Seth T. Pardo

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About Me.

A native to Miami Beach, Florida, Seth is one of four incredible siblings. Currently, Seth is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, with a concentration in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Seth holds a M.A. in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University, and a B.A. with Honors from Duke University (Psychology). His primary research in collaboration with Dr. Valerie Reyna uses a fuzzy-trace theory approach to explore the intersections of identity, risk perception, risky behavior, and medical decision making in adolescents and adults. Seth’s current research program is focused on the mechanisms of identity as a categorical value system in surgical decision making. Seth’s additional research projects are in collaboration with Dr. Ritch Savin-Williams and use a differential developmental approach to focus on the conceptualizations, meanings, expressions, and development of gender nonconforming identities in adolescence and adulthood. Seth currently serves as the graduate assistant for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Studies Program and recently completed his term as the graduate chair to Cornell’s University Assembly. Currently, Seth has eight original articles and more than a dozen professional presentations. He is also a graduate student affiliate of the Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, and Society for Medical Decision Making. Seth recently completed his service as vice chair for the Association for Gender Research, Education, Academia, and Action (AGREAA.org).

 



After graduating from Miami Beach Sr. High School in 1999, Seth obtained a bachelor’s degree with honors in psychology and a certificate in human development at Duke University in Durham, NC. While at Duke, Seth served as President and Vice President of the Peer Educators group and as a group facilitator of the alcohol awareness and education group P.A.R.T.Y. (Promoting Alcohol Responsibility to You). He also served two years as a certified EMT for the Duke University Emergency Medical Services. Seth collaborated for nearly three years with Dr. Francis Keefe in the Duke University Pain Research Center, part of Duke University Medical Center, one year with the Department of Psychology graduate students’ research, and completed an independent research thesis on the dynamics of closeness in sibling relationships under the advising of Dr. Linda K. George.




After college, Seth served a two-year academic appointment as an Associate in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA. While at Harvard, he collaborated with S. Nassir Ghaemi, MD MPH at Cambridge Health Alliance on a number of pivotal clinical trials for new agents for bipolar disorder, such as lamotrigine and atypical antipsychotics in addition to NIH funded research in this area. Their collaborations resulted in numerous poster presentations at professional annual meetings, and published works including topics about the common misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder as unipolar depression, the overuse of antidepressants coupled with an under use of mood stabilizers, and the subsequent negative impact on the course of illness. Pardo and Ghaemi’s work has also emphasized the importance of a better understanding of research and statistical methods in clinical research studies of bipolar disorder. During this time, Seth also served as a guest lecturer in the Psychology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA and taught 5th grade Judaic Studies and 7th grade Jewish History at Temple Shalom of Newton.

Over the past four years, Seth has served as Teaching Assistant in undergraduate courses at Cornell University including, Gender and Sexual Minorities with Kenneth Cohen, PhD, Introduction to Human Development, Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood with Christine Schelhas-Miller, PhD, Biological and Behavioral Interactions in Human Development with Drs. Steve Robertson and Jere Haas, and most recently, Memory and The Law with Charles Brainerd, PhD.

In the Fall of 2005, Seth entered Cornell University to begin graduate research in Human Development. Working in association with Dr. Ritch C. Savin-Williams, his masters research focused on the conceptual differences and differential lifecourse trajectories of natal females with gender nonconforming or transgender identities. In late 2008, Seth began working collaboratively with Dr. Valerie Reyna, in the Laboratory for Rational Decision Making. As Laboratory Leader, Seth currently oversees over 30 undergraduate students across several federally funded research studies including "Interventions for Risk Reductions in Youth" and "Interventions to Improve Clinical Decision Making and Outcomes for Unstable Angina," as well as cooperative community extension research for risk reductions in youth.

Seth’s dissertation research is focused on the mechanisms of identity as a categorical value system in surgical decision making. Currently, Seth has eight original peer-reviewed articles and more than a dozen professional presentations. This Fall, Seth is an invited speaker at the Society for Judgment and Decision Making. His paper is entitled, "Verbatim and Gist Cues Produce Opposite Relations Between Risk Perception and Risk Taking: A Fuzzy-Trace Theory Approach." This October, Seth will also be presenting a poster at the Society for Medical Decision Making based on his predoctoral research entitled, "Predictors of Risk Perception and Choice in Surgical Decision Making". Click the link to view the poster abstract.

Professional Memberships

©2005-2008 Seth T. Pardo

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