Meet Our Team!

Investigators

Kathryn Cullen, M.D. 

Dr. Cullen (she/her) is an Associate Professor and Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis. She received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Chicago. She completed medical school, residency training, and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training at the University of Minnesota. She also completed a research training fellowship in Neurobehavioral Development at the University of Minnesota. She has been on the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry since 2008. Dr. Cullen's research focuses on adolescent depression and related problems such as self-injury.

Bonnie Klimes-Dougan

Dr. Klimes-Dougan is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. She received a bachelor of science from Loma Linda University. She completed doctoral training in clinical psychology at Florida State University, completed her internship at Duke University and postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Mental Health. She was a faculty at the Catholic University of America before being hired by the University of Minnesota in 2004. Dr. Klimes-Dougan's research focuses on the stress system, considering risk and protective factors for distress, depression and despair in adolescents. 

Co-Investigators

Kristina Reigstad, PsyD, LP

Dr. Reigstad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She completed her doctoral degree at the University of St. Thomas, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology and research in the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She has been on the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry since 2014. Dr. Reigstad’s research interests include the development and implementation of effective treatments for adolescent depression, maternal mental health and promoting positive parenting practices.

Carolyn Lasch 

Carolyn (she/her/hers) is a NIMH T32 predoctoral fellow and Ph.D candidate in the Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Science program at UMN. She is interested in the role of caregivers in the development of social attention and cognition, especially in families at risk for anxiety and living in high-adversity contexts. Prior to graduate school, she worked at UMN as a project coordinator primarily focused on neuroimaging, behavioral, and eye-tracking assessments. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Scripps College in 2015 and her M.A. in Child Development from UMN in 2019.

Zeynep Basgoze

Zeynep (she/her/hers) is a postdoctoral associate, working under the supervision of Dr. Kathryn Cullen & Dr. Bonnie Klimes-Dougan in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She received her BA degree from the Philosophy Department at the Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey. She completed her MSc and PhD in the Cognitive Sciences Department at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Emily Cooper in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department at Dartmouth College, NH, USA and in the Optometry School at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Dr. Başgöze’s research focuses on the changes in the emotional and attentional mechanisms in the brain related to Major Depression Disorder, brain plasticity, visual adaptation, and binocular vision. She is specialized in designing and analyzing both fMRI and psychophysical experiments.

Andrea Wiglesworth

Andrea is a graduate student in the Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Doctoral Program. She is interested in the relationship between forms of stress (e.g. minority stress in Native American populations, chronic stressors such as poverty, and childhood maltreatment) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in childhood and adolescence. She examines neurobiological and psychophysiological mechanisms that may be related to these constructs. 

Conner Falke

I am a graduate student in the UMN School of Public Health Biostatistics Division. I received my BA in Mathematics from the University of Kansas in 2019. I joined the RAD Lab because of my interest in finding both indicators and treatments for mood and anxiety disorders in adolescents. My work currently focuses on identifying clinically significant patterns of brain activity using fMRI data. I am also interested in developing new statistical methods that address the challenges of collecting and analyzing psychiatric data.

Michelle Thai

I am currently a graduate student in the Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program program. My interests focus on understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying mood and anxiety disorders. I am particularly interested in the use of neuromodulation as a tool to study and treat affective disorders.

Kate Carosella

Kate (she/her/hers) is a graduate student in the Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Doctoral Program. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science from Johns Hopkins University. She is interested in understanding the neural basis of maladaptive responses to stress such as self-injury and suicide. She hopes to elucidate how evolutionarily adaptive processes such as threat processing can go awry on the system neuroscience level and result in psychopathology. She loves baking, swimming, and cuddling her dog, Mozzarella!

Hopewell Hodges

I am a PhD student in clinical and developmental psychology at the Institute for Child Development, after spending my BA and masters degree focusing on post-violence literature and collective resilience practices. In the long term, I hope to partner with communities of diverse cultural backgrounds to design more effective and culturally appropriate trauma treatments that rely on locally effective resilience mechanisms. In addition to conducting assessments in the RAD Lab, I am fortunate to receive mentorship from Dr. Gail Ferguson and Dr. Ann Masten. 

Tori Papke

Tori (she/hers) is the project coordinator for the NAC Study. She started in the lab as an undergraduate volunteer in 2019 and has since graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Psychology and a neuroscience minor. She is particularly interested in studying the neurobiological mechanisms and implications of mood disorders, suicidality and self-harm. She hopes to one day attend a clinical psychology doctorate program where she can continue this kind of research. Outside of the lab, she loves running, biking, snowboarding, and reading.

Michaelle DiMaggio-Potter

Michaelle DiMaggio-Potter (she/her) is a MIND Scholar in the RAD Lab. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Columbia University, where she researched music and memory in Columbia’s Developmental Affective Neuroscience Lab (DAN Lab). As an undergraduate, she also performed in plays, musicals, and ballroom competitions. She is interested in maladaptive cognition and behavior, specifically emotional dysregulation and self-harm, and desires to improve treatment methods for adolescents who suffer from mood and personality disorders. 

Ifeoluwa Olayinka

Ifeoluwa is the study coordinator for the BRIDGES study. She graduated from Montclair State University with a bachelor's degree in biology. While completing her master's degree program at Rutgers University, she developed an interest in neuroscience. Prior to joining the RAD lab, she worked with schools and clinics to educate people about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Outside the lab, Ife enjoys spending quality time with family.

