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, B.S.
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, B.Sc.
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 | Website
Adanya Johnson, B.S.
Incoming PhD Student
Adanya received B.S. in Neuroscience from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022. Before joining the CCS Lab, Adanya worked as a clinical research coordinator in Dr. Annie Haynos’ lab, where she studied computational and affective mechanisms in eating disorders. Adanya is broadly interested in studying emotions, internal experiences (e.g., ED symptoms, thoughts), and decision-making across time and context using computational and quantitative methods.
CV | Google Scholar | Twitter
Frances Grace Hart, B.A.
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
Gaeun Gwon Lee
Senior Thesis Student
Gaeun (Gwon) Lee is a senior at Yale University pursuing a B.S. in Psychology. Broadly, Gaeun is interested in understanding depression and suicide with a focus on the phenomenology and functions of self-injurious behaviors. In addition to her research involvement, she serves as a senior mentor for the Psychology department and works at the Asian American Cultural Center, where she supports community programming.
Brandon Felcher
Research Assistant
Brandon is a Senior at Trinity College pursuing a B.S. in Psychology. At Trinity, he works as a research assistant for Professor Robbert Langwerden, Ph.D., focusing on a project that investigates cultural factors and internalizing outcomes among international students, and the role of protective factors and stressors. He also competes on the NCAA men’s tennis team. Brandon has a strong interest in understanding how an individual’s perceived environment contributes to the development and maintenance of both internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
Coby Barrow
Research Assistant
Coby is a rising junior in Yale College. He is a proud member of Timothy Dwight College and a Computer Science & Psychology major. His interests lie largely in understanding how recent technology advancements interact with mental health treatment, and how an individual’s response to care may be affected by technology. Coby also enjoys photography as a hobby and works as a photographer for Yale’s Handsome Dan as well as various programs on campus.
Hannah Owens Pierre
Research Assistant
Hannah is a rising sophomore at Yale University double majoring in Psychology and Ethics, Politics, and Economics. She is interested in mental health diagnosis and treatment, with a particular interest in mood disorders and suicide. She is excited to work on novel technological interventions for psychopathology. Hannah is also interested in philosophy and serves as the president of Yale Effective Altruism.
James Archibald Hamm
Lab mascot
James is Shari’s sweet mini poodle and the lab’s mood-elevating mascot. His work involves expelling his zoomies and bringing smiles to all who see him. When he is off duty, he loves running; chasing tennis balls; and playing with his many toys.
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
Thesis Students
Yuri-Grace Ohashi (2019 - 2021) | website
Sarah Lipson (2019 - 2020)
Sabrina Bell (2019 - 2020)
Melissa Dreier (2017 - 2019) | website
Research Assistants
Veronica Andrade (2025)
Kali Mathura (2025)
Ella Brenes (2025)
Anika Shethia (2024 - 2025)
Ashvin (Ash) Trehan (2024 - 2025)
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)