IMPACT Pre-Doctoral Program

The IMPACT pre-doctoral fellowship program is a paid, eight-week research elective offered each year for up to four medical students. Most students complete the fellowship during the summer months between their first and second years of medical school, although other times may be available. Each student is paired with a mentor from our training faculty whose work complements the student’s research interests. Fellows in the program will work on a project that may lead to a scientific presentation and/or a peer-reviewed publishable product. In addition to performing research, fellows also shadow mental health professionals in the clinic.

The program seeks to:

• Increase exposure of medical students to child psychiatry research
• Introduce fellows to different research and clinical settings
• Lay the groundwork for a scholarly project
• Provide a stepping stone toward a career in academic child psychiatry

Former participants have gone on to prestigious child psychiatry training programs.

Program Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We are committed to providing meaningful training opportunities that foster growth in trainees’ cultural competencies to improve patient care, enhance scientific research, and increase advocacy for social justice.

Training Experiences and Resources

• Lectures, presentations and trainings offered through the University of Pittsburgh’s nationally recognized Center on Race and Social Problems (click here for prior lectures)
• WPH Grand Rounds and Medicine Grand rounds focused on topics of health equity
• Opportunities to work with faculty focused on health disparities in their programmatic lines of research
• Training workshops offered by the University of Pittsburgh’s Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Career development support and resources (e.g., grant writing, preparation of publications, mentorship, development of management and leadership skills) through the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Career Education and Enhancement for Health Care Research Diversity Program

Former Pre-Doctoral Fellows

Over the years, IMPACT pre-doctoral fellows have enjoyed selection from a wide variety of research topics in diverse subject areas. In some cases, fellows have worked with multiple faculty mentors in order to broaden the scope of their work. A list of selected previous fellows plus their mentors and project titles is included below.

Andrew Nguyen

Mentor: Brian Thoma, PhD

Research Project Title: Adolescent Biology of Stress Study (ABOSS)

Research Project Title: The Gender Minority Youth Study (GMY) 

John Gnalian

Mentor: Traci Kennedy, PhD

Research Project Title: START Smart Project 

Michael Jayson

Mentors: Heather Joseph, DO & Brooke Molina, PhD

Research Project Title: Motor Development in Infants and Toddlers at High or Low Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Grace Noel

Mentor: Lauren Bylsma, PhD

Research Project Title: Moderators of Neural Reward Processing in Adolescents with Differential Risk for Depression

Ksheeraja Sriram

Mentor: Danella Hafeman, MD, PhD

Research Project Title: Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Frontolimbic Functional Connectivity in Youth at Risk for Bipolar Disorder

Lauren Harbaugh

Mentors: Danella Hafeman, MD, PhD & Boris Birmaher, MD

Research Project Title: COVID-19 Adolescent Symptom & Psychological Experience Questionnaire (CASPE) Analysis

Nia Buckner

Mentors: Alison Hipwell, PhD, ClinPsyD & Rachel Kolko Conlon, PhD

Research Project Title: Maternal Chronic Health Conditions & Intergenerational Obesity Risk in Infancy

Tristan Hazebrook

Mentor: Ana Radovic, MD

Research Project Title: SOVA & Screening Wizard

Nathan Anderson

Mentors: Oliver Lindhiem & Ana Radovic, MD

Research Project Title: ETUDES Center Screening Wizard and the Pediatric Emotional Distress Scale (PEDS)

Morgan Coren

Mentors: Oliver Lindhiem & Ana Radovic, MD

Research Project Title: ETUDES Center Stakeholder Feedback and Center Stakeholder Feedback Projects

Rachel Eleazu

Mentor: Alison Hipwell, PhD, ClinPsyD

Research Project Title: The Impact of Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on Pregnancy Outcomes Between Races

Esther Kim

Mentor: Tina Goldstein, PhD

Research Project Title: Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Suicidal Behavior in Offspring of Parents with Bipolar Disorder: A Longitudinal Study

Stephen Murata

Mentor: Nadine Melhem, PhD

Research Project Title: Is the Kynurenine Pathway Involved in the Metabolic Endophenotype of Adolescent Suicide Attempters?

Christina Deirmenjian

Mentor: Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD

Research Project Title: Enhancing Resiliency of Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth

Jessica Gregory

Mentors: Allison Black, MD & Mark DeBrunner, MD

Research Project Title: Adverse Childhood Experiences in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease: An Evaluation of the Average and Most Common ACEs in Children Diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease and their Parents

Eva Chernoff

Mentor: David Kolko, PhD, ABPP

Research Project Title: Doctor’s Office Collaborative Care (DOCC) Pilot Study

Sungeon Kim

Mentor: Carla Mazefsky, PhD

Research Project Title: The Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty, Depression, and Emotion Dysregulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Camila Ortiz

Mentor: Allison Black, MD

Research Project Title: Association between Parental Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Scores and the Quality of Life in Patients with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD)

Emily Transue

Mentors: Jack Rozel, MD & Ed Mulvaney, MD

Research Project Title: The Use of Threat Assessment and Management Systems in the Healthcare Setting and the Relationship Between Parent Support and Re-Entry Gainful Activity for Serious Juvenile Offenders

Hannah Apfelbaum

Mentor: Judith Morgan, PhD

Research Project Title: The Relationship Between Social Engagement and Neural Responses to Happy and Sad Faces in Early Childhood

Josh Zollman

Mentor: Judith Morgan, PhD

Research Project Title: Mother-Child Dyadic Relationship Quality Concordance and its Relationship to Dyadic Concordance of Child Affective Symptoms

Anika Binner

Mentor: Tina Goldstein, PhD

Research Project Title: Family Factors Predicting Medication Adherence in Adolescents with Bipolar Disorder