Aleta Angelosante, Ph.D., Leader, is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor at the NYU Child Study Center’s Institute for Anxiety and Mood Disorders. She received her B.A. in both Psychology and English at Williams College. Before graduate school she worked at both the Judge Baker Children’s Center and the OCD Institute, a residential treatment facility for adults with treatment refractory OCD. Aleta obtained her PhD from Temple University under the mentorship of Philip Kendall. She then completed her pre-doctoral internship at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC before completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD) at Boston University where she ran an intensive treatment program for adolescents with panic disorder. In her role at the Child Study Center, Aleta splits her time evenly between research and clinical work. She currently runs a research project evaluating young children who exhibit severe temper outbursts. In regards to clinical work, she uses CBT interventions to work with anxious and depressed children, teens, and their families. She is also an active member of the DBT team, utilizing DBT to work with multi-problem adolescents and their families. Aleta also teaches a seminar in anxiety and mood disorders attended by interns and postdoc fellows at the Child Study Center.

Dr. Muniya Khanna, Immediate Past-Leader, is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Assistant Director of the Child and Adolescent OCD, Tic, Trich, and Anxiety Group (COTTAGe) at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine. Prior to joining the COTTAGe, Dr. Khanna completed her doctoral degree at Temple University, clinical internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, and NIH-sponsored postdoctoral research fellowship at Columbia University/NYSPI. Dr. Khanna is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of childhood anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as OC-spectrum disorders including Tic Disorders and Trichotillomania. Her research interests are in the development and evaluation of cognitive-behavioral treatments for childhood anxiety and OCD with particular focus on the role of technology in the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments. She is co-author, with Dr. Philip Kendall, of The CAT Project, a therapist manual for the cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxious adolescents, and Camp Cope-A-Lot, the first empirically-supported computer-based treatment for anxious youth. She is currently conducting NIH sponsored projects evaluating the use of web-based programs for clinical training, for supporting parents of anxious youth, and for the treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents. For any questions or concerns regarding the CAASIG or this website, please send an email to: muniya@mail.med.upenn.edu.

Anthony Puliafico, Ph.D., Memberships/Treasurer, is a clinical psychologist at Columbia University/NYSPI. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University under the mentorship of Philip Kendall. Anthony completed his internship at Bellevue Hospital/NYU Child Study Center and his postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University under the supervision of Anne Marie Albano. Currently, Anthony serves as Co-Director of Psychology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute’s Children’s Day Unit, a daypatient unit for adolescents with severe anxiety and mood disorders. In this role, he coordinates psychological assessment and treatment throughout the unit and provides supervision to trainees. In addition, Anthony is a clinician at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, where he specializes in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Anthony is also actively involved in the research of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. He is co-investigator for a research study examining parent-based interventions in the treatment of anxiety in young children. He also serves as lead therapist on a clinical trial of pediatric OCD.

Jonathan Comer, Ph.D., Newsletter Co-Editor is Research Assistant Professor at Boston University and the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders. Dr. Comer received his B.A. from the University of Rochester, graduating magna cum laude in Psychology. He went on to receive his M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University. Dr. Comer completed his clinical psychology internship training in the Child and Adolescent Track of the NYU-Bellevue Clinical Psychology Internship Program and the NYU Child Study Center, after which we completed an NIH-funded Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Child Psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also served as Chief Research Fellow in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Broadly speaking, Dr. Comer’s program of research examines four areas of overlapping inquiry:  (1) The assessment, phenomenology, and course of child anxiety disorders; (2) the development and evaluation of evidence-based treatments for childhood psychopathology, with particular focus on the development of innovative methods to reduce systematic barriers to effective mental health care in the community; (3) the psychological impact of disasters and terrorism on youth; and (4) psychosocial treatment options for mood and disruptive behavior problems presenting in early childhood.

Adam Weissman, Ph.D., Newsletter Co-Editor, completed his B.A. in Psychology and French at the University of Pennsylvania, his M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers under the mentorship of Brian Chu, Ph.D., and his internship at the NYU Child Study Center/Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Weissman completed a 2-year post-doc at Judge Baker Children’s Center, Harvard Medical School with John Weisz, Ph.D., ABPP, where he trained and supervised community clinicians in MATCH-ADTC (Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems; Chorpita & Weisz, 2009) as Project Co-Director/Senior Consultant for the Child STEPs CTP-Maine, a large-scale dissemination study seeking to improve the effectiveness and implementation of CBT for youth anxiety, depression, trauma, and conduct problems. Currently, Dr. Weissman is the Founding Director of the Child/Adolescent Treatment Center (CAT-C) at the Institute for Behavior Therapy in Manhattan and Child, Family, & Adult Services of Westchester (CFA-W) (www.childfamilytreatment.com). Both of his programs specialize in the treatment of a wide range of youth anxiety and mood disorders, ADHD, and disruptive behavior problems. Dr. Weissman is Adjunct Assistant Professor at Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an Adjunct Clinical Supervisor at Columbia University Teacher’s College, where he teaches and supervises advanced doctoral students in CBT for children and adults. Dr. Weissman continues to collaborate on research and writing projects at Harvard and Rutgers, including 2 edited books on the integration of neuropsychology and evidence-based intervention for emotional, behavior, and related disorders.

