Assistant Professor
New York State Psychiatric Institute
Currently, I am an Assistant Professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Research Scientist V at the New York State Psychiatric Institute where I conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative work on pediatric mental health and neurodevelopment. My research focuses on utilizing a multi-method approach at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience to understand the pathophysiology of pediatric mental depression and anxiety. Much of my work has focused on stress, socioemotional, and reward-related processes in youth and adolescence with internalizing disorders. I have also prioritized examining methodological issues including testing psychometrics over development and exploring test-retest reliability to ensure use of the valid tools. I have extensive experience with robust statistical techniques, especially for multi-method and longitudinal data, with a focus on providing tests of clinically relevant hypotheses and conceptual models.
Overall, I have aimed to tackle a variety of question in the field including investigating how the brain and related psychological processes (1) mediate and underlie familial and environmental risk for mental health concerns, (2) contribute to and predict longitudinal clinical outcomes, (3) and predict response to psychosocial treatment. My work aims to improve our understanding of mental health and ways to identify children most at-risk or likely to benefit from treatment. I also aim to foster support environments and build community for LGBTQIA+ trainees and academics through my work and to ensure an equitable lens in my research.
