Alessandro Morganti, MS, MD

Position: Visiting Research Scholar (2021-2022)

Dr. Morganti received his MD from the Università di Milano-Bicocca and his MS from Politecnico di Milano. He is an Italian researcher who was a visiting scholar in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at Stanford Medicine. During his time at Stanford, Dr. Morganti researched hospital design and planning. He primarily investigated the relationship between the built environment and both physical and mental health--with a specific focus on autism spectrum disorder. Within his research, he explored the impact that sensorial sources coming from physical spaces have on patients with autism. 

As he continues with his research in Italy, he aims to provide experience-based design strategies for healthcare spaces that can promote the wellbeing of ASD users, preventing sensory overload and fostering their compliance during medical investigations, procedures, and therapies.

Marc Abi Karam, MS, MD

Position: Post Doctoral Research Fellow (2021-2023)

Dr. Abi Karam graduated from university in Lebanon, recieving both his MS and MD. Dr. Abi Karam designed, organized, and conducted specialized and advanced experiments using established scientific protocols and procedures. He plans to pursue further education in the autism field. 

Alexandria Aarrestad, BS

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator (2021-2023)

Allie Aarrestad coordinated the SPARK for Autism genetic study at Stanford and the Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) Home vs. Clinic Based Clinical Trial (PRT- HvC). Allie also served as a PRT behavior technician in the Preschool Autism Lab (PAL), supported the Early Support Program for Autism (ESPA), and ran the social media pages and website for the Autism and Developmental Disorders Research Program. Allie's interested in naturalistic/child-led interventions, social skills groups, and recreational programs focusing on holistic and strength-based approaches.

Christel Dagher, BS, MS

Position: Clinical Trials Regulatory Specialist 1

Joined Lab: 2021

Christel Dagher graduated from LAU with a BS in Biology and a MS in Molecular Biology. Christel currently works on the Pregnenolone Medication Trial (a steroid hormone treatment on irritability), the three ACE Sleep Clinical Trials (Diphenhydramine, Suvorexant and Zolpidem), along with other projects. She is very excited to be part of the innovative research being done in the Stanford Autism and Developmental Disorders Research Program and to be working towards improving the health outcomes of people with disorders. 

Jane Shkel, MS, BCBA 

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2019

Jane Shkel received her BA in Psychology from UCLA and MS in Counseling with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from CSULA. Before joining the lab, Jane worked as a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) clinical supervisor at an ABA clinic. During her time in the lab, she has coordinated several studies focusing on social skills, center-based Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), and PRT delivered via telehealth. Jane is interested in research focused on behavioral treatments for ASD, particularly PRT and its effect on language acquisition. She is also interested in the role of parent-related factors (e.g., parent stress, personality, emotion regulation) in parent training and clinical outcomes.

Katie Hodges, MS

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2023

Katie Hodges received her BS in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh. She also received her MS in Experimental Psychology from Western Illinois University. Her background is in behavioral pharmacology research and the use of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques. Before joining the lab, Katie worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Palo Alto VA where she assisted on studies assessing biomarkers of treatment response to Neuromodulation. Her research interests include precision medicine for mental health and the use of neuroimaging to identify neural correlates of clinical diagnosis and treatment response.

Lara Ani Minassians (she/her/hers), BA 

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2021

Lara Minassians graduated with honors from Occidental College (Oxy) with a degree in Psychology. Lara was also a research volunteer in the Pediatric Pain Management Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Gold. Lara was also a research intern at Embodied, working towards helping improve the social, emotional, and cognitive skills of children with autism. She is very excited to be a part of the Vasopressin Treatment Trial and to be working towards improving the health outcomes of children with autism through the innovative and important research in the lab.

Richard Elks, MS

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2023

Richard Ellks graduated from UC San Diego with a BS in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience and went on to receive an MS in Cognitive and Information Sciences from UC Merced. While at UCSD, Richard worked at the Research on Autism and Development Lab, contributing to clinical research studies and attentional interventions with children on the Autism Spectrum and older adults in cognitive decline. This involved collecting and analyzing EEG data, conducting diagnostic assessments on participants, and aiding in the development and administration of attentional training, eyetracking video games. He is interested in the research and development of Autism interventions, Autism diagnostic assessments, EEG, and MRI.

