Who We Are

 

Nicki Bush, PhD

Principal Investigator

Dr. Nicole (Nicki) Bush is a Professor in the UCSF departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics. She is the Division Chief of the Division of Developmental Medicine and the Lisa and John Pritzker Distinguished Professor of Developmental and Behavioral Health. Dr. Bush’s research focuses on the manner in which early social contexts interface with individual differences to affect developmental trajectories across the life course.

 

 

 

Alana Cordeiro, MPH

Study Coordinator, TIDES Study/SEED Study

Alana graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from San Jose State University and a M.P.H. in Community Health & Prevention, with a focus on Maternal and Child Health from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She is passionate about improving health outcomes, reducing health disparities, and learning about how environment and stress affect health. Alana enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, watching funny movies, and being active.

 

 

 

 

Alexandra (Allie) Sullivan, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar, ECHO PATHWAYS Study & Intergenerational Developmental Health

Dr. Sullivan received her Ph.D. in Clinical and Developmental Psychology from the University of Vermont after she completed her clinical internship at the Charleston Consortium at the Medical University of South Carolina. She studies the biological embedding of stress and how positive parenting can protect children from the physical and psychiatric problems associated with early adversity exposure both within and across generations.

 

 

 

 

Amanda Noroña-Zhou, PhD

Site Psychologist and Research Scientist, TIDES Study

Dr. Noroña-Zhou completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA and her clinical internship at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She joins the TIDES team as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and researcher. Her research interests include prenatal and intergenerational influences on child and family wellbeing and the role that community-level factors can play in buffering families from stress. Clinically, Dr. Noroña-Zhou is passionate about providing support to parents managing tricky child behaviors, from infancy through young adulthood.

 

 

 

Danielle Roubinov, PhD

Assistant Professor and Investigator, SEED Study

Dr. Roubinov joined the UCSF faculty following a 2-year fellowship in developmental psychobiology in the Department of Pediatrics. She completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University and her clinical internship at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. Her research explores the physiological, cognitive, and emotional pathways through which experiences of early life adversity shape physical and psychological health outcomes across the lifespan. She has a special interest in the intergenerational transmission of mood disorders and the physiological factors that either enhance risk or protect against the development of internalizing problems among children reared by parents with depression.

 

 

 

Karen Jones-Mason, PhD, JD, MSW

Research Scientist and Investigator, SEED Study

Karen completed the joint MSW/PhD program at the University of California, Berkeley after representing and advocating for at risk youth and their families for over two decades. She is primarily interested in examining how social experience impacts biological development, health and well-being in youth. Her doctoral dissertation examined the association between the quality of attachment relationships and the activation of stress related genes (the serotonin transporter and glucocorticoid receptor gene). She is now examining the association between attachment and telomere length. On SEED Karen is analyzing the associations between maternal sensitivity, infant ANS and overall infant health.

 

 

 

Michael Coccia, MS

Statistician, SEED Study

Michael is a research statistician for the SEED Study. He completed a bachelor's in Biobehavioral Health and a mater's in Applied Statistics at Penn State University. His work is focused on understanding change processes measured at different time scales (e.g., second-by-second to month-to-month to year-over-year) through selection and implementation of appropriate statistical models. Every day he likes walking, talking, and laughing. Most days he gets stoked to bicycle SF's hills. Some days he enjoys a pastry breakfast. If lucky, he stumbles into a used bookstore.

 

 

 

 

Shaikh I. Ahmad, PhD 

Postdoctoral Scholar, ECHO PATHWAYS Study

Dr. Ahmad completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Science from the University of California, Berkeley and his clinical internship from UCSF.

His research has focused on risk and protective factors related to child and adolescent mental health, self-harm, and mental health stigma. His clinical interests have focused on assessment and interventions for children, adolescents, and families surrounding neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD. He is also passionate about translating research related to child mental health into policy and practice.

 

 

 

 

VictoriaHan
Beomyun (Victoria) Han, BA

Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator, SEED Study/TIDES Study

Beomyun (Victoria) Han graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 2017 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. She has assisted in research in the ReADI Lab for addiction interventions at UCSF under Dr. Danielle Ramo, as well as the Relationships and Social Cognition Lab at UC Berkeley under Dr. Ozlem Ayduk. In her time with SEED, she has assisted in medical record abstraction, bio-specimen organization, and data entry. In her time with TIDES, she has assisted in Age 6 Visits with bio-specimen collection and cognitive assessments. In the future, Victoria would like to pursue a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology and work with children and adolescents. In her free time, Victoria enjoys watching films and exploring the Bay Area with her friends.

 

 

 

Zainab Ghadialy, BA

Clinical Research Coordinator, TIDES Study

Zainab graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz in 2020 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She has assisted in research in the Early Social Interaction Lab at UC Santa Cruz by coding video and interview data for the Youth and Religion project. At TIDES, she will assist in Age 8 Visits, collecting bio-specimen and conducting cognitive assessments. She is interested in learning about child development and plans to attend graduate school to pursue a career working with children. Outside of the lab, Zainab loves painting, playing guitar, spending time with her friends, and baking.