Emma Toner

LIFE Fellow since 2023, University of Virginia

I am a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Virginia working with Bethany Teachman. My research leverages tools from complex systems science to understand and address psychological problems like anxiety and loneliness. I am particularly interested in using real-time data collection methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment; passive physiological sensing) and computational modeling to examine how these problems develop and are sustained over time. My dissertation will use agent-based and differential equation modeling to formally evaluate hypotheses derived from psychological and social theories about how loneliness develops and becomes chronic. Through the LIFE Program, I am excited to gain essential training in advanced computational techniques for modeling dynamic interactions between factors at different levels of analysis that contribute to mental disorders.

Dissertation project:

Using computational modeling to formalize an integrated psychosocial theory of loneliness

Selected Publications

Toner, E. R.*, Rucker, M.*, Wang, Z., Larrazabal, M. A., Cai, L., Datta, D., Thompson, E., Lone, H., Boukhechba, M., Teachman, B. A., & Barnes, L. E. (2025). Wearable sensor-based multimodal physiological responses of socially anxious individuals across social contexts. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAFFC.2025.356278

Petz, K., Toner, E. R., Rucker, M., Leventhal, E., Livermon, S., Davidson, B., Boukhechba, M., Barnes, L., & Teachman, B. A. (2025). Examining state affective and cognitive outcomes following brief mobile phone-based training sessions to reduce anxious interpretations. Cognitive Therapy and Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-025-10623-z

Robinaugh, D. J., Toner, E. R., & Djelantik, A. A. A. M. J. (2022). The causal systems approach to prolonged grief: Recent developments and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 44, 24–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.08.020

* Equal contributions