People

Karim Ibrahim is an Assistant Professor at the Yale Child Study Center. His translational neuroscience research focuses on brain networks associated with emotion regulation impairments in childhood-onset psychiatric disorders. Dr. Karim Ibrahim’s research is interdisciplinary and integrates multimodal imaging methods including functional and structural MRI, machine learning, and network neuroscience/connectomics approaches to identify biomarkers relevant to child psychopathology. His recent interests lie in using and developing tools predictive modeling/machine learning approaches that leverage large-scale neuroimaging datasets, including data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, for identifying robust brain-based biomarkers. Among other things in this area, his research also investigates dynamics of the human functional connectome and large-scale networks, how brain connectivity is altered in mental health disorders (such as a disruptive behavior disorders, anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorder) and the neural response to treatment in youths. As a licensed clinical child psychologist, he also has extensive experience in developmental psychopathology, including assessments and cognitive-behavioral interventions for autism spectrum disorder, mood, anxiety, and disruptive behavior. Karim completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center T32 research program in Translational Developmental Neuroscience and through an award from the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation multidisciplinary research training program.

lenia Gori, MD is a doctoral candidate at Ramon Llull University (Barcelona) and her research focuses on the application of the modified mentalization-based treatment in children (MBT-C) technique in children with ASD and on the theoretical and neurobiological foundations (neuro-biomarkers) of dyadic social learning. She joined both the Ibrahim Lab and Sukhodolsky Lab in 2024 (co-mentors) to conduct her doctoral research. She earned her medical degree in child and adolescent neuropsychiatry at Meyer Children's Hospital, Florence, and has received specialized training in diagnosis, assessment, and intervention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and in perinatal, early intervention, and child abuse. Gori is also a psychotherapist with a psychodynamic and psychoanalytic orientation focused on the treatment of children, adolescents, and their families. She is trained in SandPlay Therapy (Rome) and Mentalized treatment for children (MBT-C), adolescents, and families from Anna Freud Center (London). She is certified as an MBT-C practitioner. This drove her interest in the neuroscience of inter-brain synchrony related to the study of brain networks associated with emotion regulation. She is also interested in psychodynamic psychopharmacology. She participates in national and international scientific and academic activities, with her own publications and papers, and currently works in private practice (Imagina Center) and in the public system.

Goeun is a Yale Class of 2025 student in Berkeley College majoring in B.S. Psychology with a certificate in Global Health Studies. She has been a part of Ibrahim Lab since her junior year and is now working on her thesis on sex differences in emotion regulation. Goeun discovered her passion for youth mental health work in high school working as a listener for TeenLine, a national teen suicide prevention hotline. She enjoys working with children and parents and hopes to pursue graduate school in Clinical Psychology one day. As a senior, she is a co-director of Dwight Hall’s Community Mental Health Program which partners with Connecticut Mental Health Center to bring service interns from Yale College. She has volunteered at Haven Free Clinic’s Behavioral Health Department since her first year. Outside of academics, Goeun loves doing graphic design and photography, attending Christian ministries in New Haven and at home in Los Angeles, and spending time with friends and family.

Jordan Linde graduated from Colgate University in 2020 with high honors, receiving a B.A. in Psychological Sciences. While at Colgate, Jordan completed a yearlong honors thesis examining the bidirectional relationship between parenting and child self-regulatory processes. Jordan was involved in various clinical experiences in the local community, including working at a pre-school as an aid for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After graduating, Jordan spent two years as a laboratory manager for The Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Georgetown University under Dr. Chandan Vaidya. Her lab used a transdiagnostic approach to look at executive function dysregulation across a variety of pediatric psychiatric disorders. Jordan was responsible for fMRI data collection, working primarily with children and adolescents with ASD, ADHD, learning disabilities, and anxiety. While in DC, Jordan also worked as a personal care attendant for a 13-year-old with ASD, irritability, and other cognitive impairments. She is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at University of Hartford, with hopes of pursuing a career as a pediatric neuropsychologist. Outside of school, Jordan enjoys baking, ice-skating, and reading a good psychological thriller curled up on the couch with her two cats.

Zhiyuan Zack Liu is a Horstmann Scholar and an M.P.H. candidate in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at Yale University, where he specializes in statistical modeling. Before joining Yale, he graduated with Distinction from Duke University with a dual-degree B.S. in Behavioral Science and Psychology (Magna Cum Laude). His research interests include integrating behavioral measures with eye-tracking and psychophysiological measures (ECG, ICG, BP) to explore how individuals respond to various affective stimuli, such as facial expressions and motivational cues, in interpersonal and intergroup settings. Another area of his interest lies in applying biostatistical and computational neuroscience approaches to multimodal imaging data to explore neural and behavioral correlates in children with disruptive behaviors.

Sasha is a member of the Yale College Class of 2026 in Berkeley, pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a certificate in Data Science. Her interests lie in studying adverse childhood experiences, parent-child dyadic relationships, and risk and protective factors as they relate to emotion regulation, the onset of childhood mental health symptoms, and atypical neurodevelopment. Sasha aspires to attend graduate school for Clinical Psychology with the goal of working with children and families. She has worked closely with children on a wide spectrum of neurodivergence and psychological backgrounds, including as a mental health worker in a clinical respite day program to support social and emotional regulation skills. Her love for children extends beyond research, and she is also a student teacher for preschoolers at the Creating Kids Childcare Center in New Haven. She also serves as an advising fellow for Matriculate, helping to make the college application process more accessible for high-achieving, low-income students. Though she calls New Mexico home, Sasha is happy to spend her time in New Haven expanding her passion and knowledge to better inform her long-term work in child advocacy, research, and care.

Verenice Torres graduated from Yale College in 2024 with Distinction in the psychology major. While at Yale, her senior thesis in the Fineberg Lab focused on the design of a semi-structured interview tool that explores the understanding and experience of recovery among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Verenice’s research and clinical interests include BPD, community mental health, assessment, and psychodynamic and MBT therapies. Verenice is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at University of Hartford. In the Ibrahim Lab at the Yale Child Study Center, Verenice is responsible for assisting with transdiagnostic neuroimaging studies of emotion regulation in youths as well as diagnostic and neurocognitive assessments.