Clara Bils

My name is Clara and I use they/them pronouns. I currently volunteer as a study coordinator for our Sexual Minority study and I work as a mental health technician at a group home for adults with severe and persistent mental illness. I am interested in psychopathology prevalence, identity formation, and stress response within the LGBTQ+ community. I hope to pursue a PsyD in clinical psychology and eventually work in an acute mental health illness facility.

Zay Hayee

My name is Zay (she/her) and I am a second year Psychology major with a minor in Spanish at the U. I plan to pursue a PsyD and work clinically with adolescents and young adults. Disorders and treatments related to this age group are of particular interest to me along with the mental health effects that may be associated with identifying as a first/second/third generation American. I am also passionate about raising awareness of mental health disorders and treatment within the Southasian community because it is an often neglected discussion. The RAD lab is a great opportunity to launch my research journey and start exploring these interests in greater depth.

Salah Mirza

Hi, I’m Salahudeen (Salah) Mirza, and I’m an undergraduate studying child development with a minor in cellular and molecular neuroscience.  My interest has been in understanding the developmental pathways to suicide and other self-injurious thoughts and behaviours.  This interest has spanned multiple levels of analysis including imaging of the brain’s structure and function, salivary cortisol assay, gene expression in animal models of mood disorder, and genetic and epigenetic variation in studies of post mortem brain tissue of suicide decedents.  I am especially interested in improving our ability to predict youth suicide attempt/death risk using multiple methods.  Another interest of mine is the transmission of suicidal behaviour and affective disorder across generations.  Within the lab, the main datasets I have worked with are BRIDGES and ABCD (NIH), both of which are longitudinal cohorts.  My hope is that some of the pathways and risk/protective factors that we identify prove helpful in identifying those at high risk for suicide, with the possibility of aiding in targeted interventions.  I’m really grateful to be working as part of such a caring and supportive team.

Hannah Wehrman

Hi, my name is Hannah and I am a junior majoring in Psychology with a minor in neuroscience here at the U. I originally became interested in RAD Lab due to my interests in wanting to understand more about anxiety and depression and their underlying brain mechanisms. I have become further interested in self harm and suicidal behaviors.The lab has a great atmosphere and everyone is friendly and I enjoy the time I spend in the lab. My future plans are to go on to graduate school and hopefully the lab will help me find what it is I want to do with my degree. 

Matthew Hildebrand

Hi, my name is Matthew (he/him/his) and I am a senior studying Neuroscience. I joined RAD Lab due to my interest in the overlap between neurobiological processes and depression in adolescents and youth. I am additionally interested in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse disorders. I have been in the lab for a few years and am currently a coordinator for our Sexual Minority Mental Health study!

Sabeena Jagdeo

Hi, I'm Sabeena (she/her/hers) and am a fourth year student majoring in psychology, with minors in Spanish and neuroscience on the pre-med track in the college of Liberal Arts. I first became interested in the lab, when taking Professor Klimes-Dougan's abnormal psychology class during my second year. I will be joining the lab in the Fall of 2021, as a part of my fourth year capstone since much of the work conducted in the lab focuses on many of my passions within psychology. Outside of academics, I love to read, be outdoors, and try new foods (please give me your recommendations for all the above!)  

Josie Friedman

Hi! I'm Josie (she/her), a junior majoring in human physiology and psychology. I joined the RAD Lab due to my interest in improving mental health outcomes for adolescents. I look forward to learning more about neuroscience and its relation to anxiety and mood disorders. In the future, I hope to pursue a career that combines use of psychosocial skills with knowledge of health, illness, and healing. Outside of school and my work with the lab, I enjoy baking, thrifting, and trying new restaurants.  

Choolwe Haamankuli

Hello, my name is Choolwe (he/him/his) and I’m a fourth year student studying psychology on a pre-med track. This will be my first semester working in the lab. As someone who is interested in being a psychiatrist one day, I couldn’t be more excited to further explore my interest in preventative strategies for adolescent depression through the work I’ll be doing in this lab. I also can’t wait for the RAD Lab to be an opportunity to dive deeper into the greater work done within research. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and watching sports.

Sam Cesafsky

Hi, my name is Sam (he/him) and I'm a senior majoring in psychology with a minor in biology in the College of Liberal Arts. After taking Dr. Klimes-Dougan's abnormal psychology class as a junior and preparing for my research practicum, I joined the RAD Lab because of my interests in studying anxiety disorders in adolescents and the lab's focus on developmental psychology and role of brain structure and function in psychological disorders. In my time in the lab, I have become increasingly interested in studying the functions of non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents. My future plans involve graduate school in the health sciences.

Anya Pavlova

My name is Anya (she/her) and I am a volunteer in the lab, primarily working as the study coordinator for the Becoming Artists study. I am a junior majoring in biology and psychology, and I plan on going to medical school after college. I joined the RAD lab because I have an interest in improving mental health outcomes, and I am considering going into psychiatry in the future, so this is a great place to further explore neurobiological mechanisms in adolescents as well as treatment options for various mood disorders. Outside of school, I love to hike, cook and travel!

Mirnesa Halilovic

My name is Mirnesa and my pronouns are she/her. I am a fourth-year Psychology major, and also majoring in Political Science and Global Studies, with a minor in Arabic. My interest on the topic of self-harm and anxiety/depression in adolescents has always been growing. I joined the RAD lab to work on my senior thesis and answer a few questions about the topic. Outside of the lab, I love to read and cook.