Claire Foster
Claire Foster received her B.A. in psychology from Cornell University. She joined the BMDI as a
graduate student in the Fall of 2017. Her research interests focus primarily on proximate
mechanisms of development, and the processes through which disparate developmental
trajectories arise early in life. In particular, she is interested in examining the
processes through which environmental factors, such as parental symptomology and parenting
behavior, may increase risk for depression in children by impacting early social learning
and attentional patterns in infancy and early childhood.
Elana Israel
Elana Israel received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Maryland in 2018. She joined
the BMDI as a graduate student in the Fall of 2020. She is interested in targeting
markers of depression and anxiety risk in children and adolescents. Specifically,
she aims to understand the intergenerational continuities of these disorders and how
certain vulnerabilities, such as information-processing biases and deficits in reward
processing, develop in youth and contribute to internalizing symptoms.
Pooja Shankar
Pooja Shankar received her B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior from Barnard College in 2020 and her
M.A. in Psychology from American University in 2022 prior to joining the BMDI as a
doctoral student in the fall of 2022. Her research interests involve the use of multimodal
assessment to predict risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidality in youth. In particular,
she is interested in examining the role of factors such as early life stress and adversity
(e.g., social contexts, parenting), which may affect the developmental trajectory
of mood disorders during childhood.
Kelly GairKelly Gair received her B.S. in Psychology from Stony Brook University in 2020 prior to joining
the BMDI as a graduate student in the Fall of 2023. Her research focuses on identifying
psychological processes in the developing brain which increase resilience and risk
for internalizing psychopathologies. In particular, she is interested in using EEG/ERP
techniques to measure cognitive risk factors, such as attentional biases and reward
sensitivity, as indicators of risk for depression in childhood and adolescent samples.
Brianna LindBrianna Lind received her B.A. in Psychology from Michigan State University in 2022 and joined
the BMDI as a graduate student in Fall 2024. Her research interests focus on identifying
risk factors for depression across youth development while examining processes that
may be transdiagnostic across internalizing disorders (e.g., anhedonia). Specifically,
she is interested in investigating how age-related changes in neural reward processing,
interpersonal stress, and pubertal development (timing and status) may affect the
trajectory of depression in children and adolescents.
Project Coordinators
Nia Cole
Nia Cole received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Georgia in the spring of 2022
and joined the BMDI in August of 2022. She is interested in using multiple levels
of analysis to understand trauma-induced psychopathology such as anxiety and depression
in children and adolescents. After her time as a lab manager, she plans to pursue
a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Sara BusemanSara Buseman received her B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Baylor University in the spring
of 2023 and joined the BMDI in July 2023. Her research interests focus on the intersection
of disordered eating, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidality. She is particularly
interested in the cognitive-affective mechanisms that drive these behaviors. She plans
to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in the future.
Amber GanAmber Gan received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in
the spring of 2023 and joined the BMDI in July of 2023. She is interested in studying
the risk factors for depression and suicidality among children and adolescents. She
hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in the future.
Isabella Horton
Isabella Horton received her B.A. in Psychology from Furman University in the spring of 2024 and
joined the BMDI in August of 2024. She is interested in the trajectories of internalizing
symptoms across adolescence and early adulthood and interventions for adolescents
and young adults that aim to build coping skills and promote resilience. She plans
to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in the future.
Maya MontellMaya Montell received her B.A. in Child Study & Human Development and French with a minor in Arabic
from Tufts University in the spring of 2024 and joined the BMDI in August of 2024.
She is interested in studying how caregiver-child relations and positive childhood
experiences affect the mental health outcomes of children who have been in foster
care, particularly in regards to depression. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical
Psychology in the future.
