Clinic Providers | UC Davis MIND Institute

Clinical Professor, Medical Director, UC Davis MIND Institute, Chief, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

R. Scott Akins, D.O., is a developmental and behavioral pediatrician specializing in the care of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. He is the Chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and Director of Clinical Programs at the UC Davis, MIND Institute. Prior to joining the MIND Institute, he was a developmental pediatrician in the US Navy, where he served as a community leader for developmental pediatrics and as the Pediatrics Specialty Leader. He has special clinical interest in autism, intellectual disabilities and Trisomy 21. His research has focused on telehealth supports to families of children with autism in remote communities, partnerships between pediatric specialty providers, schools and medical home providers and utilization of complementary and alternative medicine in families of children with autism.

Professor, Program Director, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship

Kathleen Angkustsiri, M.D., is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician with interests in neurodevelopmental disabilities including autism, chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and fragile X syndrome. She is involved in research on dysmorphology for children with autism, behavioral characteristics of children with 22q11.2DS, clinical trials for autism, and fragile X syndrome.

Clinical Psychologist, UC Davis MIND Institute

Kimberly Barajas, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist at the UC Davis MIND Institute. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi and completed internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and postdoctoral fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She specializes in assessing and diagnosing neurodevelopmental disabilities and providing evidence-based therapies for children displaying behavior difficulties (noncompliance, defiance, temper tantrums) and symptoms of anxiety. She is bilingual/bicultural and welcomes families who prefer services in Spanish.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Physiology and Membrane Biology

Daniah Beleford, M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified clinical geneticist and physician scientist who provides care for children and adults with rare genetic diseases. She completed residency and fellowship in Medical Genetics and Genomics at UC San Francisco and also completed a post-doctoral research fellowship in vascular biology and human genetics at UC San Francisco, where she was selected as a University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellow. Her clinical interest is in vascular anomalies (disorders of blood vessel development), overgrowth syndromes, lung diseases, and X and Y chromosomal differences. She is also the Principal Investigator of an independent research laboratory with a research focus on rare genetic vascular diseases including Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (Beleford Lab).

Clinical Psychologist, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Jonathan Bystrynski, Ph.D., is a licensed clinically psychologist in the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics division. His interests include trauma, neurodevelopment, and developmental psychopathology. He currently provides developmental evaluations for children and teens, including in the 22q11.2 Healthy Minds clinic and the fetal alcohol conditions clinic. Additionally, he provides trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for neurodivergent youth. His research focuses on trauma and neurodevelopment, gender-based violence, and trauma-responsive care.

Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Faye Dixon, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist. She has a long history in child psychopathology, specifically the areas of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning differences in children. Currently she is the Clinic Director of the MIND Institute's ADHD clinic and a member of the UC Davis Medical Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (volunteer clinical faculty), as well as a MIND Institute faculty member. Her clinical and research interests include ADHD, learning differences, anxiety, and mood disorders in children.

Clinical Psychologist, UC Davis MIND Institute

Erin Engstrom, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist. She earned her Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara and completed her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, JFK Partners. Her specialties include autism assessment and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety in individuals with autism across the lifespan. In addition, she has extensive experience in supporting teens and young adults who are transitioning into higher education and employment settings.

Clinical Professor, Clinical Psychologist, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics,  Multi-Cultural Council Representative, Association of University Centers on Disabilities

Janice Enriquez, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist within the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Section at the MIND Institute who conducts developmental evaluations with infants and children to identify neurodevelopmental concerns related to intellectual and learning disabilities, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and related mental health concerns. She currently provides training to medical residents and fellows on diagnostic assessment of infants and children, and supervises a clinical psychology internship program. Past and current clinical and research interests pertain to the identification of developmental delay in infants at high risk due to medical conditions, neuropsychological and behavioral functioning of children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental and genetic conditions, evaluation and treatment of developmental and socioemotional concerns related to child abuse, evidence based assessment and treatment of childhood concerns (PCIT, CBT, Triple P-developmental disabilities), and health disparities.

Clinical Psychologist, UC Davis MIND Institute

Danielle Haener, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist with specialized training in psychological assessment and treatment of children with autism. She has also had extensive training in work with children and families with trauma, mood and behavioral conditions.

Distinguished Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division, Endowed Chair in Fragile X Research

Randi Hagerman, M.D., is the director of the Fragile X Research and Treatment Program. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities and is an internationally respected leader in fragile X research including fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that is the leading cause of inherited intellectual disability and the leading single-gene cause of autism. She is also an expert in fragile X premutation  including FXTAS and the Fragile X - associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders. She is a leader in new targeted treatment trials for fragile X conditions and autism.

Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine

Kristin Herman, M.D., is in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine at UC Davis where she currently serves as assistant clinical professor and associate clinical diplomat. She also has interests in general genetics and dysmorphology as well as connective disorders such as Elhers Danlos syndrome and Marfan syndrome.

Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

David Hessl, Ph.D., clinical interests involve cognitive, emotional, and behavioral evaluation of children, adolescents and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities, especially those with fragile X syndrome, autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and learning disabilities. He also has expertise in developmental psychopathology, particularly mood and anxiety disorders, in infants and young children. He received his Ph.D. in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington in 1997, which included a clinical internship at Stanford University, and received postdoctoral fellowship training at the UC Berkeley Institute of Human Development during 1997-1998. He directs the Translational Psychophysiology and Assessment Laboratory (T-PAL) at the MIND Institute to investigate the emotional psychophysiology of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and to develop novel outcome measures for clinical trials. His work currently concentrates on autism, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, and fragile X premutation carriers, who are at risk for neurodegenerative disease. He also conducts collaborative studies with other researchers, investigating brain imaging, molecular genetics and neuropsychology in an effort to understand links between genetics, brain function, and behavior.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division

Van Ma is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician specializing in the care of children with neurodevelopmental conditions. She sees children with a history of prematurity, developmental delay, intellectual disability, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and various genetic conditions. She has a special clinical interest in rare neurodevelopmental conditions.

Associate Physician Diplomate, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division

Gayatri Mahajan is a pediatrician with many years of experience in primary care pediatrics prior to her completing her fellowship in developmental-behavioral pediatrics. She is the Director of the MIND Institute Transition to Adulthood Clinic, and her clinical focus is the health transition from pediatrics to adult medicine for youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities. She is also interested in the developmental follow up of high-risk infants and toddlers, including early diagnosis and treatment of autism and cerebral palsy.

Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine

Madelena Martin, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine at UC Davis. She is board certified in both Clinical and Biochemical Genetics and serves as the Director of the Biochemical Genetics Clinic and Director of the Metabolic Newborn Screening Program at UC Davis. She is also the Director for the Lysosomal Storage Disease Clinic and the Enzyme Replacement Therapy Program for these patients. She has recently joined the Cleft and Craniofacial team at UC Davis where she serves as the team’s Clinical Geneticist and has a strong interest and actively participates in the Genetic education of medical students, residents, and allied health professionals throughout the UC Davis Health.

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Meghan Miller, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist whose interests include the assessment and early identification of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as well as the co-occurrence of these two conditions, particularly in young children.

Chandni Parikh, PsyD., is a licensed clinical psychologist at the UC Davis MIND Institute. She specializes in the assessment of neurodevelopmental conditions, specifically autism. Her research and clinical interests include understanding how autism and similar conditions develop over time with an emphasis on testing, screening, diagnosis, and early identification. She has training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and conducting autism assessments with families and very young children via telehealth. She can speak English, Hindi, and Gujarati and wants to help families from under-represented communities gain more access to care.

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division

Bibiana Restrepo, M.D., is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician, she has experience in treating children with neurodevelopmental conditions, particularly offering care for children with autism and their families. She has a special interest on strengthening the collaboration between community practitioners, therapy providers and autism diagnosticians. Her research interests focus on improving the knowledge and understanding of early presentations of autism with an interdisciplinary approach, while including underrepresented communities and promoting global collaborative efforts.

Director, Psychological and Behavioral Services, UC Davis MIND Institute

Dorcas Liriano Roa, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist at the UC Davis MIND Institute who serves as chief psychologist for the Massie Family Clinic. She earned her Ph.D. from Northeastern University and completed postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at the Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. Her clinical work focuses on assessing and diagnosing neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, autism, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other mental health conditions to guide families and children towards appropriate and evidence-based interventions. She is also a member of the research core team and provides support to several MIND Institute research studies seeking to build the existing knowledge of early autism risk factors. She is bilingual/bicultural and strives to use these assets to provide enhanced person-centered care to Spanish speaking communities.

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division, Medical Director, Baby Steps HRIF Clinic

Rosa D. Rodriguez, M.D., is a Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician with interests in neurodevelopmental disabilities. She has a special interest in infants and toddlers at risk for developmental delays, and in supporting high risk infants and early childhood development. She is also passionate about providing care to the undeserved population.

Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department, Director, UC Davis CTSC Mentoring Academy for Research Excellence (MARE) program, Director, UC Davis Mentored Clinical Research Training Program (MCRTP), Co-Director, UC Davis CTSC TL1 Program

Julie Schweitzer, Ph.D., interests include the identification and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) and related conditions in children and adults using behavioral/neuropsychological and functional neuroimaging methods. Other interests include the use of reinforcement and learning paradigms in imaging as applied to psychopathology. Her goal is to apply translational research methods using a variety of basic behavioral and physiological techniques to develop novel treatment and preventative approaches to addressing attentional conditions.

