Principal Investigator: Dr. Timothy C. Durazzo, PhD.

Timothy C. Durazzo, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Research Scientist and Clinician at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Dr. Durazzo obtained his BA in Psychology from San Diego State University in 1988, and he received his PhD in Clinical Psychology with specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1996. Dr. Durazzo completed an internship in Clinical Psychology with specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System in 1996. He subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology and Neuroscience from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1998.

Claudia B Padula, Ph.D.

Claudia Padula, Ph.D., is a research health science specialist at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (MIRECC) and Instructor (Affiliate) at Stanford School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, but her passion for science goes beyond this role. She ultimately wants to improve treatment outcomes for Veterans suffering from addiction by leveraging the power of where neuroscience and clinical psychology intersect. Dr. Padula completed her undergraduate work and research assistant positions at the University of California San Diego and received her masters and doctorate degrees at the University of Cincinnati in psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology. She fulfilled her APA-accredited clinical internship in neuropsychology at Patton State Hospital and is an alumni of the APA-accredited Sierra Pacific MIRECC postdoctoral fellowship with an emphasis in geropsychology. Claudia enjoys traveling the world, cooking, spending time with her husband and fulfilling her role of academic mama to two kids.

Keith Humphreys, Ph.D.

Dr. Humphreys researches interventions for substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. He focuses particularly on evaluating the outcomes of professionally-administered treatments and peer-operated self-help groups (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous), developing health services research-related applications for innovative qualitative and quantitative research techniques, and analyzing national mental health policy.

Brain Knutson, Ph.D.

Brian Knutson is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Stanford University. His research focuses on the neural basis of emotional experience and expression. He investigates the topic with a number of methods including self-report, measurement of nonverbal behavior, comparative ethology, psychopharmacology, and neuroimaging. His long-term goal is to understand the neurochemical and neuroanatomical mechanisms responsible for emotional experience, and to explore the implications of these findings for the assessment and treatment of clinical disorders as well as for economic behavior. 

Leanne M. Williams, Ph.D.

Dr. Williams directs the PanLab for Precision Psychiatry and Translational Neuroscience. She has developed a new way to understand and treat mental disorders, anchored in a neuroscience-informed model for precision mental health. She integrates brain imaging, genetics, wearables and clinical information in the context of each person’s life experience. This model guides more precise diagnoses and treatment choices, and is being translated from lab to real-world settings. Her experience is that a neuroscience-informed model empowers each person with an understanding of their own brain function and can reduce barriers to equity. 

Jerome Yesavage, M.D.

Jerome A. Yesavage, MD is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Director of the VA Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Director of the Stanford/VA Aging Clinical Research Center, PI and Director of the Stanford/VA California Alzheimer’s Disease Center.  Dr. Yesavage is involved in fellowship training programs.

Manu Kaur, B.S.

Manu Kaur received a B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis. Manu previously worked in a mental health clinic to study the efficacy of group therapy and medication management in treating comorbid psychiatric illnesses.  They are interested in gaining translational neuroscience research experience in the hopes of using these skills to facilitate effective treatment outcomes for various mental illnesses.  They are especially interested in studying the effects of trauma on the brain and the implications in recovery from PTSD and substance use disorders. Manu plans to pursue either an MD/PhD or a PhD in neuroscience and continue their work in mental health advocacy. They also love cats and are the proud parent of two grey tabbies, Laila and Joon.

Lea-Tereza Tenekedjieva, B.S.

Lea received her B.S. in Human Biology with a concentration in Brain Science and Psychopathology and a minor in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University. Prior to joining the lab, Lea conducted research in concussion and mild traumatic brain injury education at a public health organization. Lea aspires to work at the intersection of psychiatry and neuroscience, utilizing brain-based insights to better the classification, diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions. Lea is particularly interested in the interplay between mood disorders, trauma and substance use disorders and their underlying brain circuitry hoping to contribute to transdiagnostic neuroscience-informed treatments.

Melanie Camejo Coffigny, B.A.

Melanie received their degrees in Neuroscience and in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies from Duke University in 2020. They graduated with Distinction in Neurosciences after successfully defending their senior honor thesis on sub-clinical depression, self-efficacy and the pursuit of physical health rewards. While at Duke, Melanie conducted research on using neuroimaging to optimize digital health interventions. In the future, they will pursue an MD/PhD or a PhD on cognitive neuroscience.

Donna Murray, Ph.D.

Dr. Murray is a Social Science Research Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Research Scientist at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Dr. Murray is interested in the neurobiology of substance use disorders and the impact of psychiatric comorbidities.  Her research uses multimodal neuroimaging methods and neuropsychological assessment measures.