Translational Research on Affective Disorders and Suicide Laboratory

Faculty

david pagliaccio

Dr. David Pagliaccio is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University and within the lab, serves as the Director of Neuroimaging. He graduated from Brown University with a BA in neuroscience and received his PhD in neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Emotion and Development Branch of NIMH. Dr. Pagliaccio’s research focuses on understanding the neural underpinnings of pediatric affective disorders and irritability and identifying neural markers of risk and treatment response. CV

Samantha Salem

Dr. Samantha Salem is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and also serves as an Attending Psychiatrist, Attending Psychiatrist CHONY-6 outpatient. Dr. Salem is board certified in general and child adolescent psychiatry. She was the recipient of the AACAP 2023 Marilyn B. Benoit, MD, Child Maltreatment Mentorship Award. She was part of the TF-CBT learning collaborative at Duke University where she completed her fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry. During her residency at SUNY-Buffalo, she was part of the QI team responsible for implementing universal suicide screening in the pediatric emergency room. She also worked as a research clinician at the NIH funded, Brain Tissue Donation Program in Pittsburgh, PA. Before moving to the United States, Dr. Salem completed her medical school and general psychiatry residency in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CV

DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL ASSESSMENT

Katherine Durham

Dr. Katherine Durham graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder before completing her PhD in School Psychology at Columbia’s Teachers College. She also earned her master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology and Applied Statistics from Teachers College, both of which facilitated her research on post-traumatic stress symptoms and cognitive functioning in children and adolescents. CV

POSTdOCTORAL FELLOWS

Paul Bloom

CARTER FUNKHOUSER

Nayoung Kim

Dr. Nayoung Kim graduated with a BA in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and completed her PhD in the same field at North Carolina State University. After her PhD, she worked as a postdoctoral associate at Weill Cornell Medicine, studying cognitive impairments following traumatic brain injuries. Currently, her primary focus is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in children and adolescents. To achieve this, she employs advanced brain imaging techniques like EEG and fMRI and seeks to develop objective biomarkers that can predict and identify factors influencing treatment outcomes and the course of depression. CV

JACLYN KIRSHENBAUM

Dr. Jaclyn Kirshenbaum graduated with a BA in Psychology from New York University and completed her PhD in Psychology at Stanford University. Presently, she is an NIMH T32 fellow, and her research uses fMRI resting-state methods and ecological momentary assessment to understand the associations among neural functional connectivity, sleep problems, and mood symptoms in adolescents. She is interested in using these methods to identify neural and sleep related risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescents. CV

Mikki Schantell

Dr. Mikki Schantell earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, followed by an MPH in Epidemiology and a PhD in Patient-Oriented Research with an emphasis in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her research focuses on quantifying how physiological and psychosocial stressors modulate the cognitive and emotional processes that give rise to severe mental health disorders. Specifically, she utilizes advanced statistical techniques to dynamically link real-time mobile sensing data with neurophysiological markers, aiming to reliably predict when high-risk youth are most vulnerable to engaging in suicidal thoughts and behaviors. CV

Isaac Treves

Dr. Isaac Treves graduated with a BA in Neuroscience from Princeton and completed a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. His research primarily focuses on the relationship of mindfulness to mental health, along with the fMRI brain bases of this relationship. He has conducted app-based meditation intervention studies and analyzed resting-state fMRI using predictive modeling approaches. In the future, he’s excited to study mindfulness and rumination, specifically, when it is effective for breaking cycles of repetitive negative thinking and when it is not, and for whom. CV

Data scientistS

Esha Trivedi

Esha Trivedi completed her BA in electronics and communication engineering from Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women in New Delhi, followed by a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University. Her interests lie in the fields of signal/image processing, and machine learning and statistical data analysis. CV

Research Assistants

Julia Greenblatt

Julia graduated from Barnard College in 2023 with a BA in psychology. At Barnard, she studied the effects of mindful self-compassion on perfectionism, as well as the role of self-forgiveness in OCD. She has also worked at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Bureau of Children, Youth, and Families evaluating the mental health consultation program. Julia hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. In her free time, she enjoys being outside and cooking with friends. CV

Isabella Nadel

Isabella graduated from Williams College in 2024 with a BA in Psychology and French. At Williams, she studied the interplay between rumination and interpersonal stress with Dr. Catherine Stroud, with a focus on how the family system and parent socialization practices affect the development of maladaptive patterns of coping in adolescents. In the future, Isabella hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. In her free time, she loves watching movies, swimming, and cooking. CV

Natalia Parjane

Natalia received her BA degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. She previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania's Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) Center researching speech impairments in FTD and administering psychological and cognitive assessments to patients. Her research interests include youth depression, and she hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. CV

Jamaal Spence

Jamaal graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Neuroscience. At Penn, he examined the influence of perceived task difficulty on participant effort expenditure during a goal pursuit task, an investigation that has cultivated his interests in studying amotivation and other depressive symptoms. He holds a passion for education and mentorship, serving as a learning assistant and youth tutor across multiple semesters. In the future, Jamaal hopes to attend medical school, and in his free time, he can be found writing or reading poetry. CV

Trinity tse

Trinity is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she received her BA in Psychology and Communication. At Rutgers University, she studied child and adolescent anxiety and depression with Dr. Brian Chu, with a specific focus on how a child’s family environment predicts the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms. In the future, Trinity hopes to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. In her free time, she loves to paint, read, and dance. CV

Emma Wool

Emma graduated from Northwestern University in 2023 with a BS in Psychology and Human Development in Context. She studied psychosis risk under Dr. Vijay Mittal at the Adolescent Development and Preventive Treatment Lab. Under the mentorship of Dr. Trevor Williams, she researched the association between depressive symptoms and social cognition in an effort to address the heterogeneity of depression. Emma is passionate about integrating research and policy to reduce disparities in both treatment access and quality for adolescents. She hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. CV

VOLUNTEERS

Alex Rosenberg is a student at Columbia University studying Psychology and Philosophy. He has been an active mental health advocate from an early age with groups such as the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation. He has spoken at the IOCDF’s Annual Conferences and Faith and OCD Conferences, as well as on IOCDF YouTube livestreams. Alex is very passionate about topics in research such as how transdiagnostic cognitive factors including one’s self-concept, connection to personal values, and locus of control might be associated with pathological symptoms and responsiveness to therapy. Alex plans to pursue a PhD in clinical Psychology. He endeavors to support those challenged by mental health in finding hope to take their meaningful lives back. CV