Leo Augustus Miller (He/Ze/Xe)

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Eating disorders, Alcohol and Substance Use, Treatment Innovation, Measurement and Assessment, LGBTQ, Minority Stress, Gender Incongruence, Scholar-Activist

Leo Augustus Miller is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at George Mason University, working with Dr. Sarah Fischer in the Impulse Lab. He earned his B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and a certificate in Sexuality Studies from the University of Kentucky in 2021. Before beginning his doctoral training, Leo spent three years as a Research Assistant examining the links between eating disorders, substance use, and transdiagnostic mechanisms (e.g., impulsivity, neuroticism), contributing to clinical trials, and exploring policy and advocacy impacts on LGBTQIA+ family systems. He also worked at University of Kentucky Healthcare, where he conducted psychiatric and behavioral assessments, facilitated group therapy, and promoted patient-centered care in behavioral health units. Xe utilizes a wide range of methodologies and frameworks to incorporate community-centered work into understanding minoritized lived experiences as it relates to psychological well-being.

Research Interests:

-Centering Diverse LGBTQIA+ and Neurodivergent Lived Experiences with Minority Stress and Community Connection in Understanding Barriers and Facilitators with Substance Use and Eating Disorder Treatments Through Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Methods.

-Implement Strengths-Based Perspectives and Intersectional Ecological Frameworks in Understanding Psychological Flexibility and Well-Being for Diverse LGBTQIA+ Populations.

-Enhancing Measurement of Substance Use Motives and Eating Expectancies to Highlight Lived Experiences of Transgender and Gender Expansive (TGE) Populations

Outside academia, he has been engaged in LGBTQIA+ advocacy since 2017, presenting trainings in academic and community settings and developing toolkits for LGBTQIA+ youth and families. He currently serves as a board member and project manager for Safe Space NOVA, a nonprofit creating affirming spaces for LGBTQIA+ young people, doctoral intern for Mason's LGBTQ+ Resources Center, and is a clinical intern at Whitman-Walker Health, a DC-based nonprofit providing culturally responsive care, research, and advocacy for diverse LGBTQIA+ communities.

Leo considers himself a Scholar-Activist within Academia. He attends multiple workshops/conferences inside his areas of interest to focus on intersectional ecological frameworks to expand strengths-based and community-based perspectives into our treatment and research practices.

Selected Publications

Atkinson, E. A., Miller, L. A., & Smith, G. T. (2022). Maladaptive emotion socialization as a risk factor for the development of negative urgency and subsequent problem drinking. Alcohol and alcoholism.

Atkinson, E. A., Miller, L. A., & Smith, G. T. (2024). The role of parental maladaptive emotion socialization in the risk process for negative urgency and drinking behavior in adolescence. Journal of adolescence, 96(5), 1012-1021.

Fischer, S., Wonderlich, J., Miller, L. A., Breithaupt, L., Frietchen, R., Cao, L., ... & Izquierdo, A. (2023). The association of alcohol use and positive and negative urgency to same day objective binge eating in emerging adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1152691.

Carr, S. J., Greenspan, S. B., Antonelli, R., Miller, L. A., Cannava, A., & Hoffman, J. A. (2025). Going the distance: perspectives and practices of physical activity staff in supporting transgender and gender expansive youth. Sport, Education and Society, 1-17.

Miller, L.A., Akerlund, A., & Fischer, S. (2025). (Under Review, 2025). The Role of Community Connectedness in Understanding the Connection Between LGBTQ+ Minority Stress and Problem Drinking.

Miller, L.A., & Altschuler, M.R. (Manuscript in Progress, 2025). Intersectional Resilience from Discrimination: Strengths and Challenges of Neurodivergent LGBTQIA+ Adults.

Miller, L.A., Mejia, P., Izquierdo, A.., & Fischer, S. (Manuscript in Progress, 2025). Transgender and Gender Expansive Individuals Experiences with Eating Disorder Treatments: A Systematic Review on Barriers, Facilitators, and Recommendations

Education

M.A. in Clinical Psychology, George Mason University

B.S. in Psychology, University of Kentucky

Minor in Neuroscience

Certificate in Sexuality Studies