Meet Our Team

Allan L. Reiss, MD          

Howard C. Robbins Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Radiology
Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Dr. Allan Reiss is the Robbins Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Radiology and Pediatrics at Stanford University and Principal Investigator for the Girl BAND study. Dr. Reiss has dedicated his career to investigating how genetic, biological and environmental factors affect brain and behavioral development. As a practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist, a particularly important part of this work has been to develop more specific and effective interventions for persons with developmental disorders. Dr. Reiss has received numerous major honors and awards in his field including the Spirit of Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievements from the National Fragile X Foundation and election to the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences.

Amy Lightbody, PhD

Senior Research Scholar, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Jennifer Bruno, PhD

Instructor, Department of Psych/Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences

Dr. Bruno is a translational researcher at the interface of developmental cognitive neuropsychology and neurobiology. Her research is aimed at understanding the neural basis of intellectual and developmental disorders with goals of improving early diagnosis using biomarkers and designing and testing targeted interventions. Current research projects include longitudinal investigations of neurobiological and behavioral outcomes in Fragile X Syndrome and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Bruno is also developing adaptable non-constraining functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) paradigms to assess the neural circuitry underlying cognition in healthy typically developing individuals and in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Working towards the goal of informing the design of targeted treatments while providing important outcome and progress metrics, Dr. Bruno's research includes infant developmental studies to uncover early, objective biomarkers and epidemiological studies to investigate brain functioning correlates in populations.

Booil Jo, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Jonas Miller, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Jonas Miller received his PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Davis in 2017. He is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Jonas is broadly interested in how environmental and genetic risk factors relate to neurobiological, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Jonas assists with the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) sessions in the Stanford Girl BAND study.

Tracy (Vargo) Jordan, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Tracy Jordan is a postdoctoral scholar at the Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology with a focus in Pediatric Neuropsychology from Palo Alto University and completed her pre-doctoral internship in Pediatric Neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School/Masonic Children’s Hospital. Dr. Jordan’s research interests include environmental and genetic influences on brain development, cognition, and social-emotional development in children and adolescents. Within the scope of the Girl BAND project, Dr. Jordan administers cognitive/behavioral assessments and completes clinical interviews with children and their families.

Cindy Lee, MA

Clinical Research Coordinator Associate, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Cindy received her bachelor's degree in Psychology from UC Riverside in 2012, and worked as a behavior interventionist for children with special needs for three years. She then transitioned to graduate school and recently received her master's degree in Education concentrating on Human Development and Psychology from UCLA. During her time at UCLA, Cindy worked on her thesis which looked at young English Language Learners and their oral language anxiety, by using a constructive play set (LEGOs) as manipulatives to encourage their communication and facilitate language production. Cindy is currently a clinical research coordinator associate on the Stanford Girl BAND Project and has been administering cognitive/behavioral assessments and co-piloting during the MRI and fNIRS scan for the study participants.

Kristi Bartholomay, BA

Clinical Research Coordinator Associate, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)

Kristi graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with bachelor's degrees in Neuroscience and Molecular Biology. While at CU, she studied treatments for PTSD and depression, where she completed her thesis work on early life trauma and resilience. She then worked on a project with the Children's Hospital of Colorado investigating family relationships and parent training techniques with children diagnosed with autism. Now, Kristi works at the  Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research at Stanford University on the GirlBAND project with the goal of improving understanding of how the interaction of genetics, environment, and experiences affects outcome. She enjoys spending her free time camping, scuba diving, and hiking in the company of her black lab/border collie puppy, Zula.

Matthew Marzelli, MS

Research Data Analyst, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences - Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR)