associations with body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and muscle
dysmorphic symptoms in at risk sexual minority men. International Journal of Eating
Disorders, 1– 12. https://doi-org.libproxy.sdsu.edu/10.1002/eat.23829

MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW

Siegel, J. A., Mendoza, R.R., Tesselaar, J., Elbe C., Caravelli, N., Dejesus, J., Fenton, M., Troy,
L., Victoria, B., Herrera, J., Choi, A., & Blashill, A. J. (under review). “She makes me
feel loved and safe”: Eating disorder recovery in diverse romantic relationships.
Nolen E. R*., Siegel J. A.*, & Mendoza R. R., Cubbin, C., Vohra-Gupta S., Dosanjh L. H.,
Lewis-Smith H. (under review). The Impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health
Organization on Young Women’s Experiences of Objectification and Sexual Well-being.
* represents shared first authorship

Elbe, C. I., Siegel, J. A., Mendoza, R. R., Caravelli, N., Mitzner, J., Chakkour, E., Askew, A.,
Ali, U., Herrera., J., & Blashill A.J. (under review). A Qualitative Study on the Embodied
Experiences of Casual Sex Among Larger-bodied, Sexual Minority Men.

Concertino, A. D., Mendoza, R. R., & Blashill, A. J. (under review). Eating Disorder and
Posttraumatic Stress Symptomology: An Intensive Time-Series Psychological Network
Analysis.

MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION

Mendoza, R. R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (in preparation). Examining Associations of
Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Eating Disorder Diagnosis.

Mendoza, R. R., Harlan, M. L., Chaplin, T., & Fischer ,S. (in preparation). Longitudinal
Associations Between Childhood Trauma and Disordered Eating: The mediating role of
negative urgency.

Mendoza, R. R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (in preparation). Muscular ideal
internalization and muscularity-oriented eating behaviors: The role of negative affect.

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Elbe, C. I., Siegel, J. A., Mendoza, R. R., Caravelli, N., Askew, A., Mitzner, J., Chakkour, E., &
Blashill, A. J. (2024, April). Sex in a larger body: A qualitative study of casual sexual
experiences among larger-bodied, sexual minority men [Symposium paper presentation].
Midwestern Psychological Association convention, Chicago, IL, United States.

Nolen, E., Siegel, J., Mendoza, R., Cubbin, C., Vohra-Gupta, S. Dosanjh, L., & Lewis-Smith, H.
(2024, March). Impact of the Dobbs decision on women’s experiences of objectification
and sexual well-being [Paper presentation]. Association for Women in Psychology, online
conference.

Elbe, C. I., Siegel, J. A., Mendoza, R. R., Caravelli, N., Mitzner, J., Chakkour, E., Askew, A.,
Ali, U., Herrera., J., & Blashill A.J. (2023, November 16-19). A Qualitative Study on the
Embodied Experiences of Casual Sex Among Larger-bodied, Sexual Minority Men [Oral
Presentation]. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), Seattle, WA.

Siegel, J. A., Mendoza, R. R., Tesselaar, J., Elbe, C., Caravelli, N., Dejesus, J., Fenton, M.,
Troy, L., Victoria, B., Herrera, J., Choi, A., & Blashill, A. J. (2023, June 1-3). “She
 makes me feel loved and safe”: Eating disorder recovery in diverse romantic
relationships [Paper presentation]. International Conference on Eating Disorders,
Washington, DC.

Mendoza, R.R. (2023, May 1). Examining Associations of Borderline Personality Disorder
Symptoms and Eating Disorder Diagnosis [Oral presentation]. San Diego State
University Psychology Department Undergraduate Honors Thesis Forum, San Diego,
CA.

Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (2023, March 3-4). Examining Associations
of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms and Eating Disorder Diagnosis [Oral
presentation]. San Diego State University Student Symposium (S3), San Diego, CA.
https://digitallibrary.sdsu.edu/islandora/object/sdsu%3A203347

Mendoza, R. R., Convertino, A. D., Blashill A. J. (2022, October 21). Muscular ideal
internalization and muscularity-oriented eating behaviors: The role of negative affect
[Oral presentation]. San Diego State University Undergraduate Research Symposium,
San Diego, CA.

Mendoza, R. R., Convertino, A. D., Blashill A. J. (2022, March 4-5). A Longitudinal Study of
Trauma and the Development of Eating Disorders in Children [Oral presentation]. San
Diego State University Student Research Symposium, San Diego, CA.

Mendoza, R. R., Convertino, A. D., Blashill A. J. (2021, October 15) Muscular-Oriented Eating
Pathology in College Men: Associations with body ideal internalization and appearance
pressures [Oral presentation]. San Diego State University Undergraduate Research
Symposium, San Diego, CA.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (2023, November 16-19). Borderline
Personality Disorder Symptoms and Eating Disorder Diagnoses: Findings from a
Nationally Representative Survey of US Adults (NESARC-III) [Poster presentation].
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), Seattle, WA.

Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., Calzo, J. P., Brown, T. A., Siegel, J. A., & Blashill A.J.
(2023, June 1-3). Differences Between Bisexual and Gay Men in Associations Between
Sociocultural Constructs and Eating Pathology [Poster presentation]. International
Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED), Washington, DC. *ICED Top Ten Poster
Award

Tesselaar, J., Mendoza, R. R., Elbe, C., Caravelli, N., Dejesus, J., Fenton, M., Victoria, B.,
Siegel, J. A., & Blashill, A. J. (2023, June 1-3). Advice for romantic partners of people
with eating disorders [Poster presentation]. International Conference on Eating
Disorders, Washington, DC. *Top Early Career Abstract Award
Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (2022, October 27-29). Muscular ideal
internalization and muscularity-oriented eating behaviors: The role of negative affect
[Poster presentation]. National Diversity in STEM Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (2022, April 6-9). Traumatic life events and
eating disorder prevalence in children between the ages of 9 and 10 [Poster
presentation]. Society for Behavioral Medicine Conference, Baltimore, MA.

Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (2022, January 14-15). Traumatic life events
and eating disorder prevalence in children between the ages of 9 and 10 [Poster
presentation]. Diversifying Clinical Psychology Conference, San Diego, CA.
**Poster Presentation Award

Mendoza, R.R., Convertino, A.D., & Blashill A.J. (2021, November 10-13). Muscularity-
Oriented Eating Pathology in College Men: Associations with body ideal internalization
and appearance pressures [Poster presentation]. Annual Biomedical Research
Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), Washington, DC.
**Poster Presentation Award

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Research Assistant Aug. 2021 – May 2023

San Diego State University San Diego, CA
Body Image, Sexuality, & Health (BISH) Lab
Principal Investigator: Aaron J. Blashill, PhD
Graduate Student Mentor: Alexandra D. Convertino, MS

 Contributes to research on various projects regarding body image disturbance or

eating disorders and potential influences, such as childhood trauma or sociocultural
pressures
 Duties include authoring abstracts and papers, creating and presenting posters, data
entry, contacting participants and tracking their study compliance, managing the
consent process for participants, analysis in SPSS, and various administrative tasks

(June 2022-Present) Project Title: A Qualitative Study of Eating Disorder Recovery in Diverse
Romantic Relationships
 Conducted literature review
 Transcribed interviews
 Wrote and edited manuscript and poster abstract
 Coded qualitative data using thematic analysis framework

(June 2022-Present) Project Title: An Analysis of Relationship Advice from the Perspective of
People Living with and Recovering From Eating Disorders
 Conducted literature review
  Wrote and edited manuscript introduction and abstract
 Coded qualitative data using consensual qualitative research—modified (CQR-M)
framework

(Jan. 2022-Present) Project Title: Sexist attitudes in romantic relationships study

 Conducted literature review to aid in determining appropriate questionnaires for
independent and dependent variables
 Authored institutional review board (IRB) application and materials, including
consent form and research justification

(Aug. 2021-Present) Project Title: Ecological Momentary Assessment of Eating and Stress
 Managed Qualtrics survey and allocated participant credit on the university research
portal
 Communicated with participants for scheduling and managed study recruitment
procedures
 Conducted study orientation visit protocol with participants (i.e., reviewing consent
forms, setting up a mobile app for ecological momentary assessment questionnaires)

(Aug. 2021-Present) Project Title: A Brief, Peer Co-Led, Group-Based Eating Disorder
Prevention Program for Sexual Minority Young Adult Men (1R01HD091406-01)
 Communicated with participants and assessors during assessment visits
 Entered data
 Assisting in organizing research assistant coverage for assessments
 Utilized the baseline data from this study for a poster presentation

(Aug. 2021-May 2022) Project Title: A Preliminary Study of Transcranial Direct Current
Stimulation for Treatment of Global Processing Deficits in Body Image Disturbance
 Managed Qualtrics survey and allocated participant credit on university research
portal
 Communicated with participants for scheduling and managed study recruitment
procedures
 Conducted study protocol with participants. This protocol included obtaining
informed consent, administering the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) test,
administering the Navon task, administering transcranial direct current stimulation
(tDCS), and debriefing participants on the purpose of the study

Independent project titles:

1. Muscularity-Oriented Eating Pathology in College Men: Associations with Body Ideal
Internalization and Appearance Pressures
2. Traumatic Life Events and Eating Disorder Prevalence in Children Between the Ages of 9
and 10
3. Muscular Ideal Internalization and Muscularity-Oriented Eating Behaviors: The Role of
Negative Affect
4. A Longitudinal Study of Trauma and the Development of Eating Disorders in Children
5. Differences Between Bisexual and Gay Men in Associations Between Sociocultural
Constructs and Eating Pathology
  Projects resulted in presentations at conferences and/or written manuscripts
 Conceptualized study aims and design
 Drafted and revised abstracts, posters, and manuscripts
 Conducted data analysis