Associate Research Scientist, Psychologist, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Fragile X Research and Treatment Program

Andrea Schneider, Ph.D., early on in her academic career, focused on interdisciplinary research with brain-behavior interactions and acquired broad knowledge in clinical psychology and medical neuroscience, with specific training and expertise in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, and fragile X syndrome. Being also a clinical psychologist, her other area of interest is intervention research. 

Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Chief, Division of Genomic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Director of Precision Genomics

Suma P Shankar M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genomic Medicine at the UC Davis Medical Center. She was recently recruited to UC Davis to serve as the Director of Precision Genomics and will lead the effort of integrating genomics into every day clinical practice within the UC Davis Health. She will unify genomic medicine within multiple specialties in both pediatric and adult medicine for Mendelian disorders and other complex medical conditions. She is a physician-scientist, board certified in Medical Genetics (FACMG) and in Ophthalmology (MRCOphth & FRCS, United Kingdom). She obtained her Ph.D. and completed a Pediatric Ophthalmology fellowship from the University of Iowa, and a Medical Genetics fellowship from the University of California, San Francisco. She was faculty in the Departments of Human Genetics and Ophthalmology at Emory University, School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA where she initiated the Ocular Precision Health Initiative which included a BioBank and genetic studies for inherited eye diseases; the first of its kind in Georgia. She served as Medical Director for the Emory Genetics Laboratory and was the principal investigator on a number of clinical trials investigating novel therapies for rare genetic disorders. She has a number of publications and book chapters on genetic testing, ocular genomics, novel enzyme replacement, substrate and chaperone therapies. Her chief research interests include gene discovery projects and translational research for inherited diseases.

Joseph J. Shen, M.D., Ph.D., sees clinical genetics patients and families with many different medical issues including neurodevelopmental disabilities such as intellectual disability and autism, neuromuscular diseases, congenital anomalies, seizure disorders, and many others. Research focus is on CNKSR2-related neurodevelopmental disabilities and epilepsy disorder through work with different animal model systems and human biological samples, aiming for therapeutic options for this rare disorder. Other research interests include investigating genetic determinants of developmental dysplasia of the hip and exploring the role of clinical response to treatment in genomic variant interpretation.

Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Carrie Silver, Ph.D., is licensed clinical psychologist at the UC Davis MIND Institute. Her interests include diagnostic assessment of neurodevelopmental and mental health concerns in children. She also has specialized training in providing evidenced based therapy with at risk youth including those with a history of trauma and co-morbid neurodevelopmental disabilities. These include Parent Child Interaction Therapy, PC-CARE and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division

Anisha Srinivasan is a developmental and behavioral pediatrician specializing in the care of children and adolescents with a variety of neurodevelopmental conditions including autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, history of prematurity, developmental delay, intellectual disability, anxiety disorders, Trisomy 21 and other genetic conditions. Her research focuses on equitable access to developmental-behavioral pediatrics care through collaborative partnerships with primary care clinics and community agencies. She has a special interest in community-based participatory research.

Clinical Psychologist, UC Davis MIND Institute

Romina Stanislavsky, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and currently providing psychological intakes and assessments in the Massie Family Clinic. She also co-leads the Social Skills Training Program, Parent Group and the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Parent Group.

Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Psychologist, UC Davis MIND Institute

Megan Tudor, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics. She earned her Ph.D. from Stony Brook University and completed postdoctoral training at the Yale Child Study Center. Her specialties include autism assessment and cognitive behavioral therapy targeting aggression, anxiety, and other symptoms commonly experienced by youth with developmental disabilities. Her research focuses on enhancing clinical services for youth and families - most specifically, siblings of children with autism.

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division

Jasmine Wilaisakditipakorn is a developmental behavioral pediatrician offering care for children with various neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, history of prematurity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and developmental delays. She has special clinical interest in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and children in refugee families.

Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Child Development Division Clinical Psychologist, UC Davis MIND Institute

Breanna Winder-Patel, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She has a strong interest in the assessment and diagnosis of autism, pediatric anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive and related disabilities.

She began an anxiety treatment clinic upon joining the MIND Institute to continue her passion of providing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention, and Habit Reversal Training to children and adolescents. She is also involved in clinical research with a focus on further understanding autism in girls and the clinical and behavioral manifestation of anxiety in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Yue Yu, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and licensed clinical psychologist at the MIND Institute. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis and completed her clinical psychology internship from Charleston Consortium - Medical University of South Carolina. She is a recipient of the Clinical and Translational Science Center TL1 Postdoctoral level grant, through which she examines the effectiveness of a novel family/friend network program in improving caregiver engagement in early interventions in under-resourced families.