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Yale Child Study Center Announces Appointments and Promotions

October 01, 2012

Elena Grigorenko Ph.D. was promoted to the rank of full Professor in the Child Study Center this summer from her former position as Associate Professor. Elena continues her work in understanding the co-contribution of genetic and environmental risk factors to the manifestation of developmental and learning disabilities in children. She is the director of the Yale Academic Skills Clinic, co-leads the Child Study Center’s T32 postdoctoral training program for childhood neuropsychiatric disorders, and, along with multiple studies in Connecticut and Florida, heads up studies in Zambia, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. [read more]

Denis Sukhodolsky Ph.D. was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center this summer from his former position as Research Scientist. Denis is a 2003 graduate of the Child Study Center’s T32 postdoctoral training program for childhood neuropsychiatric disorders, participates in the Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology and is a clinical psychologist who treats patients within the Anxiety Program, the Academic Skills Clinic, and the Tourette/OCD Clinic. Denis is the recent recipient of an R03 Research Grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study EEG correlates in children with Tourette Syndrome and ADHD.

Michael Crowley Ph.D. was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center this summer from his former position as Associate Research Scientist. Michael is a 2008 graduate of the Child Study Center’s T32 postdoctoral training program for childhood neuropsychiatric disorders and an active member of the Anxiety Program. He has funded research through the National Institutes of Mental Health and Drug Abuse on the neural substrates of anxiety, identifying threats, and worry.

Pia Britto Ph.D. was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center this summer from her former position as Associate Research Scientist. Pia is a developmental psychologist who is active internationally in evaluating early childhood policies of government and NGOs. Pia is most recently involved in research that is examining the relationship between early childhood and peace building.

Tom Fernandez M.D. was appointed an instructor in the Child Study Center in July. Tom is a child psychiatrist, a psychiatric geneticist and a graduate of the Solnit Integrated Residency Program in 2011. After a post-doctoral year in the lab of Mat State, Tom has joined the faculty to continue his program of work in uncovering the genetic basis of childhood neuropsychiatric disorders including Tourette Syndrome and OCD. Tom is the recent recipient of a NIMH K08 Career Development Award and a Simons Foundation grant. Tom’s research program has been one of those benefitted by the generous gift from Herb Allison to support the Psychiatry Research Scholars Program in Child Psychiatry and Adult Psychiatry. Tom also works clinically as a child psychiatrist in ongoing clinical trials for children with Tourette syndrome and as an attending in the Tourette/OCD Clinic.

Yann Poncin M.D. was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor this summer and appointed in July to be the medical director of the Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Services, more familiarly known as Winnie-I. Yann is a 2006 graduate of Yale’s child psychiatry fellowship and has served on the faculty of the CSC since graduating, ably leading the child psychiatric services in the Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Department and the Child Psychiatry on Pediatrics service.

Claudia Califano M.D. was appointed to the position of Instructor in the Child Study Center this summer and will be working with the Trauma Program run by Steven Marans Ph.D.. Claudia is a 2012 graduate of Yale’s child psychiatry fellowship.

Jia Wu Ph.D. was appointed to the position of Associate Research Scientist in the Child Study Center this summer and is continuing her work on event related potentials in adolescents in collaboration with Linda Mayes in the Developmental Electrophysiology Laboratory

Baptiste Barbot Ph.D. was appointed to the position of Associate Research Scientist in the Child Study Center this summer and is continuing his work on social decision making by delinquent youth in collaboration with Elena Grigorenko.

Natalia Rhaklin Ph.D. was appointed to the position of Associate Research Scientist in the Child Study Center this summer and is continuing her work on language acquisition in young children in collaboration with Elena Grigorenko.

Angeli Landeros-Weisenberger M.D. was appointed to the position of Associate Research Scientist in the Child Study Center this summer and is continuing her work on transcranial magnetic stimulation as a treatment for Tourette Syndrome in collaboration with Jim Leckman and the TS/OCD Research Program.

David Aversa M.D. is a new attending leader of Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic for Children rounds. David is also the medical director of the IICAPs program. He is a 2010 graduate of Yale’s child psychiatry fellowship and a 2011 graduate of the Yale forensic psychiatry fellowship.

Karen Sondergaard M.D. is the new medical director of the Yale Child Study Center Madison Clinic. Karen is a 2011 graduate of Yale’s child psychiatry fellowship.

Lawrence Vitulano Ph.D. is now in the role of a team psychologist in the Academic Skills Clinic run by Elena Grigorenko Ph.D.

We congratulate our colleagues on their new appointments and wish them well.

Larry Scahill M.S.N., Ph.D., Professor of Nursing and Associate Professor in the Child Study Center and of Nursing; Director of the Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology will be taking a position as a Professor at Emory School of Medicine within the Department of Pediatrics at Emory’s Marcus Autism Center. [read more]

Karen Bearss Ph.D., former Associate Research Scientist at Yale in the Research Unit on Pediatric Psychopharmacology has taken a position as an Assistant Professor at Emory School of Medicine within the Department of Pediatrics at Emory’s Marcus Autism Center.

Susan Goebel-Goody Ph.D., former Associate Research Scientist at Yale working within Paul Lombroso’s lab has taken a position as a Principal Scientist with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Connecticut.

Karen Smith Ph.D., former Associate Research Scientist at the Child Study Center working within Flora Vaccarino’s lab has taken a position as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafeyette.