Meet the Lab

Dr. Dickstein (he/him) is the Director of the Pediatric Mood, Imaging, & NeuroDevelopment Program (PediMIND) and Director of Child Psychiatry Research at Mclean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Dickstein is board-certified in pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child psychiatry. Mentorship is very important to Dr. Dickstein, as he has helped numerous faculty receive NIMH Career Development ("K") Awards and Loan Repayment Program ("LRP") Grants, plus helping pre-doctoral RAs get into graduate school. Dr. Dickstein has received several awards, including being selected as the first physician to receive an NIMH BRAINS R01 grant (Bio-behavioral Research Award For Innovative New Scientists), NIMH's Richard J. Wyatt MD Memorial Fellowship Training Award for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment, NIMH's Mentor of the Year Award, and NARSAD's Gerald Klerman M.D. Award for Outstanding Research in Clinical Brain and Behavior Science. 

 Dr. Jillian Russo (she/her) received her bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Cornell University and her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Clinical psychology. She graduated with a concentration in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has worked with children, adolescents, parents, and adults struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, adjustment, and mood and behavioral dysregulation for over 10 years. Her dissertation research focused on using fMRI technology to identify potential biomarkers for adolescents who are at risk for bipolar disorder. She hopes to be able to utilize research in everyday clinical settings in order to enhance treatment outcomes and diagnostic techniques. 

 Dr. Tirpak (she/her) joined the PediMIND team as a post-doctoral fellow in September 2021. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Boston University in 2021 and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her research focuses on improving mental health treatment by developing and evaluating mechanism-driven interventions, particularly for adolescents who engage in self-harm or suicidal behaviors. In addition to her work in the PediMIND lab, Dr. Tirpak conducts research and provides treatment at the McLean Hospital 3East Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy program. 

  Dr. Cummings joined the PediMIND team as a postdoctoral fellow in August 2024. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston and received his PhD in clinical psychology from Florida International University in 2024. His research focuses on identifying the mechanisms through which neurodevelopment increases risk for self-harm in adolescence. His long-term goal is to identify brain-based targets of (psychosocial and pharmacological) interventions to reduce self-harm in adolescence. Dr. Cummings also provides treatment at the McLean Hospital 3East Adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy program, where his research and clinical activities are mutually informative. 

 Katie Parker (she/her) joined PediMIND as a clinical research assistant in June 2023 after graduating with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Amherst College. Her research interests include understanding how environment and genetics interact during childhood to either put children at risk for or prevent the later development of psychopathology. She plans to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.   

 Emily Feldman (she/her) joined PediMIND in June 2024 after graduating with a B.A. in Psychology from Binghamton University. She is primarily interested in creating more individualized treatment plans and therapeutic interventions for anxiety related disorders in children and adolescents. She is also interested in the impact of social stress during critical periods on the development of psychopathology. She plans to pursue graduate studies in clinical psychology.