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About Us
Learn about our lab members!
Principal Investigators
Richard T. Liu is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and licensed clinical psychologist. He is the Director of Suicide Research in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Director of Big Data Studies in the Depression Clinical and Research Program.
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The primary focus of his research is on depression, suicide, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in childhood through emerging adulthood, with a particular emphasis on characterizing dynamic processes of risk underlying onset and recurrence of these clinical concerns. His programmatic interests lie in advancing our understanding of depression, suicide, and NSSI from who is at risk to how and when they are most at risk, thereby directly informing risk assessment strategies and yielding potential candidates for clinical intervention. His work in these and related areas have been published in journals such as Lancet Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, JAMA Pediatrics, Psychological Bulletin, and American Psychologist. He is an Associate Editor at Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science and Behavior Therapy, and he serves as a Consulting Editor at Clinical Psychological Science and Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. He has also served on expert panels focused on preadolescent suicide at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Taylor A. Burke is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and licensed clinical psychologist. She is the Director of Pediatric Computational Health and Associate Director of Suicide Research in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The primary aim of Dr. Burke’s research is to advance the prediction and prevention of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) among youth and young adults. Dr. Burke uses novel methodologies and computational approaches to improve the identification of individuals at risk to better intervene and prevent SITBs. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the etiology of SITBs and related psychopathology. Dr. Burke holds a five-year NIMH career development award that focuses on using passive mobile sensing, adolescent sleep, and physical activity assessment, and advanced computational approaches to idiographic modeling to develop proximal risk models for increases in suicidal ideation. She also has other ongoing research supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the NIMH focused on leveraging computer vision to enhance suicide risk screening in pediatric health care settings. Her program of research has been nationally recognized for its contribution to child and adolescent psychological science by her receipt of the Future Directions Launch Award by the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Lauren Haliczer
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Lauren is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the MABL. Her fellowship is supported by an NIMH F32 award, in which she will explore negative social experiences (e.g., exclusion/rejection) and self-criticism as predictors of imminent risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the lab and everyday life. Lauren earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where her research spanned the areas of suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury, borderline personality disorder, emotion dysregulation, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) under the guidance of Dr. Katie Dixon-Gordon. Lauren completed her clinical internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and has received clinical training in CBT and DBT to treat a range of mood, anxiety, and personality disorders in inpatient, partial hospital, and outpatient settings. Prior to completing her doctorate, Lauren earned her MA in clinical psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her BS in psychology from Tulane University.
Dr. Naoise Mac Giollabhui
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Naoise is a postdoctoral fellow at the Depression Clinical and Research Program. His research investigates why cognitive functioning is disrupted in depression, why these cognitive difficulties persist in remitted depression and treatment options available to patients to address this debilitating symptom of depression. He is particularly interested in understanding the role played by the immune system in the etiology of depression and cognitive dysfunction. His program of research has been supported by the NIH and the American Psychological Foundation and has been nationally recognized through awards from the American Psychological Association and the Society of Clinical Psychology. He currently serves on the editorial board of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Clinical Psychology Interns
Ana Sheehan
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Ana's research explores short-term factors associated with risk for suicide including daily fluctuations in impulsivity and mood, particularly in the context of parent-adolescent dyadic relationships. In addition, Ana’s work places an emphasis on understanding trends and risk for suicide among traditionally underserved populations. Ana is in her final year of her PhD program at the University of Delaware under the mentorship of Naomi Sadeh and is currently completing her clinical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School within the child track. Ana’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and she is a PEO Scholar Awardee.
Rachel Walsh
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Rachel is currently completing her predoctoral clinical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She is a sixth-year doctoral student at Temple University, where she worked in the Mood and Cognition Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Lauren Alloy. Her research seeks to improve our understanding of risk factors for mood disorders and particularly suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Specifically, Rachel is interested in the intersection of sleep, circadian rhythms, and mood symptoms, examining whether disturbances in sleep and circadian rhythms contribute to the development of depression and suicidal ideation. Rachel’s program of research has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the PEO Scholar Award. She has received training in CBT, DBT, and attachment-based family therapy (ABFT). Rachel has completed clinical practicums in pediatric behavioral sleep medicine and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Rachel earned her bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and completed post-baccalaureate research assistantships at the National Institute of Mental Health and Brown University.
Clinical Research Coordinators
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Grace Ding
Grace (she/her) graduated from Columbia University in 2021 with a major in Psychology and concentration in Business Management. Grace’s research interests include understanding the mechanisms and improving treatment of mood disorders, with a particular interest in cultural and family related risk and protective factors. In her free time, Grace loves eating dessert, going to cafés, and watching reality TV.
Devika Goel
Devika (she/her) joined the Mood and Behavior Lab in 2024 after receiving her Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Psychology from Williams College. She is interested in exploring how factors such as social determinants of health, social loneliness, and social support influence trajectories of risk and resilience in adolescents. She hopes to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology and work with at-risk marginalized children and adolescents as a researcher and clinician. In her free time, she enjoys running, listening to podcasts, and experimenting with graphic design.
Ethan Weires
Ethan (he/him) joined the Mood and Behavior Lab in 2024, after receiving a B.S. in Psychology at the University of Iowa. He is most interested in studying suicide and associated experiences by exploiting descriptive features of risk, utilizing ambulatory assessment, and analyzing salient risk and protective factors. Ethan hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and to operate in both clinical science and practice. In his free time, he enjoys training jiu jitsu, reading, and spending time with his nephew.
Lab Volunteers
Ellen Modlin
Ellen (she/her) joined the Mood and Behavior Lab during her third year at Northeastern University.
Samadhi Wijethunga
Samadhi (she/her) joined the Mood and Behavior Lab during her second year at Northeastern University, where she is pursuing a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience. She is passionate about utilizing her academic background in neuroscience to explore the role of neurobiology in the development of mental health disorders. In the future, she anticipates determining methods to incorporate medical treatments and therapies to ameliorate and improve psychological well-being. In her free time, Samadhi loves catching up on her science book club’s latest read, obsessing over her Labrador, Sunny, engaging in musical theater performances, and writing articles for her school’s science magazine.
Kelly Kim
Kelly (she/her) is currently an undergraduate student at MIT and joined the Mood and Behavior Lab in 2023. Her passion for mental health led her to become co-chair of the Undergraduate Association’s Student Support and Wellness Committee and a Wellbeing Lab Assistant at MIT. In addition to pursuing her passion for mental health with hopes of working with soldiers and veterans in VA hospitals, she enjoys being a part of MIT’s Asian American Association and writing food reviews for the school newspaper, The Tech. Kelly also enjoys running, traveling, watching Marvel, and trying new restaurants.
Natasha Kulviwat
Natasha Kulviwat is currently an undergraduate student at Harvard University concentrating in Neuroscience. She joined the Mood and Behavior Lab in 2020 and worked on a project investigating the role of neurocognitive vulnerabilities for adolescent suicide. Her work has been featured by Business Insider, LA Times, Disney+/National Geographic, etc. Natasha’s passion for mental health has also led her to volunteer for the Long Island chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In her free time, she likes reading, cafe-hopping, and eating her mom’s baked goods!
Niharika Shukla
Niharika Shukla (she/her) is a student at Cumberland Valley High School and joined the Mood and Behavior Lab in 2024. She is passionate about mental health and making support accessible through research and legislative advocacy. Niharika is currently working as a Youth Advisor to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on youth mental health and a research intern at Columbia University’s Psych Lab, working on providing medical treatment for patients with anxiety and depression. Niharika co-wrote and passed the official Teen Mental Health Proclamation passed statewide in both Pennsylvania and Cumberland County. In her free time, she enjoys photography, listening to music, and drinking iced chai lattes.
Lab Alumni & Former Mentees
Predoctoral Interns & Postdoctoral Fellows
Madelaine Abel, Ph.D. (Instructor at Harvard Medical School)
Alexandra Bettis, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center)
Taylor Burke, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School)
Christina Cha, Ph.D. (Associate Professor at Columbia University)
Adrianna Crossing, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor at Northeastern University)
Hannah Lawrence, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor at Oregon State University)
Stephanie Jarvi Steele, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor at Smith College)
Clinical Research Coordinators & Undergraduate Honors Students
Doga Cetinkaya (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Southern Methodist University; graduate mentor: Alicia Meuret)
Shayna Cheek (Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duke University; graduate mentor: David Goldston)
Nimesha Gerlus (M.D.-Ph.D. student in cognitive neuroscience at Duke University; graduate mentor: Kevin LaBar)
Evelyn Hernandez (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at University of Rhode Island; graduate mentor: Hector Lopez-Vergara)
Jesús Hernández (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at George Mason University; graduate mentor: Natasha Tonge)
Sunday Hull (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Old Dominion University; graduate mentor: Cassie Glenn)
Eva Kuzyk (Ph.D. student in neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
Rachel Levin (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at University of Rochester; graduate mentors: Liz Handley and Sheree Toth)
Katie Lord (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at University of California - Irvine; graduate mentor: Jessica Borelli)
Carly Maitlin (PsyD student in clinical psychology at Yeshiva University)
Maya Massing Schaffer (Ph.D. in clinical psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill; graduate mentor: Mitch Prinstein)
Bridget Nestor (Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University; graduate mentor: Judy Garber)
Julianne Origlio (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at Case Western Reserve University; graduate mentor: Amy Przeworski)
Christina Sanzari (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at SUNY Albany; graduate mentor: Julie Hormes)
Katie Scopelliti (Psy.D. in clinical psychology from George Washington University)
Ana Sheehan (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at University of Delaware; graduate mentor: Naomi Sadeh)
Zoë Trout (Psy.D. in clinical psychology at Baylor University)
Margarid Turnamian (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at University of Southern California; graduate mentor: Jon Stange)
Rachel Walsh (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology Temple University; graduate mentor: Lauren Alloy)
Anna Workman (Ph.D. student in clinical psychology at City College of New York)