Faculty & Staff

Angelica Aguirre

Project Associate, INDEX

Benjamin Amankwata

DevOps Engineer, INDEX

Robert Baldor, MD, FAAFP

Linda G. Bandini, PhD

Director of Nutrition, LEND Program; Professor of Pediatrics, UMMS; Clinical Professor, Sargent College of Allied Health Professions, Boston University.

Julianna Bates, PhD

Program Director

Janet Blodgett

Senior Data Analyst, CDDER

Alexandra Bonardi, OTR/L, MHA

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Senior Policy Specialist, Human Services Research.

Jennifer Brooks

Research Project Director, UMMS

Donna Caira

Administrative Assistant, Shriver LEND and UCEDD programs.

Derek Chaves

Director of Technology, INDEX

Christine Clifford, MHP

Project Director II, CDDER

David Cochran, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, UMMS

Lisa Croser

Patrick Cullen

Clinical Research Assistant, UMMS

Carol Curtin, PhD

Associate Director, E.K. Shriver Center; Director, LEND and University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Programs; Associate Professor, Departments of Family Medicine & Community Health and Psychiatry, UMMS; Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine; Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Management, Suffolk University

Melissa L. Desroches

Curtis K Deutsch, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Viet Do

Web & Database Developer, INDEX

Ursula Drager, MD

Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Vadim Droznin

Director of Business Development, INDEX

Courtney Dutra, MPA, PMP

Project Manager III, CDDER

Terri Farrell, MBA

Project Director, Autism Insurance Resource Center

Ann Foley, EdM

Program Director, CANDI Lab

Jean Frazier, MD

 Executive Director, E.K. Shriver Center; Vice Chair of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Pediatrics; Robert M. & Shirley S. Siff Chair in Autism; Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Elaine Gabovitch, MPA

Instructor, Family Medicine & Community Health; Director, Division of Children with Special Health Needs, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Joanna Gelinas

Project Coordinator II, CDDER

Patrick Gleason

Data research Specialist, UMMS

Charles Hamad, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UMMS

Christian Haselgrove

Application Database Developer

Steve Hodge, MA

Statistician / Data Manager

Leah Honor, MLIS

Project Informationist (Embedded Librarian)

Isha Jalnapurkar, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Victoria Johnson

Clinical Research Assistant

Mary Beth Kadlec, ScD, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist; Program Director, UMass Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO); Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

David Kennedy, PhD

Co-Director, CANDI Lab; Director of Neuroinformatics Program; Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Sohye Kim, PhD

Assistant Professor

Cynthia Kinahan

Academic Administrator

Emily Lauer, MPH

 Director, Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research (CDDER); Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, UMMS

Julie LeMoine

IRC Enterprise Scholar sponsored by Microsoft
Ph.D. Candidate, Applied XR in Health and Well Being, UCD School of MME, Inclusive Design and Creative Innovation
Visiting Scholar and co-founder, InovaXR lab, E.K. Shriver Center, UMass Medical School

Deborah Letourneau

Executive Assistant to Dr. Frazier

Aurom Lum

Web Accessibility Support Technician, INDEX

Susan McCarthy

Grants & Contracts Specialist

Mo Modarres, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, UMass Medical School

Sandra Caligaris Osborne

Lena Riccardi

CANS Training Program Coordinator

Christine Roa

Project Manager, CDDER

Richard Robison, DMin

Executive Director Emeritus, Federation for Children with Special Needs

John Rochford, MS

Director, INDEX Program;  Instructor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, UMMS

Mabelys Rodriquez-Suarez

System Administrator, INDEX

Emily Rubin, MA, LCSW

Director of Sibling Support Program; Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Sarah Rulnick, MPH

Director, CANS Program

Taylor Sacco, BS

Research Coordinator

Sharon Strzalkowski

Information Coordinator, INDEX

Betty Suydam

Information Coordinator, INDEX

Susan Swanson, MA, CCC-SLP

Speech/Language Pathologist; Clinical Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Liz Thissell Turenne

Janet Twyman, PhD, BCBA, LABA

Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Founder of Blast: A Learning Sciences Company.
Focus: Behavior Analysis, Educational Technology, Instructional Design & Delivery.

Martha Ventura

Project Assistant II, INDEX

Lauren Venuti, MSW

Project Director

Amy Weinstock, MArch

Director, Autism Insurance Resource Center; Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS

Mary Ahn, MD

Academic Role: Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Focus: Training, Career Development
Email Dr. Ahn: Mary.Ahn@umassmed.edu

Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA

Academic Role: Associate Professor of Psychiatry, OB/GYN, and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
Focus: Perinatal Mental Health, Implementation Science, Integrated Care and Population Health
Email Dr. Byatt: Nancy.Byatt@umassmemorial.org
Relevant Web-pages https://www.umassmed.edu/lifeline4moms/; https://www.mcpapformoms.org

Lauren Charlot, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Focus: Psychiatric Comorbidities in Adults with Autism and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Email Dr. Charlot: charlotlr@outlook.com

Roula Choueiri, MD

Academic Role: Professor of Pediatrics
Focus: Early diagnosis of Autism, Autism Screening Test Development, LEND, Autism Learning Health Network
Email Dr. Choueiri: Roula.Choueiri@umassmemorial.org
Rapid Interactive screening Test for Autism in Toddlers (RITA-T) https://www.umassmed.edu/AutismRITA-T/

