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Our Research Lab

We are a team of interdisciplinary researchers and clinicians spanning the areas of psychotherapy research, neuroscience, data science, and neuropsychology. 

The Team

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Nili Solomonov, PhD

Principal Investigator

Nili is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, at the Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Solomonov completed her doctoral studies at Adelphi University, followed by a T32 fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and a psychotherapy researcher. Her research focuses on studying brain-based and clinical mechanisms of action in psychotherapies for depression in mid- and late-life and the postpartum period. 

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nis2051@med.cornell.edu

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Julia Chafkin, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry

Julia is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at the Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Chafkin completed her doctoral studies at The University of Texas at Austin, and her predoctoral internship at Duke University. Dr. Chafkin is a licensed clinical psychologist with research interests in biological and behavioral markers and predictors of psychopathology during critical periods across the lifespan.

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juc7016@med.cornell.edu

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Oded Bein, PhD

Instructor of Psychology in Psychiatry

Dr. Bein is an Instructor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine. He completed his postdoctoral training at Princeton University and his PhD at New York University. Dr. Bein studies neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying learning and memory with applications to psychotherapy for anxiety and depression.

odb4002@med.cornell.edu

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Michael Gallagher, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Mike recently completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Mississippi State University and his predoctoral internship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. His research interests include examining the role of reward processing in depression using experimental and idiographic methods.

mig4031@med.cornell.edu

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Miriam Hehlmann, PhD

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow

Miriam is a postdoctoral researcher in Psychotherapy Research and Clinical Psychology at Osnabrück University. She joined the Solomonov Lab as a research fellow in October 2024. Dr. Hehlmann completed her doctoral studies at Trier University. Her research focuses on identifying patients at risk by developing predictive models based on multi-modal data and machine learning methods, with the aim of feeding this information back to therapists to support clinical decision-making.

mih4032@med.cornell.edu

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Caitlin Davis, MD, MSc

Resident Physician in Preventive Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine

Caitlin Davis, MD, MSc is a resident physician in Preventive Medicine, focusing on healthcare workforce and systems sustainability within the Department of Population Health Sciences.  As a physician researcher, Caitlin seeks to bridge gaps between clinical mental health and policy, advancing population health through technology-enabled, scalable interventions and data-driven policy solutions. 

swn9016@med.cornell.edu

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Betsy Brown, LMSW

Research Clinician

Betsy is a licensed clinical social worker who joined the Solomonov Lab in the fall of 2023. She received her masters in social work from Columbia University in 2021 and has practiced at NewYork-Presbyterian and the Center for Anxiety. Betsy is interested in treatments for and helping individuals with postpartum depression.

sab4031@med.cornell.edu

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Delaney Callaghan

Clinical Research Data Coordinator

Delaney graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Global Health and Health Policy. Delaney's research interests include developing psychotherapy interventions for older adults with mood disorders as well for individuals experiencing postpartum depression.

dec4018@med.cornell.edu

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Heather Doherty

Research Assistant

Heather graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in Psychology. Heather's research interests include emotion regulation and psychotherapy interventions for individuals with mood disorders.

hed4005@med.cornell.edu

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Jordan Serrano-Guedea

Research Assistant

Jordan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a double B.A. in Psychology and Social Welfare. Jordan’s research interests include developing community-specific psychotherapy interventions for individuals with anxiety and mood disorders and expanding access to high-quality mental health treatment for underrepresented communities.

jas4060@med.cornell.edu

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Kelly Kwong

Research Assistant

Kelly graduated from Stony Brook University with a B.A. in psychology and sociology. Kelly's research interests lie in developing accessible and culturally competent interventions for adults with depression, anxiety, and suicidality in underserved and marginalized communities, as well as improving help-seeking behavior.

kek4015@med.cornell.edu

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Tomas Alegria

Research Assistant

Tomas graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Psychology, and minors in Linguistics and Computer Science. Tomas’ research focuses on developing neuroscience-informed treatments for deficits in cognitive control and emotional regulation for older adults with mood disorders.

toa4008@med.cornell.edu

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Joohyun Kang

Master's Student at Teacher's College, Columbia University

Joohyun graduated from Seoul National University with a B.A. in Religious Studies and minors in Psychology and European Studies. Currently she is pursuing an M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Joohyun's research interests include developing psychotherapy interventions for individuals with mood disorders and understanding emotion regulation, using neuroscience methods and technology.