Research Assistant May 2021 – July 2021

San Diego State University San Diego, CA
NSF Funded Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Principal Investigators: Audrey N. Beck, PhD, Baris Aksanli, PhD, and Shangping Ren, PhD
Project Title: SCC-PG: Building an Integrative Community Platform to Alleviate the
Workforce Aging Crisis (NSF Grant No. 1952225)
 Researched the effects of the aging workforce and knowledge transfer in public utility
corporations
 Conducted background research and literature reviews on the topic
 Analyzed data and collaborated on interdisciplinary research
 Collaborated and communicated between group members across the sociology,
engineering, and computer science disciplines

Research Assistant Feb. 2021 – May 2021

San Diego State University San Diego, CA
Department of Special Education
Research Advisor: Melina Melgarejo, PhD
Principal Investigators: Michelle Ortega, MA and Leah Buchsbaum, MA
Project Title: Provider’s Perspective and Use of Linguistically Diverse Intervention for
Linguistically Diverse Clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Project Title: Functional Skills Acquisition in Children with Autism: A Comparison of Spanish
and English Monolingualism and Bilingualism
 Researched linguistic diversity perceptions among Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
service providers and families of adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD)
 Created questionnaires utilizing Qualtrics software
 Recruited ABA providers and parents of children with ASD to complete research
study
 Collaborated with a research team of two MA students and professors in the special
education department
 Conducted data analyses of both qualitative and quantitative data in Excel and SPSS

SKILLS

Proficient in Excel, SPSS, PROCESS Macro in SPSS, R, MATLAB, and Qualtrics. Familiar
with research designs such as ecological momentary assessment and methodologies including
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
TRAININGS

APA Telepsychology Best Practices 101 Training Series: Segments 1, 2, & 3

Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
VISR 2.0: VA S.A.V.E., Connecting with the VA, 15 Things Veterans Want to know
CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means)

ORGANIZATIONS

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Aug. 2021 – Present
Student Member
ABCT Student SIG Member/Co-Chair Aug. 2022 – Present
Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Student Member Aug. 2021 – Present
Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) Student Member Aug. 2021 – Present
SDSU PSI CHI member Mar. 2023 – May 2023
SDSU Psychology Club member Mar. 2023 – May 2023
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Aug. 2022 – April 2023
Americans in Science (SACNAS)
NIH/NIGMS MARC Scholar June 2021 – May 2023
SDSU URC (Undergraduate Research Committee) Fall 2020 – May 2023
Psicólogos Latinos Avanzando Nuestros Servicios (PLANS) Member Aug. 2022 – May 2023
Pre-MARC (Maximizing Access to Research Careers) at SDSU Jan. 2021 – May 2021
Weber Honors College Student Society Fall 2020 – Spring 2023

LEADERSHIP

ABCT Student Special Interest Group (SIG) Fall 2021 – Present

Co-Chair (Oct. 2022 – Present)
 Organized Student SIG events and poster presentations for the 2022 ABCT
conference
 Organized a Student SIG Symposium
 Coordinated and submitted a panel application for the ABCT 2023 Conference,
geared towards increasing transparency in academia for underrepresented and first-
gen researchers.
 Planned professional development events for ABCT Student SIG members.
 Communicated with ABCT professionals and sent provided resources and
opportunities to Student SIG members.

SDSU URC (Undergraduate Research Committee) Fall 2020 – May 2023

Vice President (Fall 2021 – Spring 2022)
President (Fall 2022 – May 2023)
 As President, I worked with SDSU Associated Students to have URC be registered as
an official student organization for the first year (2022)
  As the URC President, I have been invited to talk to several SDSU research methods,
general major first-year, and psychology courses about the importance of
undergraduate research and how they can get involved.
 Organized and scheduled events for over 350 URC undergraduate student members.
These have included: graduate student panels, student research panels, networking
events with professors, mock-interview events, and mock conference presentation
events
 Presented and led workshops on accessing research assistant positions, professional
development, and graduate school
 Networked with faculty members to be involved in our organization and encourage
the inclusion of undergraduate students in their labs
 Provided weekly office hours to offer guidance, answer questions, and edit
application materials of members
 Sent weekly emails to members with resources and opportunities related to research,
professional development, and graduate school

SDSU CITI Training Human Subjects Module Fall 2022 – May 2023
 Organized and lead a group of undergraduate students to create a Canvas module on
research ethics and obtaining CITI training certificates.
 Worked with Dr. Sobo, the SDSU College of Arts and Letters Director of Undergraduate
Research.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Crisis Counselor June 2021 – May 2023

Crisis Text Line
 Completed 30 hours of crisis counselor training, including specific skills such as
reflective listening, collaborative problem solving, and crisis management.
 Volunteered 50 hours to provide crisis intervention via text to individuals in strong
emotional distress.