People
Director
Lea Rose Dougherty (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science at the University of Maryland (UMD) College Park. She is the Director of Clinical Training for UMD’s Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program. Her research focuses on developmental psychopathology, particularly mood disorders in children and adolescents. She has published over 100+ scientific papers and was awarded the APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions and the UMD Excellence in Research Award. Her research, which has been supported by NIH-funded grants, investigates mood problems in early childhood; the intergenerational transmission of depression; the role of the family context and other environmental factors (e.g., early life stress, poverty, extreme climates/pollution) in risk for psychopathology; neural mechanisms of risk and resilience for mood problems; long term course of early mood problems; mental health disparities in LGBTQ+ youth and social determinants of these disparities; and development of scalable interventions to prevent the development of mood problems in youth.
You can learn more about her research here.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Alyssa Parker is a Post-Doctoral Associate working with Dr. Dougherty and Dr. Wiggins on the ABCD Youth Irritability Project. Prior to coming to the University of Maryland, Alyssa received her Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America in Applied/Experimental Psychology and B.A.s from the University of California, Berkeley in Psychology and Statistics. At Catholic University, Alyssa worked with Dr. Nancy Adleman in the Cognitive and Affective Neurosciences Lab, using both cognitive and neuroimaging techniques to examine the interaction of emotion and attention. Alyssa's current research interests center on the neural and cognitive mechanisms associated with the development and maintenance of psychopathology in children and adolescents. In her free time, Alyssa likes to go on hikes in the DMV area and read dystopian novels .
Graduate Students
Annika Quam is a first year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. She graduated with BAs in Psychology and Medicine, Health, and Society with a minor in Quantitative Methods from Vanderbilt University in 2022. At Vanderbilt, she worked with Dr. Amy Booth in the Little Learners Lab, studying the effectiveness of reading interventions across socio-economic status, and Dr. Bruce Compas in the Stress and Coping Lab, applying ecological momentary assessment to understand the types of stressors and coping strategies used by children with and without adverse life experiences. Following graduation, Annika spent two years as a postbaccalaureate research fellow at the National Institute of Drug Abuse under Dr. Amy Janes, examining the neurological relationship between childhood trauma, emotional awareness, and nicotine use. Annika’s research interests focus on the intersection of neuropsychology, early life adversity, and emotion regulation in adolescence.
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Denise Kesselring-Dacey is a Master’s student in the Clinical Psychological Science MPS program at UMD. She graduated from Virginia Tech in Spring 2024 with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.S. in Human Development. As an undergraduate she worked as a research assistant under Dr. Heather Davis examining binge eating and food insecurity and in her final semester became a project coordinator for the lab. She also completed a field study under the supervision of Dr. Lee Cooper at the Psychological Services Center at Virginia Tech. She joined Dr. Cooper's lab as a research assistant during her senior year to investigate diagnostic tools for ADHD. Denise’s current research interests include etiology, affect, mood disorders, emotional dysregulation, treatment, and how parenting styles and gender may impact these constructs. Outside of academics, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends, reading, and watching movies/TV.
Celeste Beauvilaire is a Master's student in the Clinical Psychological Science program at UMD. She graduated from the University at Buffalo in the Spring of 2022 with a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology. As an undergraduate, she worked in the University at Buffalo Social Development Lab under the direction of Dr. Jaime Ostrov, studying relational and overt aggression in preschool-aged children. She then completed a three-year post-bac at the Binghamton Mood Disorder Institute under the direction of Dr. Brandon Gibb, studying the intergenerational transmission of depression in mothers and their 7-15-year-old children. Celeste's research interests involve examining the environmental and interpersonal factors that contribute to the development of depression and anxiety in adolescents, with a particular focus on neural and psychophysiological correlates of that risk. Her overall goal is to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology. In her free time, Celeste enjoys crocheting sweaters and watching DC animated movies and TV shows.
Monica Bagnoli (she/her) is a second-year Master's student in the Clinical Psychological Science program at UMD. She graduated from William & Mary in the Spring of 2024 with a B.S. in Psychological Sciences and a Minor in Linguistics. As an undergraduate, she primarily studied environmental factors influencing language acquisition among 2-to 3-year-olds and 4-7-year-olds under the supervision of Dr. Kaitlyn Harrigan. She recently joined the BEAD Lab and has been conducting research in the Lavender Lab with Dr. Ethan Mereish, and is involved with projects in both labs to support LGBTQ+ youth through interventions. Monica's research interests include improving the accessibility and effectiveness of interventions for children and adolescents experiencing internalizing symptoms and disorders, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community. She is also interested in how parental affirmation and support impact mental health outcomes. She hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical or Counseling Psychology, leading to a balanced career in clinical practice, research, and teaching. Outside of school and work, Monica loves crafting, exploring local libraries and parks, and runs a freelance photography business.
Post-Baccalaureate Researchers
Sophia Moore is a post-baccalaureate research assistant for the Brains In Growth-Emotions project and the lab manager for the BEAD lab. She received a B.S. in Psychology and a B.S. in Human Development from the University of Maryland in Spring 2025. As an undergraduate, she worked primarily with Dr. Melanie Killen in the Social and Moral Development Lab studying children and adolescents' evaluations of social inequalities and prejudice, and with Dr. Dougherty in the BEAD Lab on the Brains In Growth-Emotions project studying early irritability in children. She completed an Honors Thesis with Dr. Killen on children and adolescents' evaluations of teacher racial bias in the classroom. Sophia's research interests focus on young children's early experiences of social and environmental stressors and risk for later internalizing disorders.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Hannah Braimoh
Anusha Kumar
Shira Huebner
Caitlin Moroney
Ariella Ball
Eesha Thakkar
Ayden Allswang
Kathryn Wolfthal
Srihita Mylavarapu
Enya Diwakar
Sanvi Gopisetti
Collaborators
Sara Bufferd, Ph.D.
Child Anxiety and Mood Lab
University of Louisville
Kirsty Clark, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Arianna Gard, Ph.D.
Growth and Resilience Across Development (GARD) Lab
University of Maryland
ABCD Youth Irritability Project
Daniel Klein, Ph.D.
Klein Developmental Psychology Lab
Stony Brook University
Thomas Olino, Ph.D.
Child and Adolescent Development of Emotion, Personality, and Psychology Lab
Temple University
ABCD Youth Irritability Project
John Pachankis, Ph.D.
Yale LGBTQ Mental Health Initiative
Devon Payne-Sturges, Ph.D.
Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health
Jeremy Purcell, Ph.D.
Maryland Neuroimaging Center
University of Maryland
ABCD Youth Irritability Project
Tracy Riggins, Ph.D.
Neurocognitive Development Lab
University of Maryland
Jason Smith, Ph.D.
Department of Psycholgy
University of Maryland
ABCD Youth Irritability Project
Yukari Takarae, Ph.D.
Translational Emotion Neuroscience and Development Laboratory (TENDlab)
University of California San Diego
ABCD Youth Irritability Project
