Staff

Leadership

David Mischoulon, MD, PhD

David Mischoulon is a Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Joyce R Tedlow Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Cristina Cusin, MD

Dr. Cusin is an Associate Director of the DCRP and Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Paola Pedrelli, PhD

Dr. Pedrelli is an Associate Director of the DCRP, assistant in psychology at MGH, and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.

Albert Yeung, MD, ScD

Dr. Albert Yeung is an Associate Director of the DCRP and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Andrew Nierenberg, MD

Dr. Andrew Nierenberg is an Associate Director of the DCRP and director of the Bipolar Clinical and Research Program.

Lauren Fisher, PhD

Dr. Lauren Fisher is a clinical psychologist who serves as director of clinical services at the DCRP, and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Clinicians & Researchers

Kate Bentley, PhD

Dr. Kate Bentley is a Clinical Psychologist at the DCRP and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. Her work is focused on self-injurious thoughts and behaviors and comorbid affective conditions.

Trina Chang, MD, MPH

Dr. Chang is the director of community-based studies at the DCRP.

Amit Chopra, MD

Dr. Amit Chopra is a Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Chopra completed his medical training at Sawai Man Singh College, Jaipur, India in 2003, followed by research and clinical training in UK at King’s College London and University College London between 2003-2007. Dr. Chopra completed his Adult Psychiatry Residency, Sleep Medicine Fellowship, and Deep Brain Stimulation Fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota in between 2007-2013. Dr.

Joshua Curtiss, PhD

Dr. Joshua E. Curtiss, PhD, is currently an associate researcher at MGH with the DCRP and an assistant professor at Northeastern University. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the DCRP, as well as with the OCD and Related Disorders Program at MGH. He completed his doctoral program in clinical psychology at Boston University.

Amy Farabaugh, PhD

Dr. Farabaugh is the director of psychotherapy research at the DCRP and is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

Simmie Foster, MD, PhD

Simmie Foster, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist in the DCRP and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Felipe Jain, MD

Dr. Felipe Jain is Director of Healthy Aging Studies at the Depression Clinical and Research Program, a Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.  He is the first psychiatrist to receive the prestigious Paul K. Beeson K76 Emerging Leaders in Aging Research Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging. 

Richard Liu, PhD

Dr. Richard Liu is a licensed clinical psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, the Director of Suicide Research in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at MGH, and Director of Big Data Studies at the DCRP.

Maren Nyer, PhD

Dr. Maren Nyer is director of yoga studies at the DCRP.

Aderonke Pederson, MD

Dr. Pederson completed medical school and residency training in psychiatry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. During residency she also received a certificate of scholarly concentration in global health. Dr. Pederson is the Director of Research Equity in the Clinical Trials Network and Institute at MGH and a Member of the Faculty of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.  

Jonathan Liu Worth, MD

Dr. Jonathan Liu Worth, MD, is a staff psychopharmacologist in the DCRP. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Research Fellows

Naoise Mac Giollabhui

Naoise Mac Giollabhui is a Clinical Fellow at the DCRP and graduated from Temple University with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

Program Management

Sydney DeCaro, MA

Sydney is the Program Coordinator for the DCRP. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology in 2022 and graduated summa cum laude from Elon University with a B.A. in Psychology in 2020.

Johnny Ellzey

Johnny Ellzey is the Grant Coordinator for the DCRP. He obtained a M.P.A. from the Toulouse Graduate School at the University of North Texas in 2022.

Clinical Research Coordinators

Blessing Adeleke

Blessing holds a Master of Arts in Psychology from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neuroscience with a minor in Education Studies from the University of California, San Diego.

Minna Behnan

Minna graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology.

Doga Cetinkaya

Doga graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University in 2022 with majors in Psychology and Economics, as well as with minors in Cognitive & Brain Sciences and Child Study & Human Development.

Grace Cross

Grace Cross joins the DCRP as a first-year Clinical Research Coordinator. Grace recently graduated Cum Laude from Bowdoin College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with Honors and Russian.

Grace Ding

Grace graduated from Columbia University in 2021 with a major in Psychology and concentration in Business Management. 

Dylan Gould, MPH

Dylan graduated with a Master of Public Health from the Boston University School of Public Health receiving Delta Omega honors while concentrating in Community Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation with a sub-concentration in Mental Health and Substance Use in 2023. Prior to graduate school, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Baylor University in 2021.

Paulina Gutierrez-Ramirez

Paulina graduated from Boston University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience, and she is currently enrolled at Harvard Extension School under their premedical program.

Isabella Henneman

Isabella graduated from Michigan State University in 2022, where she obtained a B.S. in Psychology with Honors and a minor in Social Science Quantitative Data Analytics.

Ava Licht

Ava graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience.

Brandy Núñez

​Brandy Núñez joins the DCRP as a first-year Clinical Research Coordinator. Brandy graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, minors in Spanish and Mediterranean Art and Archaeology, and a Certificate in Children’s Literature.

Defne Yucebas

Defne graduated from Boston University in 2023 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Film and TV Studies.

Miranda Zea

Miranda received a Bachelor of Arts from Boston University where she majored in Neuroscience.

Database Manager

Alisabet J Clain, MS

Alisabet J. Clain, MS, obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biophysics and a Master's in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology. She also obtained a Master's Degree in Biology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the DCRP's Database Manager.

Clinical Support Staff

Maria Lalai

Maria Lalai is the Administrative Coordinator for the DCRP. She is a diligent, detail-oriented individual who is comfortable working in fast-paced and challenging work environments.

Kerri Zerfoss

Kerri Ann Zerfoss is the Resource Specialist for the DCRP and CATSD. She is self-motivated, strives to create lasting relationships with others, and is always up for the task at hand.

Jason Jusino

Jason Jusino is the Patient Services Coordinator for the DCRP. He has worked for multiple departments at Mass General Brigham, including the Registration and Referral/Authorizations department and the Central Billing Office.

Co-op & Practicum Students

Anika Kopczynski

Anika Kopczynski is a fourth-year undergraduate in behavioral neuroscience at Northeastern University with a strong interest in understanding the complexities of the human brain and its impact on behavior and mental health. 

Eva Pintucci

Eva Pintucci is a third-year undergraduate at Northeastern University, working towards a B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience and minors in Sociology and Political Science.

Matias Cattani

Matias Cattani is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying biopsychology and biotechnology at Tufts University.

Catherine Schuessler

Catherine Schuessler is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Psychology with a minor in Human Services at Northeastern University. 

Directors Emeriti

Jonathan Alpert, MD, PhD

Dr. Jonathan Alpert is Director Emeritus of the DCRP, and co-founder and co-director of the MGH Depression and Anxiety Associates Group Practice.

Maurizio Fava, MD

Dr. Maurizio Fava founded the DCRP in 1990 and is now Director Emeritus.