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Who We Are

Who We Are

The Center is co-directed by implementation scientist, J.D. Smith, PhD, and developmental and clinical psychologist, Laurie Wakschlag, PhD. Center members include over three dozen multidisciplinary scientists including pediatricians, child psychiatrists, health economists, population health experts, prevention and implementation scientists, developmental psychologists and community-engaged researchers representing several universities (Northwestern University, University of Utah, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Arizona State University, San Diego State University) and multiple pediatric health systems (Lurie Children's Hospital, Nemours Children's Health). Our center is guided by two cores, our Engage-Admin Core as well as our Methods Incubation Core (MIC).

Engage-Admin Core

The Engage-Admin Core is the central hub for coordination, integration, and cross-cutting activities at the MHE Center. As the administrative and scientific “nerve center,” it provides essential infrastructure, leadership, and resources to support Center-wide operations. The Core helps facilitate two community advisory boards to ensure we are engaging in best practices for working with our clinical sites in our clinical trials. These include a Community Practice Board of pediatric clinicians and two Caregiver Collaboratives (in English and Spanish). The Core also oversees the Career Development and Training Workgroup as well as the Center’s Seed Projects which aim to fund early career scientists on research that catalyzes innovation in early childhood mental health.

Methods Incubation Core

The Methods Incubation Core is the Center’s hub for advancing innovative methods that strengthen implementation within pediatric health systems. The MIC’s workgroups bring together transdisciplinary expertise to develop, test, and share cutting-edge approaches that accelerate research and improve care. The MIC provides real-time methodological support across projects, leveraging team members’ expertise in behavioral science, human-centered design, health technology, and measurement science.

Learn more about MHE Center Team Members below

Our Scientific and Administrative Leadership Team

Laurie Wakschlag(she/her/hers)

Center Principal Investigator (MPI)

Email: lauriew@northwestern.edu

Lauren (Laurie) Wakschlag, PhD, is the Principal Investigator of this study. Dr. Wakschlag is a developmental/clinical scientist and translational investigator. She has been PI of 10 NIH studies, largely focused on high risk prenatal and early childhood populations (over 5,000 participants). An overarching objective of Dr. Wakschlag’s research has been generating a “science of when to worry” in early childhood, creating developmentally sensitive tools that enable very early life detection of neurodevelopmental vulnerability to, and expression of, developmental psychopathology. Dr. Wakschlag will lead the oversight of all research activities for the preliminary data collection and ultimately for the Research Partnership.

JD Smith(he/him/his)

Center Principal Investigator (MPI)

Email: jd.smith@hsc.utah.edu

J.D. Smith, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, with an emphasis on child, family, and health psychology, and as an implementation scientist focused on the development and application of novel methods. He co-leads the MHE Center overall and the Peds-BRITE project with Dr. Laurie Wakschlag and co-leads the Methods Incubation Core with Dr. Patricia Franklin. He is excited about the potential wide-scale impact of the Center’s approach on thousands of toddlers and their families. The interdisciplinary and deeply collaborative team science approach of the Center is also a stimulating and impactful aspect of this multi-university and health system partnership.

Matt Davis(he/him/his)

Nemours Children's Health Site Principal Investigator

Email: matthew.davis@nemours.org

Matthew Davis, MD, MAPP, is the Executive Vice President, Enterprise Physician in Chief, and Chief Scientific Officer at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, where he leads all clinical, academic, and research activities. As the Nemours Principal Investigator for the Peds-BRITE project, and Chair of the Steering Committee, Dr. Davis oversees the study and ensures its alignment with Nemours’ mission to advance child health through integrated clinical care and research. He also serves as Lead of the Community Engagement Workgroup, guiding collaboration across teams, supporting effective study implementation, and strengthening connections between researchers, clinicians, and the communities they serve. Dr. Davis is especially energized by work that links innovative science with real-world community impact, and Peds-BRITE reflects his commitment to advancing early mental health support and improving outcomes during children’s most formative years.

Patricia Franklin(she/her/hers)

Co-Lead of Methods Incubation Core

Email: patricia.franklin@northwestern.edu

Patricia D. Franklin, MD, is a researcher and professor of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Franklin has decades of experience designing and implementing patient-facing assessments in multi-site, real-world clinical settings to both conduct research and improve healthcare and patient outcomes. In the MHE Center, she co-leads the Methods Incubation Core with Dr. JD Smith.

Aeysha Chaudhry(she/her/hers)

Center Executive Director

Email: aeysha.chaudhry@northwestern.edu

Aeysha Chaudhry, PhD, MSc, is the Center Executive Director and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She brings expertise in public health and qualitative, community‑engaged research to the Center, where she leads several core initiatives. In her role, she oversees three community advisory boards that ensure the Center’s scientific work reflects caregiver and clinician priorities. She is most inspired by the MHE Center’s mission to bring caregivers, community-based primary care clinicians, and a group of transdisciplinary researchers together to advance solutions that support mental health for all children.

Jordan Lee(she/her/hers)

Center Scientific Project Director

Email: jordan.lee@northwestern.edu

Jordan Lee, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and researcher in early identification and intervention for children with developmental disabilities. Dr. Lee is the Scientific Project Director for Peds-BRITE, so she works with the MHE Center’s clinical partners to make sure the study works for clinicians and caregivers at their clinics, while also giving our Center’s team strong data to answer research questions. Dr. Lee is excited about the ways that the Center could lead to important clinical changes that truly reach families and help them build a strong foundation for their child's development

Brittany Manning(she/her/hers)

Assessments Lead

Email: brittany.manning@northwestern.edu

Brittany Manning, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a developmental scientist and licensed speech-language pathologist whose research aims to better understand children’s language and mental health development. Dr. Manning will oversee developmental assessments for the Peds-BRITE project. Dr. Manning is interested in learning more about the Family Check-Up Online and ways to better support children and their families.

