Social Anxiety Clinic

Our Team

Research Scientists

  • Franklin R. Schneier, MD

    • Co-Director, Anxiety Disorders Clinic
    • Special Lecturer

    Franklin Schneier, M.D. is Special Lecturer in Psychiatry at Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Co-Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Schneier's research has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. He has conducted clinical trials establishing the efficacy of medication and cognitive- behavioral therapy treatments and has used brain imaging to evaluate brain function in anxiety disorders and depression.

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  • Xi Zhu, PhD

    • Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry)

    Dr. Zhu is a research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University. Her current research focuses on utilizing resting state fMRI, structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and task fMRI to identify brain bio-markers of PTSD. She is also interested in integrating different types of large scale imaging and clinical datasets and using machine learning /artificial intelligence approaches to construct predictive network models and predict treatment outcome.

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  • Amit Lazarov, PhD

    • Research Scientist

    Dr. Lazarov is a research scientist with expertise in clinical practice with adults with affective and anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and PTSD. He is currently a faculty member in Tel Aviv University in the School of Psychological Sciences. His current research involves investigating basic attention processes in anxiety and mood disorders, with an emphasis on attention allocation over time to threat vs. neutral stimuli in the environment.

Study Coordinators

  • Arsen Seitov, BA

    • Research Assistant

    Arsen is a Research Assistant at the Social Anxiety Clinic. He is the study coordinator for our current project, “A Novel Computer-Based Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” He earned his BA in Psychology and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia. At UVA, he completed an honors thesis examining the effects of social network expansion on happiness and psychological richness. He is primarily interested in the cognitive processes that contribute to the development and maintenance of psychopathology, particularly anxiety disorders. Arsen is interested in pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology in the future. 

    Arsen Seitov

  • Isaac Deitz-Green, BA

    • Research Assistant

    Isaac (he/him) is a Research Assistant at the Social Anxiety Clinic and a coordinator on the study, "A Novel Computer-Based Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial." Prior to joining the Social Anxiety Clinic, he worked with the Lugo Lab at NYSPI, in the SPAM lab at NYU and in the Frantz and Darling Labs at Oberlin College where he majored in Psychology (with minors in Literature and Environmental Studies). After college, he worked for a few years in digital marketing and political campaigning in Washington, D.C. before making his way back to psychology. His current research interests include non-pharmacological treatments of anxiety and ADHD, and he plans to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology in the future.

  • Liza Handler, BS

    • Research Assistant

    Liza is a Research Assistant at the Social Anxiety Clinic and the study coordinator for our current project, “A Novel Computer-Based Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” She earned her BS in Human Development from Cornell University. At Cornell, she studied the structure of retroviruses before completing an individual research project on the relationship between early-life experiences and environmental consciousness. Her research interests include examining risk and protective factors in the development of anxiety disorders. She is interested in pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology in the future.

Volunteers

  • Amber Wolfe

    • Research Assistant

    Amber Wolfe is a Research Assistant at the Social Anxiety Clinic, currently working on our social anxiety study. Amber earned her BA in Writing from Loyola University Maryland. Before relocating to New York, she worked as a reading and writing tutor for adults living with mental illness in Baltimore at a nonprofit organization called the B’More Clubhouse. Amber is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her passion for creative writing sparked her interest in psychology, as she believes that the stories we share have deep roots in our psyche. Her other research interests include suicide prevention and individuals’ responses to romantic breakups. In the future, Amber hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology

  • Sophia Guo

    • Research Assistant

    Sophia is a Research Assistant at the Social Anxiety Clinic and is currently working on our social anxiety study. She earned her BA summa cum laude in Psychology and Business from New York University and is a first-year MA student in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include the cognitive and emotive mechanisms underlying the psychopathology of mood disorders, particularly depressive and anxiety disorders, and evidence-based interventions for mood disorders. She is interested in pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology in the future.

  • Wenbo Zhang

    • Research Assistant

    Wenbo is a Research Assistant at the Social Anxiety Clinic. He is currently working on our social anxiety study. He earned his B.A. in Psychology and Mathematic Methods in the Social Sciences from Northwestern University. He studied how problematic usage of social media can affect college students’ anxiety level for his undergraduate honor thesis project. He currently also works at Dr. Beatrice Beebe’s Communication Science Lab as a data/media research assistant. In the future, he wants to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in child psychopathology and evidence-based treatments designed for the youth population.