Dr. Candice Alfano, Newsletter Co-Editor, received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2005 from the University of Maryland at College Park. After completing a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she joined the faculty at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, DC. Dr. Alfano is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. She founded and directs the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Program (CAAP) at CNMC, which provides comprehensive clinical services for anxious youth, training opportunities for psychology interns and child psychiatry fellows, and conducts research on anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Dr. Alfano has received several awards for her research including awards form the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), Division 53 of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a 2008 New Investigator Award co-sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She received awards in 2009 and 2010 for Outstanding Teaching at CNMC. Dr. Alfano serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals, including the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers and chapters. Her primary academic, research and clinical interests focus on the early etiology, pathogenesis and treatment of childhood anxiety, including the role of early sleep abnormalities. Dr. Alfano is the recipient of a 5-year Mentored Career Development Award from the NIMH to study sleep disturbances in children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, including potential targets for psychosocial intervention.

Jennifer Hudson, Ph.D., Emeritus Leader/Listserve Manager, founded the Child and Adolescent SIG in 2002. She is currently Associate Professor and research fellow at the Centre for Emotional Health in the Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.  In 2008, she commenced a QEII fellowship funded by the Australian Research Council at Macquarie University. Her research has been funded by the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Mental Health (United States) and Macquarie University. Assoc. Prof. Hudson received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Macquarie University and completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic, Temple University, Philadelphia under the supervision of Professor Philip Kendall.  Her research focuses on anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, specifically the role of parents in the aetiology of anxiety disorders in youth and the treatment of internalizing disorders using cognitive behavioural and cognitive behavioural family therapies. Assoc. Prof. Hudson has published her research in international journals. She has co-authored a book 'Treating anxious children: An evidence-based approach' (2000) and edited a book “Psychopathology and the Family” (2006).  She is also currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology. In recognition of her achievements as an early career researcher, Assoc. Prof. Hudson has received awards from a number of organisations including Scopus, Australian Psychological Society, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, The Australian Association of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and The Australian Institute of Political Sciences.

Aubrey Edson, Website Manager, is a first year clinical psychology graduate student at Boston University, working with Jon Comer, Ph.D. and Donna Pincus, Ph.D. Aubrey developed her interests in clinical psychology while attending the University of Vermont and then while working as a research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania. She is interested in the research and dissemination of empirically supported treatments for pediatric anxiety disorders, with specific interests in parent involvement and comorbid exposure to trauma in children and adolescents. All requests for contributions to this site should be directed to aubreyedson@gmail.com.

Araceli (Shelly) Gonzalez, Student Representative, is a graduate student at the San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, working with V. Robin Weersing, Ph.D. She is currently on clinical internship at UCLA Semel Institute, general child track. Shelly is broadly interested in examining factors that may influence treatment outcome among youth receiving psychotherapy for anxiety, including parental psychopathology, cultural beliefs and practices, and comorbid depression. Her independent graduate research focuses on parenting behaviors of ethnically diverse anxious mothers. Her work with Dr. Weersing focuses on the development and evaluation of a brief, integrated behavioral treatment for anxious and/or depressed youths in primary care. This is her second term as student representative for the CAA SIG.

Emily Bilek, Student Representative, is a third year clinical graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami (UM).  She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.  Her research interests in the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment Program at UM include the development of transdiagnostic treatments for child anxiety and mood disorders. Additional research interests include the dissemination and deployment of evidence-based treatments with a special interest in emotion focused treatments and prevention programs.

Laura Skriner, Student Representative, is a third-year graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University, working with Brian Chu, Ph.D., at the Youth Anxiety and Depression Clinic. Her research interests focus broadly on understanding the core processes of psychosocial interventions for anxious and depressed youth and on using knowledge of such processes to refine existing and develop new evidence-based treatments. She is also interested in the use of advanced statistical analyses to study the complex process of change within treatments for youth anxiety and mood disorders. Her independent graduate research focuses on examine patterns and predictor of treatment response during and following CBT for anxious youth.