We are a team of child psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists at the Center for Children and Families who are working together to better understand child anxiety. The LEMUR Study is led by Drs. Dana McMakin, Aaron Mattfeld and Jeremy Pettit. Many of us are also undergraduate and graduate students who are passionate about improving child and adolescent mental health!
Leadership
Dr. McMakin is an associate professor of clinical science and cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at FIU. She also holds a dual appointment at the Brain Institute in the Department of Neurology at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. Dr. McMakin has been conducting research studies with children and adolescents for nearly two decades. She uses tools such as PSG and MRI to better understand how sleep impacts mental health in childhood and adolescence. A key aim of this work is to improve treatments for children and adolescents who experience anxiety and/or depression.
Dr. Mattfeld is an Assistant Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at FIU. Dr. Mattfeld leads several research studies of children and adolescents at FIU. Dr. Mattfeld uses tools such as MRI to understand how the brain supports learning and memory processes. He is interested in how these processes develop throughout the lifespan, but especially during childhood and adolescence. Dr. Mattfeld is excited to study how learning and memory processes contribute to child and adolescent anxiety. Aaron enjoys reading books with his kids and cooking.
Dr. Pettit is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at FIU. Additionally, Dr. Pettit is Director of the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program (CAPP), which provides treatment to children and adolescents who experience anxiety and depression. Dr. Pettit has been conducting research with children and adolescents for nearly 20 years. His research aims include the development and refinement of treatments for anxiety and depression to improve mental health outcomes throughout the lifespan.
Dr. Rey is a research scientist in the Department of Psychology and is the Coordinator for the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program (CAPP) at FIU. Dr. Rey has expertise in child developmental psychopathology. As a clinical coordinator for the CCF, she oversees the LEMUR Study. Dr. Rey helps to determine whether families are a good fit for the study, and provides training and supervision to clinicians involved in the study. Yasmin enjoys cooking gourmet meals and baking goodies in her free time.
Josefina Freitag is the research coordinator at Nicklaus Children's Hospital Site. She helps coordinate study visits across institutions. Josefina loves skiing! She grew up on the mountains making snowmen!