Research Team
Principal Investigator
Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.
Dr. Nagel is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University, where she also serves as the Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Nagel's Developmental Brain Imaging Laboratory focuses on studying adolescent brain and cognitive development in healthy and at-risk populations. Her work has primarily focused on understanding the development of executive, emotional, and reward-based networks in the brain using neuroimaging and how perturbations to these systems may result in a heightened vulnerability for mental illness during the adolescent years. More specifically, her lab has been conducting longitudinal neuroimaging studies of Portland-area youth for nearly two decades, with aims toward identifying neurobiological markers of risk and resilience for psychopathology, including addiction, depression, and suicidality, with hopes of ultimately informing more targeted intervention and prevention efforts. She is a Principal Investigator on several federally-funded National multi-site projects toward that end, including the National Consortium on Alcohol & Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD).
Affiliated Scientists
Scott Jones, PhD
Scott received his Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Biology from Kansas State University and his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from OHSU. His work has largely focuses on modeling the trajectory of cognition and brain development in healthy and at-risk children, adolescents, and young adults. Scott’s primary interest is in developing and implementing advanced longitudinal techniques for explore neurobiological, behavioral and environmental predictors of onset and escalation of many facets of psychopathology, including substance use, mental illness and chronic pain.
Angie Morales, PhD
Angie is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University. She obtained at B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCLA. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA, Angie joined the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab in 2016. Her research career has focused on using multimodal neuroimaging techniques to identify structural, functional, and chemical biomarkers that are risk factors for future substance use or that reflect neurobiological consequences of chronic drug exposure. There is considerably variability in how individuals respond to different drugs, currently her laboratory is examining how different neurobiological responses to acute drug exposure are linked to substance use trajectories over the course of time.
Daniel A. Lopez, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Daniel A. Lopez is a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Bonnie Nagel’s Developmental Brain Imaging Lab in the Department of Psychiatry. Daniel completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of California-Los Angeles. He holds a master’s degree in public health from the City University of New York and a Master of Arts from Stanford University. He completed his Ph.D. in Epidemiology in 2023 at the University of Rochester. Prior to joining the Epidemiology Ph.D. program, he worked with the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. His graduate research focused on reward processing and cognitive development in adolescents. As a postdoc, Daniel will continue his work analyzing longitudinal trajectories of cognitive development in adolescents. Daniel spends his spare time with his wife Alicia, and his two young children (Benjamin and Eleanor). They enjoy traveling to new parks and eating at new restaurants.
Amanda Del Giacco
Amanda received her Psychology degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a Ph.D. student in the inaugural Clinical Psychology program at OHSU. Amanda is interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms and behavioral implications for identifying early risk factors of psychopathology in children and adolescents.
Carmen Bango
Carmen is a Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at OHSU. She graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Psychology and a concentration in Neuroscience. After graduation, she worked for two years at Dartmouth College in the lab of Dr. Tor D. Wager on projects investigating the neural and genetic correlates of pain and placebo. Her research interests include: Biopsychosocial predictors of chronic pain and their clinical translation, the effects of prolonged stress on nervous and immune systems, gut-brain axis influence on mood and health, and addressing research biases contributing to health disparities in medicine.
Dakota Kliamovich
Dakota graduated from Whitworth University (Spokane, WA) in 2017 with degrees in Biology and Psychology. She is currently enrolled in the Department of Behavioral Neuroscience Ph.D. program at OHSU, and is interested in understanding the neural correlates of emerging psychopathology during adolescence.
Gareth Harman
Gareth received his degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Psychology from Winona State University in Winona, MN. Gareth has worked as a research assistant in ophthalmic genetics at the Casey Eye Institute and as a developer within the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab, both at OHSU. Gareth is a current National Library of Medicine Pre-doctoral Fellow studying Bioinformatics and Computational Biomedicine at OHSU. Gareth is interested in using machine learning to identify and predict risk factors of early alcohol and substance use from large-scale high-dimensional neuroimaging and behavioral data.
Mizan Gaillard
Mizan received an Sc.B. in Neuroscience with honors from Brown University. She is a student in the MD/PhD Program at OHSU currently focused on earning her PhD in Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience. She is interested in elucidating how stress and trauma alter the adolescent brain and influence risk for psychopathology.
