Who We Are

Isheeta Zalpuri, MD
Program Director

Growing up, I always dreamed of becoming an educator one day. This desire was only strengthened during residency training when I learned about a program director’s impact on their trainees. As the Program Director of the Stanford CAP Fellowship program, my scholarly work focuses on physician leadership skills development, professionalism, well-being, and faculty development. I believe that adhering to the principles of professionalism, along with access to mentorship, sponsorship and professional development opportunities, is a key driver of one’s well-being. I am particularly interested in developing a better understanding of the association of trainee and faculty well-being with professional development and crafting creative ideas to enhance belonging and professional fulfillment within the program. This is consistent with the values of our program, which emphasizes compassion, collegiality and respect for one’s personal and professional needs, and where Faculty understand the importance of providing supervision and support while promoting autonomy as Fellows progress during their training.

As the Director of the Fellowship’s Ethics and Professionalism Course, and Co-Director of the Leadership and Professional Development course, I have the privilege of engaging with both classes during didactics. While I’m passionate about serving children and families presenting with various presentations, as the Co-Director of the Pediatric Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Clinic, I am able to work directly with two CAP2 Fellows each year to help them develop expertise in anxiety disorders, trauma and stress related disorders, as well as OCD within the context of providing excellent, patient-centered care for the children and youth seen in our clinic.

From our engaging didactic seminars, enriching, immersive clinical experiences and unique research and scholarly opportunities, our program takes pride in supporting Fellows to develop a sense of professional identity as a psychotherapist, psychopharmacologist, family psychiatrist, advocate and consultant - with the aim of producing inquisitive lifelong learners who become experts and leaders in the field of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Janani Venugopalakrishnan, MD, MPH,
Assistant Program Director, CAP2

I am constantly amazed at the unwavering commitment of the Stanford community towards a culture of excellence which continues to inspire me to this day. I am currently a clinical associate professor with additional leadership roles as Co-Director of Neuropsychopharmacology clinic, Director of INSPIRE Early Psychosis Program, while also being one of the primary supervising faculty members in the Autism clinic. In my role as assistant program director, I am closely involved with overseeing the second year training opportunities and sites.

Strengths of ​our child and adolescent training program include an exemplary academic setting with multiple highly specialized clinical training sites, comprehensive didactics and opportunities for translational cutting-edge research. We take pride in supporting not only the academic and professional needs of our trainees but also their personal well-being and growth. It is a robust, vibrant and a well-rounded program known to be family friendly while nurturin​g a sense of wellness, and community. The program has a track record of producing clinical leaders and physician scientists.

My passion is working with children with developmental disorders and neurodiversity and providing quality multidisciplinary care. As the co-director of the pediatric Neuropsychopharmacology clinic, an interdepartmental collaborative effort between the Stanford pediatric neurology and child psychiatry, I focus on caring for children and young adults with complex neuropsychiatric issues. In my other role as Director of the INPIRE early psychosis program, I work very closely with prodromal patients who are clinically high risk for first onset psychosis. I enjoy teaching and am actively involved in graduate education, teaching and mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows in various clinical and formal lecture settings while also guiding them in career opportunities. Being an academician, teacher, and clinician is a lifelong goal and I've greatly enjoyed working with the fellows with an opportunity for great bidirectional learning.

John Leikauf, MD
Assistant Program Director, Curriculum Development

I am thrilled to be a part of the training program leadership team here at the Stanford CAP Fellowship. Every day I feel lucky to be able learn new things from my trainees, colleagues, and patients in this rich intellectual environment. As a graduate of the program myself, I know the program well and it is an honor to now continue to be involved in teaching and curriculum development.

My research interests center on improving personalized diagnosis and treatment for attention and disruptive behavior disorders using transdiagnostic phenotypes and digital tools, as well as integrating multiple perspectives in clinical encounters. My clinical work and supervision have focused on parent management/behavioral approaches to disruptive behaviors and anxiety as well as mind-mindful psychotherapies including our young child psychotherapy program and evidence-based psychodynamic approaches such as mentalization-based therapy.

I have also supervised fellows in our general clinic and will be supervising in our upcoming assessment clinic. 

I find a great deal of meaning and joy in my work supporting the mental and emotional health of children and families. It is a privilege to be involved in the curriculum and scholarly projects of the training program here. My goal is to facilitate each Fellow’s personal, academic, and clinical growth into a future leader in our field.  

Ola Golovinsky, MS
Manager, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Training Programs
ola.golovinsky@stanford.edu

Maryam Mossadeghian
Coordinator, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Training Programs
mary282@stanford.edu

Charles Larson
Coordinator, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Training Programs
celarson@stanford.edu



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