jok4025@med.cornell.edu

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Daniel Broadie

Master's Student at Teacher's College, Columbia University

Daniel graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. In Economics and minors in Psychology and Mathematics. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. His research interests focus on emotion regulation in mood and anxiety disorders and applying quantitative and neuroscience approaches to study underlying mechanisms and inform psychotherapy development. 

dab4037@med.cornell.edu

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Parhesh Kumar

Medical Student

Parhesh graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington with a Bachelor's in Neuroscience and is currently a medical student at Weill Cornell Medical School. Parhesh's interests in research are in the use of biometric monitoring devices as a means to monitor, track therapeutic progress, and prevent the onset of psychiatric symptoms.

pak4011@med.cornell.edu

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Courtney Lee

Fourth-Year Medical Student at Weill Cornell Medical College

Courtney Lee is a graduating medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College with plans to pursue psychiatry residency training. Her research focuses on developing more accessible, neuroscience‑informed therapies for older adults with mood disorders.

cel4003@med.cornell.edu

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Yunyi (Angel) Zhang

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student Extern

Angel graduated from New York University with a B.S. in Applied Psychology and a minor in Data Science. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Adelphi University under the mentorship of Dr. Catherine Eubanks. Her research interest focuses on therapeutic ruptures and repairs, particularly with therapists' strategies in response to patients' withdrawal.

yuz4025@med.cornell.edu

Collaborators at Weill Cornell

Lab Alumni

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Marzieh Ajirak, PhD

Post-Doctoral Fellow in Grosenick Lab

Marzieh graduated from Stony Brook University in Electrical and Computer Engineering, specializing in Machine Learning. In her doctoral studies, Marzieh concentrated on uncertainty quantification in deep learning models and Bayesian statistics. Her research addresses a variety of medical applications, ranging from neuroscience to obstetrics and psychology.

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Ellie Briskin

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student at Teacher's College, Columbia University

Under the mentorship of Dr. Douglas Mennin, Ellie is studying the nature of chronic and recurring bouts of anxiety and mood disorders.

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Yutong Zhu

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student at Yale University

Under the mentorship of Dr. Jutta Joormann, Yutong is studying emotion regulation and cognitive flexibility.

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Dustin Phan

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student at Adelphi University

Under the mentorship of Dr. Catherine Eubanks, Dustin is studying therapeutic ruptures and repairs.

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Serena Chen

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student at The Pennsylvania State University

Under the mentorship of Dr. Louis Castonguay, Serena is studying psychotherapy integration and common factors across psychotherapeutic orientations.

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Aliza Ayaz

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student at Duke University

Under the mentorship of Dr. Moria Smoski, Aliza is studying the interplay between cognitive processes, emotion regulation abilities, and reward processing in depression across the adult lifespan, focusing on mindfulness based interventions, CBT, and TMS. 

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Ben Giber

Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Student at University of Colorado, Boulder

Under the mentorship of Dr. Joanna Arch, Ben is studying interventions for anxiety in adults, particularly for individuals coping with cancer.

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Holland Brown

Data Engineer at New York eHealth Collaborative

At the New York eHealth Collaborative, Holland is building and maintaining scalable data pipelines to support Health Information Exchange (HIE) and public health initiatives across New York State.

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Rana Azab

Neuroscience/Neurobiology Ph.D. Student at SUNY Downstate

​Rana is studying the neural and genetic mechanisms of degenerative diseases with a focus on genetic mutations underlying neurological disorders.

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Ochuwa Tisor

MD Candidate at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Ochuwa is pursuing a degree in medicine.

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Sama Joshi

MD Candidate at University of Maryland School of Medicine

Sama's research interests surround psychosocial approaches to improving pain management in older adults with depression. She is also passionate about improving access to health care. She is working on a project that aims to better understand the preventative contraceptive care needs of women in under-resourced areas in Baltimore. 

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Krystalle Lyons

Clinical Research Specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine

Krystalle is working as the study coordinator for radiation and medical oncology clinical trials in the Cancer Clinical Trials Office.

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