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Our Team

Faculty Leadership

Project Management & Tech Team

Laura

Laura Scanlan, MA, Clinical Operations Manager

Laura is currently a Clinical Operations Manager, working primarily on the SMARTer Study. She graduated from Princeton University in 2011 with a BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a certificate in Neuroscience; she also received an MA in Global Health from Northwestern University. Her primary interests are health management, human behaviors, and brain health

Rana

Rana Mazzetta, MSW, LSW, Clinical Operations Manager

Rana is currently a Clinical Operations Manager in the CATALYST Lab. She graduated from DePaul University with a BA in psychology, and received her MSW from Loyola University Chicago with a focus on at-risk youth. Rana is currently a Licensed Social Worker. Previous to this role she served as the communications coordinator for the Department of Medicine. Her primary interests are human behaviors, health behaviors and generally helping others.

Madison

Madison Hartstein, Program Manager Sr.

Madison Hartstein (she/her) comes to the CATALYST Lab with a background in Marketing and Healthcare Education. With 13+ years of program management experience, she has joined the CATALYST Lab as a Senior Program Manager and has a focus on the Team Science Program and further building on the excellent ongoing community engaged research.

Gene

Gene McFadden, Data Manager

Gene McFadden has been data manager for CATALYST Lab since 2006, contributing to each of the lab’s R01-funded randomized clinical trials during that time. Gene’s research interests include health and behavioral analytics, psychometrics and assessment.

JC

Joseph C. Subida, Developer Sr.

J.C. is a software developer with a bachelor’s of science in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While there, he worked on a human-computer interaction research study focused on measuring a user’s perceived application utility. Currently, he is contributing to the M-POWER, SMART and EVO studies.

Megha

Megha Patel, Developer

Megha graduated with a BSE in Computer Science and Engineering from The University of Michigan. She joined the CATALYST Lab as a developer in 2019 and is working on the development of the Team Science website and coaching tools used for several of our studies.

Hardik

Hardik Shrestha

Hardik is a Software Developer for the CATALYST Lab. He is originally from Nepal and recently graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2023 with a B.A. in Computer Science and a minor in Physics. Bringing experience in Android app development from his undergraduate research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles, Hardik is now responsible for Android mobile development at CATALYST Lab, where he is eager to make a positive impact.

Research Study Assistants

Abigail Weiss

Abigail Weiss, BS

Abigail is a health promotionist for the CATALYST lab. She graduated from Tulane University with a double major in Psychology and Political Science and a minor in French. She is originally from outside of San Francisco, California, and am new to the Chicago area. In her free time, she enjoys working out, spending time with friends, and taking her dog to the park. She is excited to be a part of the CATALYST team and looks forward to pursuing a career in Health Psychology.

Alice Pham

Alice Pham, MPH

Alice is an outcomes assessor for the CATALYST Lab. She graduated with a B.A. in Biology from Macalester College and an MPH with an epidemiology concentration from Northwestern University. Prior to CATALYST, she has worked as a research assistant at the Minnesota Department of Health, Columbia University, and the DIS Study Abroad in Denmark. Her research interests include health equity, epidemiological methods, emerging infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, and cancer care.

Anh Doan

Anh Doan, BS

Anh is a research assistant for the CEAL study and Team Science. She graduated from Hollins University with a B.S. in Mathematics and Data Science concentration in 2023. During her undergraduate, she was a research assistant intern at the American Institutes for Research and a research fellow at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA. Her research interests are health equity, health behavior, and community engagement.

Anja Stanic

Anja Stanic, BS

Anja is an outcomes assessor for the CATALYST lab. She graduated in 2020 with B. S. in Psychology and minors in Chemistry, Neuroscience, and Biology. She is pursuing a certificate in the Advanced Biology program at Northwestern. Prior to CATALYST, she worked on CARDIA and in various healthcare settings, including the emergency department and anesthesia. She looks forward to pursuing a career as a physician.

Dominique Moore

Dominique Moore, MA

Dominique is the senior Research Assistant and senior Health Promotionist for the CATALYST Lab. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 2014. She worked as a research specialist at UIC for a few years, and has worked in the CATALYST Lab since 2018.

