People
Lab Director
Stew Shankman Ph.D.
Stew.Shankman@northwestern.edu
Dr. Shankman is the Dunbar Professor at Northwestern University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. His research focuses on the relation between depression and anxiety disorders (i.e., internalizing psychopathologies), with an emphasis on neurobehavioral processes that are common vs. specific emotional between the two. Internalizing psychopathologies are serious and prevalent public health problems with an economic burden of hundreds of billions of dollars that is increasing in recent years. While moderately efficacious treatments have been developed for these conditions (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapies, SSRIs), treatment response is very heterogeneous. Our group’s research attempts to improve our understanding of internalizing psychopathologies and their risk factors so that (a) more effective interventions and preventative strategies can be developed for specific people, (b) identify specific targets for those intervention and prevention efforts, and (c) develop and test novel interventions to help people suffering from these conditions. Currently, Dr. Shankman is the Principal Investigator and co-investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects utilizing multiple methods (e.g., fMRI, electrophysiology, laboratory behavioral paradigms, treatment development, etc).
Faculty
Allison Letkiewicz, Ph.D.
Allison.Letkiewicz@northwestern.edu
Dr. Letkiewicz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University. Her research primarily focuses on identifying the role of cognitive functioning (executive function, reinforcement learning, and decision-making) in the onset and recurrence of internalizing psychopathology using multiple methods (fMRI, computational modeling [Q-learning, drift-diffusion], EEG/ERPs, and neuropsychological assessment). She received a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019. Prior to receiving her PhD, she completed a predoctoral clinical internship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2018-2019). From 2020-2022, Dr. Letkiewicz completed postdoctoral training at Northwestern University with Dr. Shankman, during which she received an NIH-funded TL1 grant through NUCATS that focused on the application of computational approaches to examining inhibitory control as a transdiagnostic correlate of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in youth. She is currently the PI on an NIMH-funded K23 award (2022-2027), which aims to clarify the role of aberrant reward learning in depression and psychomotor symptoms using computational modeling and fMRI. In 2023, she was awarded the Ken and Ruth Davee Award for Innovative Investigations.
Sameer Ashaie, Ph.D.
Sameer.Ashaie@northwestern.edu
Dr. Ashaie’s research primarily focuses on aphasia rehabilitation particularly post-stroke depression and related psychosocial issues. He employs a variety of techniques in his research including non-invasive brain stimulation and eye-tracking.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Lilian Yanqing Li, Ph.D.
Dr. Li received her Ph.D. in Psychological Science with concentrations in Affective Science and Quantitative Methods from the University of California, Irvine in 2021. Her research centers on understanding how affective processes (e.g., experience, regulation) contribute to risk for psychopathology, including disorders within the internalizing and psychosis spectrums. Currently, she focuses on the temporal dynamics of affect, from momentary fluctuations to developmental trajectories, to predict the emergence of risk and resilience. This work utilizes multiple methods of data collection (e.g., EEG, ecological momentary assessment) and analysis (e.g., natural language processing, network analysis). She is currently the PI on an NIMH-funded K99/R00 award (2024-2029), which aims to clarify whether linguistic and neural synchrony between close friends during naturalistic interactions convey an interpersonal risk for depression using EEG hyperscanning and natural language processing.
Brent Rappaport, Ph.D.
Brent.Rappaport@northwestern.edu@northwestern.edu
Allison Moreau, Ph.D.
Allison.Moreau@northwestern.edu
Graduate Students
Julia Heckel, B.S.
Staff
David Klemballa, B.A.
David.Klemballa@northwestern.edu
Lauren Grzelak, B.S.
Lauren.Grzelak@northwestern.edu
Lauren graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Psychology. She developed an early interest in identity, culminating in a thesis exploring athlete retirement and its effects on mental health. Throughout working on her current project on depression and motor function, she has also gained a growing interest in gesture elicitation and mood.
Riley Maher, B.A.
Riley.Maher@northwestern.edu
Riley graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.A. in Psychology. She developed an interest in research while working at a psychological services clinic and by doing research at a hospital. She is currently working on the NEAR Lab psychomotor study. Specifically, she’s interested in researching methods for detection strategies in psychopathology and in exploring the psychosocial needs of different populations to aid in intervention accessibility.
Sarah Sarkas, B.S.
Sarah graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.S in Psychology. There, she developed an interest in psychological research while working in clinical psychology research labs and as a peer educator at the university counseling center. Sarah is currently working on the Social Processing in Remitted Adolescent Depression grant. She is interested in researching the effectiveness and dissemination of treatment for serious mental illness.
