Lab Members

Julia Garon-Bissonnette, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study primarily working with Drs. Laurie Cutting, Autumn Kujawa, and Kathryn Humphreys at Vanderbilt University. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Psychology at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. During her graduate studies, she developed a particular expertise on childhood adversity, pregnancy, reflective functioning, infant development and the mother-infant relationship. Julia’s research focuses on how parental and child individual, interpersonal, and psychosocial risk and protective factors interact in predicting infant behavioral and socioemotional development and parent-child interactions. Outside the lab, she enjoys backcountry skiing, cycling, reading, and spending time with her family and friends.

Corinne Carlton-Smith, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Autumn Kujawa. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Virginia Tech and completed her predoctoral clinical internship at the University of North Carolina. Corinne has prior training in preclinical, neuroscience (e.g., fMRI, EEG, tACS), and clinical intervention methods and takes a developmental lens to her work. Corinne’s research focuses on the identification, translation, optimization, and dissemination of interventions for children and adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders. Outside of the lab, she enjoys baking, hiking, reading, and cuddling with her cats.

Sam Pegg, M.S. is a doctoral student in the Clinical Science area and is currently completing her clinical internship at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Following her time at UM, she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital for two years. Samantha is broadly interested in studying the underlying mechanisms of mood disorders. More specifically, she is interested in the social and emotional processes involved in the development and maintenance of these disorders. Outside of the lab, Samantha enjoys hiking, watching movies, and spending time with her family, friends, and her dogs, Tater and Yuka.

Emilia “Emili” Cárdenas, M.S. is a doctoral student in the Clinical Science area and is currently completing her clinical internship at the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Emili graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016 with a dual degree in Psychology and Art. Emili then worked as a research coordinator in the Lab for Affective and Translational Neuroscience at McLean Hospital for two years. Emili is interested in advancing translational neuroscience to promote resilience in vulnerable children and families. Specifically, she is interested in using multimodal methods (e.g., ERPS, heart rate variability, behavior) to investigate predictors of caregiving behavior and postpartum health. When Emili is not in the lab, she enjoys hiking, climbing, taking wheel-throwing classes, and watching live music.

Lindsay Dickey, M.Ed. is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Science area and predoctoral fellow supported by an NIH F31 award. Lindsay’s research centers on processes contributing to the development and treatment of internalizing psychopathologies. She is particularly interested in applying advanced quantitative methods to improve our understanding of early emerging risk factors and longitudinal trajectories. Her current projects involve the application of supervised machine learning algorithms to multi-method data, including EEG, ecological momentary assessment, and clinical information to optimize the classification and prediction of depression. When not working, Lindsay enjoys most sports/outdoor adventures, attempting new recipes, and building epic forts with her two kids.

Lisa Venanzi, M.Ed. is a sixth-year doctoral student in the Clinical Science area and is currently completing her clinical internship in neuropsychology at the Baltimore VA. She received a B.S. in Psychology from the College of William and Mary and an M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Vanderbilt. Lisa’s research interests include examining neural markers of emotion reactivity as predictors of adolescent suicidality and as a means of differentiating between various types of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Outside of the lab, she enjoys finding cheap flights and traveling to new places whenever time permits, eating the best pizza in Nashville (Smith & Lentz), and infringing on her cats’ (Paul Hollywood and Teacup) personal space to remind them that she loves them.

Yinru Long, M.Ed. is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Clinical Science program and works under Dr. Autumn Kujawa. She received a B.A. in Applied Psychology and Philosophy from Boston College and an M.Ed. in Prevention Science and Practice from Harvard. Yinru is interested in using multimodal approaches to advance personalized interventions for mood disorders in marginalized populations, specifically racial and sexual minority adolescents. She is particularly interested in identifying risk and resilience factors that are trans-diagnostic through understanding cognitive, emotional, and behavioral mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of depression and anxiety. In her free time, Yinru enjoys spending time with her cats, collecting vintage cassettes, and producing hip-hop music.

Sarah Woronko is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Science program. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2022 with a dual degree in Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society. Following graduation, Sarah worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Laboratory for Affective and Translational Neuroscience at McLean Hospital for two years. Broadly, Sarah is interested in leveraging multimodal techniques (e.g., physiology, behavior) to understand the development and maintenance of internalizing symptoms. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the relationships between repetitive negative thinking, mind wandering, and resting state physiology. Outside of the lab, Sarah enjoys hiking, exploring the Nashville music scene, and playing her oboe with local groups.

Rachel Marlowe, M.Ed. is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Science area. She worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Vanderbilt University Medical Center examining emotion regulation and suicidality in teens. She received her Master’s in Child Studies with a focus in Clinical and Developmental Research from Vanderbilt University in 2022 and her B.A. in Psychology and Human Health from Emory University in 2020. Her current research interests include cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety in teens. She is interested in learning how teens regulate emotions and cope with stress as well as using multiple methods to measure this. Outside of the lab, Rachel enjoys reading, learning how to bake, and exploring live music in Nashville!

Georgia Moon is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Science area. She graduated in May 2023 from Temple University with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience. During her time at Temple, she served as a research assistant at the Child Health and Behavior Lab under Dr. Drabick, in which she aided in the facilitation of a school-based intervention designed to teach children anger-management and coping skills. Simultaneously, she worked as a research assistant for the Friend to Friend Project, an intervention designed to reduce relational aggression in school settings, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She completed her honors thesis on whether peer processes moderate the relations between emotion processing and oppositional defiant disorder among children. Before starting her PhD program, Georgia was the project coordinator of the Happy Families Study in the MED Lab. In her free time, Georgia enjoys crocheting, reading on her Kindle, and playing the guitar.

Ellie Windham is a second-year Child Studies master’s student who graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Neuroscience. She is primarily interested in the effects of adverse childhood experiences and medical conditions on childhood psychopathology. Specifically, Ellie is interested in the impact of chronic illness on child-family emotional health and interactions. Outside of the lab, she likes to rock climb, cheer for the Tar Heels, and practice her Italian.

Norah Yao is currently a second-year student in the Child Studies master’s program. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2024 with a dual degree in Psychology and Music. She is interested in studying the impacts of childhood maltreatment and trauma on parenting and the development of internalizing disorders. She is also interested in improving children’s and families’ emotion regulation skills to enhance resilience. Outside of the lab, Norah enjoys playing musical instruments, writing poems, and traveling.

George Abitante, M.S. is a sixth-year doctoral student in the Clinical Science area and is currently completing his clinical internship at Rush University Medical Center. George graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Afterwards, he spent several years teaching before attending a one-year master’s program in clinical psychological research at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he developed his interests in adolescent depression. George’s research focuses on using statistical analyses like multilevel modeling and network analytic approaches to understand altered emotional processes in teens at risk for depression. He hopes to use this work to identify specific treatment targets for at-risk youth to prevent depression onset in vulnerable populations. When George isn’t doing research, he loves cooking with friends, hiking, singing, and playing board games.