Lakshmi Vrittamani (she/her/hers), MS

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2019

Lakshmi Vrittamani first dipped her toes into ASD research while she was completing her BS in Human Biology from the University of California, Irvine. After graduating in 2017, she completed her MS in Global Medicine from the University of Southern California, where she focused on maternal and child health. Lakshmi has been with ADDRP since 2019 and now works part-time while in medical school.

Alicia Geng, BA

Position: Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2021

Alicia Geng graduated from UC Berkeley with her BA in Psychology and minored in Global Poverty & Practice. She coordinates SPARK for Autism study and MOBILITY (Metformin for Overweight Children & Adolescents with Bipolar Syndrome on Antipsychotics). She is also a behavior technician that implements center-based pivotal response training (PRT) in the Preschool Autism Lab (PAL). Additionally, Alicia also helps with neuroimaging and coding for the PRT and DRT studies. She plans on exploring autism interventions in her graduate career in clinical psychology. 

Niki Demayo, MS, RBT

Position: Registered Behavior Technician

Joined Lab: 2021

Niki Demayo has her MS in psychology and has been a behavior technician for two and a half years. She is currently focusing on getting her Board Certified Behavior Analysis (BCBA) certification. Niki is currently working in the Preschool Autism Lab (PAL) Program as a behavior therapist.

Esha Dhawan , BS

Position: Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator

Joined Lab: 2021

Esha Dhawan graduated with honors from Stanford University with her B.S. in Human Biology with a concentration in neuroscience. Esha joined the lab in 2021 as an undergraduate, where she completed her honors thesis and assisted with ongoing projects in neuroimaging. She now coordinates the Vasopressin Treatment Trial for children with autism and the SPARK for Autism study. Esha is excited to contribute to innovative research improving the lives of individuals with autism and their families, and hopes to eventually apply these practices to a career in medicine.

Tanya Rego, MS, RBT

Position: Registered Behavior Technician

Joined Lab: 2022

Tanya has been a Registered Behavior Technician for 6 years and has obtained her MS in Psychology. Tanya is currently working in the Preschool Autism Program as an Assistant Behavioral Technician; she is passionate about finding the most effective methods to support children with ASD and their families. Her professional goal is to obtain her BCBA credential and then continue to earn her PsyD. 

Joseph McGrath, BS

Position: Research Coordinator/ Behavior Technician

Joined Lab: 2022

Joe McGrath graduated with honors from Stanford University with his BS in Human Biology, concentrating on neuroscience and psychopathology. He coordinates pivotal response training (PRT) trials, while also acting as a registered behavior technician that implements the PRT therapy with the Preschool Autism Lab (PAL). Additionally, Joe assists with drug trials and neuroimaging studies. Interested in the interplay between psycho- and pharmacotherapies, Joe plans to apply to medical school, hoping his exploration of research methodologies will inform a future in clinical psychiatry.

Lana Kamel, BS

Position: Clinical Research Assistant

Joined Lab: 2023

Lana Kamel recently graduated with her BS in Neuroscience from UC Riverside. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in Dr. Michael Adam's Neuroscience Lab for three years, has volunteered for various organizations since 2015, working with children with autism and various neurodevelopmental disorders, and has shadowed Developmental Pediatricians at Boston Children's Hospital since 2018. She is most excited to finalize her RBT certification, work closely with patients with Autism, and help advance and contribute to the Autism and Developmental Disorders Research Program in any way possible. Lana plans to apply to medical school in hopes of improving the lives of individuals growing up with neurodevelopmental disorders as a Psychiatrist.

Samantha Dowling, MS

Position: Board Certified Behavior Analyst 

Joined Lab: 2023

Samantha ("Sam") Dowling is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has been practicing in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) since 2012. Sam received her Master of Science in Psychology with an emphasis on Applied Behavior Analysis at Purdue University. Prior to joining the Stanford Lab, she worked as a Clinical Director and Supervisor for home, school, and center-based ABA intervention programs, as well as Social Skills Group for school aged children and teens. She is a BCBA with experience direct intervention and parent training via in-person and telehealth formats in various applied behavior analytic strategies including Pivotal Response Treatment. In her current role, Sam provides clinical supervision and training to Registered Behavior Technicians and oversees Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Stanford's Preschool Autism Lab (PAL) Program.