Maryann Davis, PhD

Academic Role: Professor of Psychiatry
Focus: Transition-Age Youth, Mental Health
Email Dr. Davis: Maryann.Davis@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.umassmed.edu/sparc/ and https://www.umassmed.edu/TransitionsACR

Deborah Dreyfus, MD, Msc

Academic Role: Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
Focus: LEND, CDDER
Email Dr. Dreyfus: Deborah.Dreyfus@umassmemorial.org

Yael Dvir, MD

Academic Role: Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Focus: Mood and Psychotic Disorders, ADHD, Trauma, Autism Learning Health Network
Email Dr. Dvir: Yael.Dvir@umassmed.edu

Susan Feeney, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, NP-C

Academic Role: Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Nursing
Focus: Nurse Practitioner training, LEND
Email Dr. Feeney: Susan.Feeney@umassmed.edu

William Garrison, PhD

Academic Role: Psychology, Professor of Pediatrics
Focus: LEND
Email Dr. Garrison: William.Garrison@umassmemorial.org

Matthew Gounis, PhD

Academic Role: Professor of Radiology
Focus: Image-guided surgery, Neuroimaging
Email Dr. Gounis: Matthew.Gounis@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.umassmed.edu/radiology/research/division-of-biomedical-imaging-and-bioengineering/interventional-neuroradiology-necstrr

Jessica Griffin, PsyD

Academic Role: Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics
Focus: Trauma, Relationships, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Email Dr. Griffin: Jessica.Griffin@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.umassmed.edu/cttc/

Stephenie Lemon, PhD

Academic Role: Professor of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
Focus: Implementation Science, Community Engagement in Research
Email Dr. Lemon: Stephenie.Lemon@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-pages https://www.umassmed.edu/prc; https://www.umassmed.edu/mcciss/home/

Linda Long-Bellil, PhD, JD

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health; Project Director, Commonwealth Medicine Research and Evaluation

William McIlvane, PhD

Academic Role: Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry
Focus: Behavior Analysis, Stimulus Control, Instructional Design
Email Dr. McIlvane: William.McIlvane@umassmed.edu

M. Diane McKee, MD, MS

Academic Role: Professor of Family Medicine & Community Health
Focus: Health Equity, Primary Care and The Learning Health Systems
Email Dr. McKee: M.Diane.McKee@umassmed.edu

Tiffany Moore Simas, MD, MPH, MEd

Academic Role: Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Population & Quantitative Health Sciences
Focus: Maternal Health, Perinatal Mental Health
Email Dr. Moore Simas: TiffanyA.MooreSimas@umassmemorial.org
Relevant Web-pages
https://www.umassmed.edu/lifeline4moms/
https://www.mcpapformoms.org/
https://www.umassmed.edu/obgyn/research/home/

Sharina Person, PhD

Academic Role: Professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
Focus: General and generalized linear models, cluster randomized designs, quality control and health disparities.
Email: Sharina.Person@umassmed.edu

Joel Richter, Richter

Academic Role: Professor of Program in Molecular Medicine
Focus: Animal and Human Models of Fragile X Syndrome
Email Dr. Richter: Joel.Richter@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.umassmed.edu/fragilex/

Lawrence Rhein, MD, MPH

Academic Role: Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Focus: Pediatric Neonatalogy research
Email Dr. Rhein: Lawrence.Rhein@umassmemorial.org

Kathryn Sabella, PhD

Academic Role: Instructor in Psychiatry
Focus: Youth and Young Adults, Qualitative Research, Sociologic Research
Email Dr. Sabella: Kathryn.Sabella@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.umassmed.edu/TransitionsACR/

Dori Schafer, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor in Neurobiology
Focus: neural-immune signaling and microglia in neuropsychiatric disorders
Email Dr. Schafer: Dorothy.Schafer@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.schaferlabumms.com/

Christine Ulbricht, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Population Health and Quantitative Sciences
Role: Epidemiology
Email Dr. Ulbricht: Christine.Ulbricht@umassmed.edu

Gina Vincent, PhD

Academic Role Associate Professor in Psychiatry
Focus: Forensics, Implementing screening and assessment procedures in juvenile justice
Email Dr. Vincent: Gina.Vincent@umassmed.edu
Lab Web-page https://www.umassmed.edu/sparc/areas-of-research/law-ethics-mental-health/juvenile-justice-assessment

Kimberly A. Yonkers, MD

Academic Role: Professor of Psychiatry and OB/GYN
Focus: Maternal Mental Health
Email Dr. Yonkers: Kimberly.Yonkers@umassmemorial.org

April Bowling, MA, Sc.D.

Assistant Professor of Public Health and Nutrition at Merrimack College
Focus: Exercise, Nutrition, Mental Health

Richard Fleming, PhD

Professor (Emeritus) at UMass-Boston
Focus: Weight Management, Exercise Promotion, Healthy Weight Research Network

Laura Hanratty, PhD, BCBA-D, LABA

Assistant Professor at Elms College
Focus: Applied Behavior Analysis, MCPAP ASDID

Aviva Must, PhD

Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts Univ School of Medicine
Focus: Nutritional and Obesity Epidemiology, Healthy Weight Research Network for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Heidi Stanish, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, UMass-Boston
Adjunct Faculty, Family Medicine and Community Health, UMMS
Focus: Adaptive Physical Activity, Inclusive Fitness, Healthy Weight Research Network