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
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.
Brooks Murphy
Brooks Murphy received his B.S. in Psychology from William and Mary in 2025. He joined the BMDI
in June of 2025. His interests lie in interventions for internalizing disorders. He
is particularly enthusiastic about the development of healthy relationships and contemplative
interventions. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Logan Gaskin
Logan Gaskin received her B.A. in Psychology and Communication of Science & Technology from Vanderbilt
University in the spring of 2025 and joined the BMDI in June 2025. She is interested
in studying risk factors and environmental stressors of psychopathology, such as anxiety
and depression, in children and adolescents. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical
Psychology in the future.
Sadie KilarSadie Kilar earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in spring 2025
and joined the BMDI shortly after in June. She's interested in evaluating and disseminating
evidence-based interventions for adolescent internalizing disorders. She is also the
host of She Persisted, a top-charting mental health podcast for Gen Z that has been
recommended by The New York Times. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Yu Fang TsengYu Fang Tseng received her B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Merced in 2025 and
joined the BMDI in June 2025. She is interested in developmental psychopathology,
particularly how attentional and emotion regulation processes contribute to risk for
internalizing disorders across early development. She is also broadly interested in
how these processes may vary across neurodivergent populations. She plans to pursue
a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in the future.