Anthony Hill
Anthony graduated from Reed College with a B.A. in in psychology in May of 2022. He is currently a research assistant working on ABCD Study and the RECOVER Study. His current research interest is the intersection of psychosocial and demographic factors with psychological and physiological health, and novel clinical interventions for people from marginalized identities. In the future, he hopes to pursue a graduate degree in the field of clinical psychology. Outside of the lab, Anthony likes to play videogames, watch movies, and try new coffee and Boba shops.
Arturo Lopez Flores
Arturo graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A in Psychology and a minor in East Asian Studies and is currently a research assistant on the ABCD study. Research interest include neuropsychology, pharmacology and clinical research on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin.
Bianca Watt
Bianca graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Psychology and completed her master’s degree in Clinical Neuropsychiatry (MSc) from King’s College London. She is currently a Clinical Research Assistant working on the NCANDA-A study. Her research interests include clinical psychology, psychopharmacology, psychedelic assisted therapies and neuroscientific techniques to investigate treating a variety of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression, substance use and addiction, and exploring altered states of consciousness. She is also interested in pursuing translational science to help bridge the gap between conducting research, establishing evidenced based practices, and implementing clinical treatments to increase access and equity for underserved communities.
Birgitta Carlson
Birgitta graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Studio Art. She is currently a research assistant on the NCANDA study. Her primary research interest is pediatric risk factors impacting neurodevelopment and neuropsychology, and evaluating intervention methods. She is also interested in incorporating science and art to make research findings more approachable to the public.
Christina Rusu
Christina received her Psychology degree with a minor in biology from Scripps College (Claremont, CA) in 2021. She is currently a research assistant on the Pain Brain Study (PBS) and she is excited to learn more about pain from a neurobiological perspective. Research interests also include developmental neuropsychology and the implications of Attachment Theory and childhood experiences on mental wellbeing during adulthood. During her free time, Christina enjoys painting, hiking, drinking tea or coffee, and spending time with loved ones.
Gloria Ruiz-Orozco
Gloria graduated from Oregon State University with a major in BioResource Research and a double minor in Chemistry and French. She recently joined the ABCD lab as a research assistant and hopes to learn more about brain development in adolescents; specifically in relation to home life and cultural expectations. Gloria enjoys reading, crafting and spending quality time with loved ones.
Jonah Borgenicht
Jonah graduated from Lewis & Clark College with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Data Science. He recently joined the lab as a research assistant on the ABCD study. His research interests include psychedelic assisted therapies as an intervention for treatment-resistant mood disorders and the ways in which personality traits influence conspiratorial thought. Outside of the lab, Jonah enjoys caring for his extensive houseplant collection, playing video games, and spending time with friends.
Kalene A.D. Savage-Zent
Kalene is a Project Coordinator with the NCANDA-A study in the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab. She also works intimately with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ambassador as well as a Hiring Search Advocate and Trainer for OHSU. She is passionate about user experience research and human-computer interaction. She is primarily interested in the use of behavioral data to improve technology and artificial intelligence to make learning & development tools more accessible to underserved communities. Kalene utilizes her background in neuroscience, bilingualism, equity, and teaching to better address the needs of the people she serves.
Kristina Hernandez
Kristina is the current lab manager for the Developmental Brain Imaging Lab. She received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Ball State University with a focus on neuropsychology and EEG research. Her research interests include cognitive neuroscience, time perception, and neuropsychological correlates of psychopathology. Outside of the lab, you can find her spending time with her partner and dogs, cooking, or traveling to visit family and friends.
Melissa Stasica
Melissa received her B.A. in Psychology from Portland State University. Her personal research interests include Clinical Neuropsychology with a special emphasis on applications to Forensic Psychology. In the future, she hopes to continue her studies in a graduate program for Clinical Neuropsychology which has opportunities for practice in forensic settings, in particular with incarcerated juveniles. When Melissa isn't working or studying, she is spending time with her husband, petting her cat, practicing yoga or playing videogames/tabletop games.
Rachel Flaherty
Rachel graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in Psychology and from Portland State University with a Masters of Social Work. She is currently the Project Coordinator for the ABCD study. Her research interests include the prevention of youth antisocial behavior, social welfare policy, and addiction prevention and interventions.