Ellie Ho

Ellie Ho, BA

Ellie is currently an outcomes assessor for the CATALYST Lab. She graduated from Wheaton College in 2023 with a B.A. in Psychology and certificate in Neuroscience. Previously, she worked in the All of Us Research Program and was involved in Neuroscience and Psychology research labs during her undergraduate years. Her main research interests include health equity, mental health, and health behaviors.

Mario Garcia

Mario Garcia, ME

Mario is a health promotionist primarily working on the STELLAR study. He has a BS in Psychology and a Masters of Education, both from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Rachel Sohn

Rachel Sohn, BS

Rachel is a health promotionist for the CATALYST Lab. She graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a Global Health minor. Throughout her undergraduate career, she was a research assistant for social psychology labs that focused on diversity, inclusion, and women’s health. While working as a research assistant, she also tutored elementary school students and UCLA undergraduates in Physics.

Collaborators

Collaborators at Northwestern University

Nabil Alshurafa, PhD – Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine (Behavioral Medicine) and McCormick School of Engineering

Emma Barber, PhD – Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Gynecologic Oncology)

Sofia Garcia, PhD – Associate Professor of Medical Social Sciences and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Brian Hitsman, PhD – Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine (Behavioral Medicine), Medical Social Sciences, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Neil Jordan, PhD – Director, Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM) – Center for Education in Health Sciences, and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Preventive Medicine

Mary McDermott, PhD – Jeremiah Stamler Professor, Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics) and Preventive Medicine (Epidemiology)Santosh Kumar, PhD

Angela Pfammatter, PhD – Senior Methodologist for the College of Education, Health, and Human Science, and Associate Professor of Public Health at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Siobhan Phillips, PhD – Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine (Behavioral Medicine)

Juned Siddique, PhD – Professor of Preventive Medicine (Biostatistics) and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Milkie Vu, PhD – Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine (Behavioral Medicine)

 

Outside Collaborators

Meghan Butryn, PhD – Professor and Associate Department Head, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Drexel University

Su-Hsin Chang, PhD – Associate Professor of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis

Linda Collins, PhD – Professor, School of Global Public Health at New York University

Donald Hedeker, PhD – Professor of Public Health Sciences at University of Chicago

Susan Murphy, PhD – Professor of Statistics and of Computer Science at Harvard University, Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at the Radcliffe Institute

Inbal Nahum-Shani, PhD – Research Associate Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research at University of Michigan

Brian Saelens, PhD – Professor, Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle Childrens Hospital, and Washington University

Nancy Schoenberg, PhD – Associate Vice President for Research, Health Disparities and Professor of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine at University of Kentucky

Esra Tasali, MD – Associate Professor of Medicine and Director, Sleep Research Center at University of Chicago

CATALYST Lab Alum

Neal Doran, PhD – Professor In Residence, Psychiatry at University of California San Diego

Frank Granata IV, MSc, Medical Student at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

Tess Hasan, MPH – Northwestern University 

Brian Hitsman, PhD – Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, Medical Social Sciences, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University

Darla Kendzor, PhD – Associate Professor, Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Oklahoma

Annie Lin, PhD – Assistant Professor of Nutrition at the University of Minnesota Hormel Institute 

Sara Hoffman Marchese, PhD – Assistant Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology) and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University

Dennis McChargue, PhD – Associate Professor of Psychology at University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Arlen Moller, PhD – Associate Professor of Psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology

Sherry Pagoto, PhD – Professor of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut; Director UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media

Ruchi Patel, MPH – Northwestern University 

Christine Pellegrini, PhD – Associate Professor of Exercise Science at University of South Carolina

Angela Pfammatter, PhD – Senior Methodologist for the College of Education, Health, and Human Science, and Associate Professor of Public Health at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Natalie Ritchie, PhD – Associate Professor of Psychiatry at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Kristin Schneider, PhD – Associate Dean of Research and Associate Professor of Psychology at Rosalind Franklin University

Jeremy Steglitz, PhD – Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Victoria Steigerwald – Doctoral Student at University of Central Florida

Shirlene Wang – Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University

Jenny Warnick, PhD – Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University

Milkie Vu, PhD – Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University