TEAM
Shirley Wang, Ph.D.
Lab Director
Shirley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. She received her B.A. from The College of New Jersey (2017), her Ph.D. from Harvard University (2024), and completed her predoctoral internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (2024). Shirley’s research aims to develop and harness methods that can capture and model the immense complexity of psychopathology, including mathematical, computational, and intensive longitudinal methods. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and published in over 50 scientific papers and book chapters. Shirley’s research and mentorship has also been recognized through the receipt of several awards, and she was recently listed as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Healthcare.
Leily Behbehani
PhD Student
Leily received her B.S. in Psychology from Haverford College in 2021. Before joining the CCS lab as a graduate student, Leily worked as a clinical research coordinator in Dr. Sunny Tang's lab where she studied NLP predictors of suicide and severe psychopathology. Leily is interested in using data from real-time monitoring technologies to predict and model suicide and self-injurious behaviors, particularly in minority populations.
CV | Google Scholar | Twitter
Sharina Hamm
PhD Student
Shari received her B.Sc. in Psychology from Leiden University in 2021 and will receive her Research M.Sc. from the same institute in 2025. Throughout her master’s degree, she worked at the Rutledge Lab at Yale, where she investigated the computational dynamics of self-esteem. She also worked as a postgraduate research assistant at Yale’s ABCD Lab, where she wrote her M.Sc. thesis on a network analysis of conduct behavior with Dr. Arielle Baskin-Sommers and Dr. Eiko Fried. In the CCS Lab, Shari is specifying and iteratively updating formal theories of suicide by utilizing EMA data. Shari is also excited to investigate the computational dynamics of negative urgency in individuals with suicidal ideation.
CV | Google Scholar | Twitter
Frances Grace Hart
Lab Manager
Grace received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy from Boston College in 2023. Before joining the CCS Lab as lab manager, she completed her Honors Thesis on interpretation bias and death anxiety under the mentorship of Dr. Courtney Beard at McLean Hospital. Grace is broadly interested in what people believe and feel about death and mortality, and how these influence psychological and behavioral outcomes (e.g., death anxiety and suicide). Her metascientific interests include theory formalization and construct validity.
CV | Google Scholar | Twitter | Website
Ashvin (Ash) Trehan
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ash is an undergraduate student at Yale pursuing a B.A. in Economics. Before joining the CCS Lab as an undergraduate research assistant, Ash worked as a summer research assistant at The Hamilton Lab at Rutgers University under Dr. Jessica Hamilton, and he also co-led the RISE Team, the lab’s youth advisory board. Ash is the CEO and co-founder of Myndful, an award-winning machine-learning chatbot that aims to make mental health resources more accessible to adolescents. Ash is interested in using technology to create solutions that address society’s most pressing issues.
Anika Shethia
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Anika is a sophomore at Yale College, pursuing a B.S. in Neuroscience on the pre-med track. She is particularly interested in understanding the rising prevalence of mental health issues in intense academic settings, as well as considering how computational models can increase equity and inclusivity in the mental health landscape. Outside of this, Anika loves to volunteer at the Yale Community Kitchen or show around visitors as a Campus Tour Guide.
Kali Mathura
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Kali Mathura is a Yale undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Applied Mathematics. She is passionate about using her mathematical knowledge to make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. Since high school, Kali has enjoyed volunteering in hospitals and vaccine clinics, inspiring her to work toward improving patient outcomes and applying mathematical models to better understand mental health issues. Outside of the CCS Lab, she enjoys volunteering in New Haven elementary school classrooms and competing on the Yale Club Tennis team.
Ella Brenes
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ella is a sophomore at Yale College pursuing a B.A. in Psychology and English. Before joining the CCS Lab, she worked as a Peer Counselor on a peer-to-peer suicide hotline where she developed a passion for helping people through clinical work. Ella is particularly interested in psychotherapy, mental health disorders, and suicide prevention. Outside of the lab, Ella enjoys running, writing, and practicing yoga.
Collaborators
We’re lucky to do science with so many wonderful people!
Kathryn Fox, Ph.D., University of Denver
Annie Haynos, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University
Matthew Nock, Ph.D., Harvard University
Jordan Smoller, M.D., Sc.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Rebecca Fortgang, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Kate Bentley, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Alexander Millner, Ph.D., Harvard University
Donald Robinaugh, Ph.D., Northeastern University
Sabine Wilhelm, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Jennifer Thomas, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Kamryn Eddy, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Eiko Fried, Ph.D., Leiden University
Yaniv Yacoby, Ph.D., Wellesley College
Alumni
The amazing people Shirley worked with at Harvard!
Thesis Students
Yuri-Grace Ohashi (2019 - 2021) | website
Sarah Lipson (2019 - 2020)
Sabrina Bell (2019 - 2020)
Melissa Dreier (2017 - 2019) | website
Research Assistants
Praise Adekola (2022 - 2023)
Julia Vitagliano (2022 - 2023)
Krandhasi Kodaiarasu (2022 - 2023)
Chiara Bertarelli (2022)
Imani Weeks (2020 - 2021)
Grace Krantz (2020)
Sunday Hull (2019 - 2020)
Lauren Harnedy (2019 - 2021)
Anne Lheem (2018)
Cristina Nardini (2018)
Claire Pinson (2017 - 2018)
Chase Venables (2017 - 2018)