Hodan Jibrell(she/her/hers)

Center Research Project Coordinator

Email: hodan.jibrell@northwestern.edu

Hodan Jibrell, MPH, is the MHE Center's Research Project Coordinator at Northwestern University. She has specialized training in maternal and child health, global health, and community-engaged research, with expertise in qualitative methods including data collection, analysis, and interpretation. In her role, she supports the design and implementation of early childhood mental health research and collaborates across teams to advance study goals. She is excited to contribute to work that centers families and communities while promoting accessible early mental health interventions.

Our Health System Partners

Kathryn Hoffses(she/her/hers)

Nemours Children's Health Site Co-Principal Investigator

Email: kathryn.hoffses@nemours.org

Kathryn Hoffses, PhD, is a pediatric psychologist and researcher in primary care at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Hoffses research and clinical practice focus on understanding physician competence for treating pediatric behavioral health conditions, examining the impact of behavioral health services in pediatric primary care, and promoting access to behavioral health services. For the Peds-BRITE project, Dr. Hoffses serves as the Nemours Site Co-Principal Investigator and works closely with medical providers, behavioral health clinicians, and research team members at Nemours and Northwestern University. Dr. Hoffses has a passion for prevention and early intervention services and is excited to work with expert researchers and clinicians through the MHE Center to support positive mental health services for children and families across the country.

Cecilia Krienen(she/her/hers)

Nemours Children's Health Site Clinical Research Coordinator

Email: cecilia.krienen@nemours.org

Cecilia Krienen, BS, is a Clinical Research Coordinator at Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley, where she manages a diverse portfolio of clinical trials across therapeutic areas such as pediatric epilepsy, neuromuscular respiratory function, depressive symptomatology, and cystic fibrosis. Cecilia serves as the Nemours Site Research Coordinator for the Peds-BRITE project, where she facilitates site operations and manages participant engagement. She is excited to contribute to research that strengthens early mental health support for young children, helping families during a critical developmental window and fostering healthier long-term outcomes.

Aiyana Bullock(she/her/hers)

Nemours Children's Health Site Clinical Research Coordinator

Aiyana Bullock, BS, is a Clinical Research Coordinator at Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley, with a diverse portfolio of research experience including pediatric oncology, pediatric glomerular diseases, dialysis outcomes, renal transplantation, and cochlear implantation outcomes. She will serve as a Nemours Site Research Coordinator for the Peds-BRITE project, where she will manage participant recruitment and execute necessary site operations. She is devoted to the advancement and accessibility of preventative care options for all families. Aiyana is thrilled to support the research behind early childhood mental health support and to strengthen our outreach to families.

Our Project Leads

Andrea Spencer(she/her/hers)

Project Co-Lead for TEAM4Access

Email: aspencer@luriechildrens.org

Research-TEAM4Access

Andrea Spencer, MD, is the Vice Chair for Research in the Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She is a child psychiatrist, expert in pediatric integrated behavioral health care and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and child mental health disparities researcher. Dr. Spencer is the Project Lead of TEAM4Access, which is developing an ECHO tele-mentoring program to improve family-centered communication about early mental health risk in pediatric primary care, as well as co-lead of the Career Development and Training Workgroup in the MHE Center's Engage-Admin Core.

Iheoma Iruka (pronounced EE-OMAH EE-ROO-KAH)(she/her/hers)

Project Co-Lead for TEAM4Access

Email: iruka@unc.edu

Research-TEAM4Access

Iheoma U. Iruka, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As an applied developmental psychologist, she is dedicated to promoting the well-being of children from the prenatal stage through early childhood. Dr. Iruka’s work bridges research, program development, and policy, with a central focus on ensuring that all children and their families have access to programs and systems that support their flourishing. Dr. Iruka is the Project Co-Lead on TEAM4Access, bringing her developmental and sociocultural expertise in strengthening children’s early mental health.

Jessica Schleider(she/her/hers)

Project Lead for Project SPARK

Email: jessica.schleider@northwestern.edu

Research -Project SPARK

Jessica Schleider, PhD is the Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health and the Principal Investigator for Project Spark. Dr. Schleider's professional mission is to build, test, and disseminate scalable, evidence-based mental health solutions that bridge previously unfillable gaps in mental health ecosystems, with a focus on single-session interventions (SSIs). She is thrilled for the chance to leverage the science of single-session support to promote mental health and care connections as early as possible in children's lives!

Rinad Beidas(she/her/hers)

Project Co-Lead for REACH4MHE

Email: rinad.beidas@northwestern.edu

Research-REACH4MHE

Rinad S. Beidas, PhD, is Chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where she also serves as a professor and national leader in improving mental and physical health care. She has led numerous large‑scale research projects focused on making health care better, fairer, and easier for all people to access. At the Center, she serves as a Project Co-Lead for REACH4MHE, helping guide efforts to find practical ways to bring the best science into everyday care, especially for young people and families who need support. She is motivated by partnering with clinicians, leaders, and families to close the gap between what we know works and what actually happens in clinics, schools, and communities, making high-quality, effective care easier to deliver and more accessible so that children and parents can thrive.

Seema Shah(she/her/hers)

Project Co-Lead for REACH4MHE

Email: seshah@luriechildrens.org

Research -REACH4MHE

Seema K. Shah, JD, HEC-C, is a Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinburg School of Medical and the Founder’s Board Professor of Medical Ethics at Lurie Children’s Hospital, where she directs a program on Pediatric Research and Policy (PREP). Professor Shah’s work focuses on ensuring that research with children is ethically sound. As Project Co-Lead for REACH4MHE, she is excited to be working at the cutting edge of learning how to implement early mental health care for children ethically.