YCSC 2024 graduates share plans and next steps

At an annual Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) commencement event honoring trainees in the class of 2024 on June 21, 2024, some of the graduates’ future plans and next steps were shared. Highlights are included below, listed by training program. Several will be staying at Yale in new positions, while others are pursuing opportunities both near and far.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows

Brittany Atuahene Robinson, MD will be an attending psychiatrist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cooper University Healthcare in Camden, New Jersey. She is also joining the faculty at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and will primarily be working with adolescents and transitional age youth.

Matthew C. Johnson, MD will be a psychiatrist at the Medical Psychiatric Integrated Care Unit (IC5) at Connecticut Children’s Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. He will be engaged in clinical and teaching duties on the unit and will hold academic appointment responsibilities as a member of the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

Joseph Albert Knoble, MD will work with Frontier Psychiatry, a physician led tele-psychiatry company that is focused on serving rural, underserved families. He will also remain connected to the YCSC as a clinical instructor, exploring topics involving the gut-brain-axis, metabolic health, and the use of technology for communities with limited access to care.

Allison Lawler, MD, MEdT will be in a dual position as associate program director at the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine, General Psychiatry Residency, as well as a child psychiatrist at the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. She will also remain connected to the YCSC as a community faculty member.

Jelena G. MacLeod, MD, MHS is exploring multiple job opportunities, from academia to industry and government, all on the leading edge of digital psychiatry and informatics. She will be taking the summer off to study for two boards exams (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Clinical Informatics) while she weighs her options.

Maria Motlagh, MD will be working part-time at Fair Haven Community Health Center as a consultant for the pediatric refugee population and at Elmport Group in Westport, Connecticut. She will also remain a part of the YCSC as a community faculty member.

Onyi Okeke, MD will be embarking on a professional journey at Community Health Center Incorporated, where she will serve as a child psychiatrist. Her role will span school-based mental health programs in Middletown and New Britain schools and psychiatric consultations for outpatient pediatricians. She is also eager to cultivate a harmonious work-life balance, allowing her to devote more quality time to her husband and son.

Sherab Tsheringla, MD will continue at Yale University as faculty in the Interventional Psychiatry Service. He plans to continue his clinical and research efforts to develop and provide novel interventions for what has been called treatment refractory conditions. He hopes to develop further a robust interventional psychiatry service for pediatric populations and also for autistic individuals who often have significant co-occurring conditions including catatonia and severe self-injurious behaviors.

Child and Adolescent Psychology Fellows

Saja Almusawi, PhD will join Bellevue Hospital Center, part of the NYU Langone Health System and NYC Health + Hospitals, as a clinical psychologist at the Frances L. Loeb Child Protection and Development Center. Additionally, she will be appointed as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone.

Dani Novick, PhD will be joining the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine as an assistant professor. Her role will encompass providing early childhood, adolescent, and perinatal outpatient services, alongside research focused on developing and evaluating community-based programs to enhance child mental health. Additionally, she is thrilled to pay forward the knowledge and skills she gained through her fellowship training as a clinical supervisor.

C. Teal Raffaele, PhD will join the psychology faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center within their Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders. She will also be collaborating with the Regulation of Emotion in Autistic Adults, Children, and Teens research program.

Cara Tomaso, PhD will remain at the YCSC in the role of assistant professor of clinical child psychology, embedded in the Section of Pediatric Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Yale New Haven Hospital. She will split her time between the Yale Limb Restoration and Lengthening Program and the Female+ Athlete Program. She will be joining multidisciplinary treatment teams to provide behavioral health consultation to physicians, nurses, social workers, and other allied professions.

Child and Adolescent Social Work Fellows

Christian D. Edwards, MSW, LCSW will be relocating back to his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, where he will serve his community by working with VNS Health on their children's mobile crisis team. He looks forward to incorporating and utilizing the clinical skills he developed during his social work fellowship. Additionally, Christian plans to apply for doctoral studies this upcoming fall, aiming for a PhD in social work.

Stephanie Salazar, LMSW will be working at Southwest Key Programs in Houston, Texas where she will provide clinical services to at-risk Latinx children and adolescents under their unaccompanied minors program, a program that provides round-the-clock services and clinical care to youth pending reunification with vetted sponsors.

M.Res. in Developmental Neuroscience & Psychopathology, Anna Freud Centre and University College London

• Erin Basol, BA will work as a research assistant at the Harpaz-Rotem PTSD Lab at Yale.
• Jade Bouffard, BSc will pursue opportunities in clinical psychology sectors in Europe.
• Satvika Char, BSc will work as a postgraduate associate in the Stover Lab at the YCSC.
• Yulan Chen, BA will be working as a postgraduate associate in the Cho Lab at the YCSC.
• Olivia Cuevas Geiger, BSc will be pursuing opportunities in clinical, public, and private sectors.
• Bethan Gilligan, BSc will pursue clinical and research opportunities in the U.K.
• Maisha Hossain, BA will be working as a postgraduate associate in the Before and After Baby Lab at the YCSC.
• Zoe Howell, BSc will be working as a postgraduate associate in the Before and After Baby Lab at the YCSC.
• Maria Jelen, BSc will begin working on a PhD at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at University of Cambridge.
• Gihyun Kim, BA will work as a postgraduate associate in the YAY Lab at the YCSC.
• Danai Ioakeimidou, BSc will be pursuing opportunities in clinical settings and academia.
• Tara Ramsay-Patel, BA will pursue clinical and research opportunities in the U.K.