Maddie McGregor, B.A.
Madeline.McGregor@northwestern.edu
Maddie graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in Neuroscience and Health Care Management. There, she developed a passion for public health and psychological research while working as a research assistant in clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience labs. In the NEAR Lab, she is currently working on the Social Processing in Remitted Adolescent Depression grant. Her personal research interests are focused on the quality and equity of mental healthcare for adolescents with anxiety and depression.
Aaron Clouse, B.S.
Aaron.Clouse@northwestern.edu
Aaron graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Global Business and Literacy, with an emphasis in French. As an undergraduate, he became involved in research concerning the relationship between psychosis and motor dysfunction, which parallels the research conducted in the NEAR lab concerning depression. His research interests are broad, but he enjoys working with various neuroimaging techniques, specifically MRI.
Jasmine White, B.S.
Jasmine.White@northwestern.edu
Jasmine graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Psychological Science and a minor in sociology. There, she developed an interest in psychopathology and assessment models. In the NEAR lab, she is currently working on the Vocal Motor Study in Current and Remitted Depression. Her personal interest surrounds understanding racial disparities in mental health assessment and care.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Neha Gupta, Anna Truong, Marissa Valdespino, Maria Feng, Anna Filipek
Former Lab Members
Brady D. Nelson, Ph.D.
Brady is now Research Assistant Professor at
Stony Brook University. He received his Ph.D. in 2013.
Jenna Robison-Andrew, Ph.D.
Jenna is now a staff psychologist at the
Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
She received her Ph.D. in 2011.
Sarah E. Altman, Ph.D.
Sarah is now Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Ohio State University. She received her Ph.D. in 2011.
Miranda L. Campbell, Ph.D.
Miranda is now a staff psychologist at the Hines VA. She received her Ph.D. in 2015.
Anna Weinberg, Ph.D.
Anna is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at McGill University. She received her Ph.D. in 2014 from Stony Brook University.
Stephanie M. Gorka, Ph.D
Stephanie is now an Assistant Professor in the College of Medicine at Ohio State University.
Casey Sarapas, Ph.D
Casey is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry. He received his Ph.D. in 2016.
Andrea C. Katz, Ph.D.
Andrea is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Puget Sound VA in Seattle. She received her Ph.D. in 2017.
Huiting Liu, Ph.D.
Huiting is now an intern at the Puget Sound VA in Seattle. She received her Ph.D. in 2019.
Sarah Kate McGowan, Ph.D.
Sarah Kate is now a clinical psychologist at the West Los Angeles VA. She received her Ph.D. in 2014.
Lynne Lieberman, Ph.D.
Lynne is now an intern at the UIC department of psychiatry. She received her Ph.D. in 2019.
Libby Stevens, Ph.D.
Libby is now an intern at the Puget Sound VA in Seattle. She received her Ph.D. in 2019.
Ashley Huggins, Ph.D.
Ashley is now Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Arizona. She received her Ph.D. in 2020.
Alison DeLizza, Ph.D.
Alison is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Ph.D. in 2019.
Carter Funkhouser, Ph.D.
Carter is now a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. in 2022.
Kelly Correa, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar-Fellow at University of California, San Diego. She received her Ph.D. in 2022.
Fiona Helgren
Fiona is now a graduate student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Jadyn Park
Jadyn is now a graduate student at UChicago.
Mystie Saturday
Mystie is now a graduate student at University of Chicago.
Megan McFarland
Megan is now a graduate student at University of Miami.
Joanna Hernandez
Jo is now a graduate student at Harvard University.
Collaborators
Lauren Wakschlag, Ph.D.
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Jaime Griffith, Ph.D.
University of Chicago
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Sebastian Walther, Ph.D.
University of Bern
Auburn University
K. Luan Phan, MD
Ohio State Univeristy
Myrna Weissman, Ph.D.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health – New York State Psychiatric Institute
Michael Zvolensky, Ph.D.
University of Houston
Randy Auerbach, Ph.D.
Columbia University
Vijay Mittal, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
Scott Langenecker, Ph.D.
University of Utah Department of Psychiatry
Annmaria MacNamara, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University
Matt Goldrick, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
Alex Leow, Ph.D.
UIC Department of Psychology
Heide Klumpp, Ph.D.
UIC Department of Psychiatry; VA Hines
Natania Crane, Ph.D.
UIC Department of Psychiatry
Nicholas Allen, Ph.D.
Univeristy of Oregon Department of Psychology
680 N. Lakeshore Drive, Suite 1520, Chicago, IL 60611 • 312-503-9078 • NEARLab@northwestern.edu