The Team

Zamzam Dini, PhD, LMFT (she/her)

Founding Director, TRACE Lab

Zamzam Dini is an Assistant Professor in Couple and Family Therapy at Alliant University and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She holds a PhD in Family Social Science with a specialization in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Minnesota. She is the founder and director of TRACE Lab, an interdisciplinary research lab focused on relational trauma, relational resilience, and culturally responsive approaches to healing.

Her research examines how trauma and adversity are experienced, communicated, and responded to within relationships, families, communities, and broader social contexts. Drawing from family systems, relational trauma, and culturally grounded perspectives, her work explores how relationships can function as contexts of both harm and healing. Her scholarship has examined intergenerational trauma, family communication and socialization, refugee and immigrant family relationships, help-seeking, and culturally situated pathways to resilience and recovery.

Collaborators

Kadija S. Mussa, PhD, LAMFT (she/her)

Collaborator, TRACE Lab

Dr. Kadija S. Mussa is a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and research scientist at Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute. She holds a PhD in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota, with a minor in Quantitative Social Science Research Methods.

Her research focuses on trauma recovery, hospital-based violence intervention, immigrant caregiving, and culturally responsive mental health care. Her work integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches, including structural equation modeling and community-engaged evaluation. Dr. Mussa is a frequent TRACE Lab collaborator and has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications with Dr. Dini.

Roun Said, PhD, LPCC-S (she/her)

Collaborator, TRACE Lab

Dr. Roun Said is a mental health therapist and community-engaged researcher whose work focuses on identity, belonging, and community among emerging adults. Her research uses participatory and community-engaged approaches that center lived experience and the social, cultural, and relational contexts shaping well-being.

She is particularly interested in how individuals navigate identity development across multiple cultural identities, relationships, and systems of support, and how communities can foster connection, resilience, and belonging.

Researcher Assistants

TRACE Lab researcher assistants contribute to ongoing scholarship on relational trauma, relational resilience, intergenerational processes, and culturally responsive approaches to mental health and healing.

Nathan Elias, MA (he/him)

Research Assistant, TRACE Lab

Nathan Elias is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology (PsyD) at the University of St. Thomas. As a second-generation Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrant, his work is grounded in a commitment to advancing equitable and culturally responsive mental health care for underserved communities.

His clinical and research interests focus on the intersection of trauma, substance use, and systemic inequities impacting Black and immigrant populations. His research examines acculturation, coping, and resilience across generations, with the goal of informing culturally responsive approaches to mental health and substance use care.

Shreya Sharma, MSc (she/they)

Research Assistant, TRACE Lab

Shreya Sharma is a doctoral student in Family Social Science (Couple and Family Therapy specialization) at the University of Minnesota and a systemic and relational mental health practitioner.

With a background in community mental health, her work focuses on the intersection of gender, health, and trauma. Her research examines intergenerational trauma and barriers to healthcare access among South Asian populations, with an emphasis on culturally responsive and community-informed approaches.

Zahra Muse, LMFT-A (she/her)

Research Assistant, TRACE Lab

Zahra Muse is an Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Washington State. Her research and clinical work focus on trauma and medical family therapy, particularly in the context of cancer and chronic illness.

She is particularly interested in integrative care models that support both patients and caregivers. Her work spans interdisciplinary research in collaborative care, culturally responsive mental health, and clergy burnout, and she brings a trauma-informed and relational approach to practice.

Zeinab Mohamud, BA (she/her)

Research Assistant, TRACE Lab

Zeinab Mohamud is a Master of Public Health student in Maternal and Child Health at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests center on developmental health equity and understanding how social, environmental, structural, and health-related factors shape health and development across the life course.

Zeinab is particularly interested in mental health, trauma, substance use, maternal and child health, and the ways in which systems and communities can promote equitable health outcomes. Her work is grounded in a commitment to community-engaged research and developing culturally responsive approaches that can inform systems-level change and improve health outcomes for children, families, and communities.

Fatima Adam, MSW (she/her)

Research Assistant, TRACE Lab

Fatima Adam is a social worker, educator, and nonprofit leader with a decade of experience in early learning and a focus on community-centered, integrative practice. She serves as Executive Director of the Supportive Childcare Provider Alliance, teaches early childhood education as a part-time college instructor, and serves on the boards of community-serving nonprofits in Washington State.

Her research interests center on African oral storytelling traditions as a way of teaching social-emotional skills to children, how language shapes identity, and how collectivist and indigenous frameworks of child development challenge dominant Western models. Her work with the lab reflects her commitment to healing, community wellbeing, and Muslim identity.

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