Fitzgerald Lab
Location and Contact Information
Principal Investigator
Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric problem in children and adolescents. These disorders affect up to one-third of youth and lead to impairment across academic, social, and family domains. Our goal is to better understand anxiety disorders and develop effective treatments for children and families.
Our current research uses fMRI, EEG, and behavioral assessments to look for biomarkers of pediatric anxiety disorders to serve as neural targets for novel, mechanism-based treatments. We are interested in how evidence-based treatments may improve brain function in anxious youth. Read more about our current work on the studies page!
Lab Members
Staff
Nicholas Bustos, B.S.
- Data Analyst
Nicholas has a background in bioinformatics and training in clinical neuroimaging, with previous experience working as an MRI Analyst at MUSC. His focus is on applying advanced signal processing methods towards mapping information transfer in neural systems, specifically to create neuropsychiatric connectivity phenotypes that can inform and advance clinical treatments. Previous work has probed neural mechanisms of attention and evaluative processes in shaping behavior within the context of anxiety and substance use disorders. His current research utilizes human neuroscience methods (fMRI, psychophysics) to form models of brain function and illuminate principles of network organization in health and disease. Nicholas will be working with Dr. Fitzgerald’s research group as a data analyst.
Dana Glenn, M.A.
- Visiting Researcher
Dana Glenn is an NIMH/F31 fellow currently in her final year of her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at UC Riverside. Dana is interested in the neural substrates underlying threat biases in childhood anxiety. Dana is currently working as a visiting researcher on Dr. Kate Fitzgerald's Anxiety-CBT study. In April, she will begin a T32 postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Fitzgerald.
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Ann Iturra, Ph.D.
- Postdoctoral Research Scientist
After receiving her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Valparaiso, Chile, Dr. Iturra worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School / McLean Hospital with Drs. Carol Paronis and Jack Bergman in the Behavioral Pharmacology Lab, as well as with Dr. Diego Pizzagalli in the Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research. She is currently working under the co-mentorship of Drs. Kate Fitzgerald and Melanie Wall, generating data-driven approaches for the diagnostics of anxiety and depression in children using high dimensional multimodal psychiatric research data.
Kim McGarvey, MSW
- Clinical Assessor
As a clinical social worker who specializes in infant and early childhood development, Kim received her Master’s in Social Work from New York University and studied infant and parent development at Bank Street College of Education. Kim has worked with infants, children and parents in hospital, school and mental health settings for 22 years. She has experience working with typically developing children, as well as children with chronic illness, special needs and infants born prematurely. For 15 years, Kim was the Associate Program Coordinator of the Pacella Parent Child Center. Her responsibilities included facilitating the infant/toddler socialization groups and supervising graduate students who were learning about early childhood development and clinical work with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. She is currently the Clinical Director and Director of the Juniors Program at The Meeting House SEL, in addition to working within the Fitzgerald lab as a “Camp Kidpower” clinical assessor.
Katherine Raguckas
- Research Assistant
Katherine works as a Research Assistant for the Kidpower study. She graduated from the University of Michigan in May 2021 with a B.S. degree in Psychology. As an undergraduate student, Katherine spent 2 years assisting Dr. Fitzgerald's team with multiple child anxiety and OCD studies where she developed interests in pediatric mental health and wellness. In the future, Katherine hopes to further her clinical and research interests by attending medical school to specialize in psychiatry or primary care. When she's not working in the lab, you can find Katherine reading, running, trying new coffee shops, and walking around exploring the city!
Meryl Rueppel
- Research Assistant
Meryl Rueppel works as a research assistant for the Kidpower study. Meryl graduated from the University of Michigan in May 2020 with a degree in Cognitive Science. As an undergraduate student, she explored several research topics, ranging from developmental cognition to neuroscience of consciousness, to autism interventions, to adolescent risk behavior. She has since found an especially strong interest in pediatric anxiety and OCD treatment, with plans to pursue these topics in graduate study. In her free time, Meryl enjoys practicing yoga, painting, and finding live music in the city!
Lauren Webb, M.A.
- Lead Camp Counselor
Lauren Webb is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Candidate at Hofstra University. She is currently a Clinical Psychology Child Track Intern at New York-Presbyterian, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Lauren leads cognitive training and child-led play interventions for Dr. Kate Fitzgerald’s “Camp Kidpower” study.
