Psychology Education and Training Program

Training Faculty

Melissa A. Alderfer, PhD, Director, Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowships Training; assistant professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; pediatric psychologist, Division of Oncology. Clinical and research interests: psychosocial adjustment of children and families to chronic illness, the role of peer relations in adjustment to illness, interventions to improve adjustment of children and families. E-mail alderfer@email.chop.edu.

Thomas J. Power, PhD, Chief psychologist, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; professor of School Psychology in Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Director, Center for Management of ADHD; project director, Clinical, Community, Schools Program. Clinical and research interests: health promotion; multi-systemic, community-based intervention; assessment and treatment of ADHD. E-mail power@email.chop.edu.

Core faculty and staff

Lamia P. Barakat, PhD, associate professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; director of Psychosocial Services, Division of Oncology. Clinical and research interests: evidence-based assessment and intervention in pediatric psychology, sociodemographic and family factors in disease management and quality of life in pediatric oncology and sickle cell disease, patient-provider communication to enhance disease management. E-mail barakat@email.chop.edu.

Lisa Blaskey, PhD, neuropsychologist, Regional Autism Center and Center for Autism Research. Clinical research interests: neurocognitive underpinnings of autism spectrum disorders, neuropsychological assessment, mechanisms of comorbidity in neurodevelopmental disorders. E-mail: blaskey@email.chop.edu.

Canice E. Crerand, PhD, clinical psychologist, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Clinical and research interests: psychosocial adjustment in children and adolescents with acquired and congenital appearance differences; psychological aspects of plastic surgery; body image; and body dysmorphic disorder. E-mail crerand@email.chop.edu.

Jacqueline L. Cunningham, PhD, pediatric Neuropsychologist, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Clinical and research interests: neuropsychological evaluation and consultation in pediatric rehabilitation; long-term outcome from traumatic brain injury; long-term outcome following posterior fossa tumors and the history of neuropsychology. E-mail cunningham@email.chop.edu.

Guy Diamond, PhD, associate professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and director of the Center for Family Intervention Science (CFIS) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). E-mail: diamondg@email.chop.edu.

Ricardo B. Eiraldi, PhD, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology in Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, clinical psychologist, Behavioral Health in Urban Schools Program. Clinical and research interests: mental health services disparities: ADHD in girls and ethnic minority populations; diagnostic tools and strategies for diagnosing ADHD in school-age children. E-mail: eiraldi@email.chop.edu.

Susan F. Epstein, PhD, Psychologist; Center for Autism Research. Clinical and research interests: differential diagnosis of complex neurodevelopmental disorders, psychiatric comorbidities and autism spectrum disorders, neuropsychological profiles in autism. E-mail: epsteins@email.chop.edu.

Thomas B. Flynn, PhD, pediatric neuropsychologist and director, Assessment and Neuropsychology Sciences, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Clinical and research interests: neuropsychological functioning in children with central nervous system impairment. Specific interests in epilepsy including pre- and post-surgical evaluations; sickle cell disease; long-term outcome of children with congenital heart defects and pediatric stroke. E-mail: flynnt@email.chop.edu.

Marsha Gerdes, PhD, clinical associate professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; psychologist and co-director, Neonatal Follow-up Program; director of School Readiness Specialist Initiative. Clinical research and interests: developmental assessment of at-risk infants and preschoolers, parent counseling for vulnerable children, assessment of children with developmental disabilities and other genetic syndromes and school readiness. E-mail: gerdes@email.chop.edu.

Debra Lefkowitz, PsyD, psychologist, Division of Cardiology. Clinical and research interests: family coping with pediatric chronic illness, assessment of risk/protective factors in coping, program development and evaluation. E-mail: lefkowitz@email.chop.edu.

Stephen S. Leff, PhD, clinical psychologist, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology in Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at te University of Pennsylvania; program director Friend To Friend program; Clinical and research interests: lunchroom-and playground-based violence prevention programs; gender and social cognitive differences in aggression; social skills development in children with ADHD. E-mail: leff@email.chop.edu.

Jennifer Mautone, PhD, psychologist, Center for Management of ADHD. Clinical and research interests: family-school collaboration for children with ADHD; parent education regarding behavior management of children with ADHD; collaboration between families, schools, and the healthcare system. E-mail: mautone@email.chop.edu.

Judith Miller, PhD, clinical psychologist and training director, Center for Autism Research. Clinical and research interests: diagnostic and classification issues in autism spectrum disorders, including early identification and screening, identifying subtypes, and understanding the range of clinical presentations associated with autism spectrum disorders. E-mail: millerj3@email.chop.edu.

Jodi A. Mindell, PhD, adjunct associate professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; associate director, Sleep Center. Clinical and research interests: Assessment and treatment of pediatric sleep disorders in children and adolescents. E-mail: mindell@email.chop.edu.

Melisa Moore, PhD,CBSM, attending psychologist, Sleep Center. Clinical and research interests: assessment and treatment of pediatric sleep disorders, environmental and genetic influences on sleep, sleep and psychological functioning. E-mail: mooremel@email.chop.edu.

Robert Schultz, PhD, clinical psychologist and director, Developmental Neuroimaging Laboratory and the Center for Autism Research. Clinical and research interests: brain mechanisms in the autism spectrum disorders, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of brain anatomy and development and functional MRI (fMRI) studies of social perception and social cognition. E-mail: schultzrt@email.chop.edu.

Lisa Schwartz, PhD, assistant professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; psychologist, Division of Oncology, Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program. Clinical and research interests: developmental, psychosocial, and health outcomes of pediatric cancer survivors; adolescents and young adults with cancer; health behaviors, health promotion, and transition to adulthood and adult medical care for adolescents/young adults with medical conditions. E-mail: schwartzl@email.chop.edu.

Nina H. Thomas, PhD, pediatric neuropsychologist, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Clinical and research interests: neuropsychological functioning in children with central nervous system impairment. Specific interests in metabolic disorders; acute lymphoblastic leukemia and physiologic management in the ICU as a moderator of outcome. E-mail: thomasn@email.chop.edu.