Foss-Feig Laboratory
Principal Investigator

Jennifer Foss-Feig, PhD
Departmental website
Jennifer Foss-Feig, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and at the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Williams College, holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University, and completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral training at the Yale Child Study Center. Dr. Foss-Feig’s research interests are in sensory and perceptual processing, particularly as they relate to possible underlying mechanisms of and biomarker development for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She studies auditory, visual, and multisensory processing, with a particular interest in temporal processing deficits and testing for markers of excitatory/inhibitory imbalance. She also examines the overlap between autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including schizophrenia, and works in monogenic NDDs (e.g., Phelan McDermid Syndrome (PMS), FOXP1 Syndrome) that confer risk for ASD but have known etiology that maps to testable and targetable circuit-based alterations. Dr. Foss-Feig’s research combines EEG, fMRI, and psychophysical approaches with clinical and behavioral assessments to explore brain-behavior relations and identify underlying alterations that may be targeted with pharmacological or psychosocial intervention. Her work testing neural mechanisms across ASD and schizophrenia seeks to identify shared versus dissociable markers that could be useful as stratification tools for predicting risk for psychosis in ASD populations. Across her research, Dr. Foss-Feig seeks to use paradigms that map to known biological alterations, are objective and reliable, and are feasible or adaptable for individuals with NDDs across the functioning spectrum. Dr. Foss-Feig has received funding from NIMH, Autism Speaks, Autism Science Foundation, the Marino Autism Research Institute, the Simons Foundation, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation for her research. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of New York.

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Kayleigh Kangas-Dick, PhD
Kayleigh Kangas-Dick, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the Seaver Autism Center for Research and
Treatment at the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the
University Connecticut and holds a PhD in school psychology from Columbia University. Kayleigh
completed her predoctoral clinical internship at JCCA Foster Home Services in the Bronx. Research
interests focus on investigating relationships among parent and child factors as they may relate to
parenting behavior and child psychological functioning, with particular interest in neurodevelopmental
disorders. In collaboration with and under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Foss-Feig, current research
efforts involve investigating the clinical utility of a new measure designed to capture ASD symptom
heterogeneity, as this may allow for better precision in clinical diagnostics, while facilitating more
targeted, data-driven treatments and progress monitoring.

Graduate Student

Sarah Banker
Sarah Banker graduated from Wesleyan University in 2017 with a BA in Neuroscience and Behavior. After college, she worked as a Research Assistant at the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University. During this time, Sarah used neuroimaging to study the neural correlates of cognitive and affective behaviors in children with learning disabilities. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she is co-mentored by Dr. Jennifer Foss-Feig, Dr. Daniela Schiller, and Dr. Xiaosi Gu. Sarah’s graduate thesis focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms of aberrant social behavior and decision-making in psychiatric disease. Specifically, her research aims to combine computational modeling, human neuroimaging, and clinical assessment to examine impairments in social interaction in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Misophonia.

Research Coordinator

Arabella Peters, BA
Arabella Peters graduated from Emory University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Linguistics. As an undergraduate, Arabella worked at the Emory Autism Center under Dr. Opal Ousley. She compiled and input data relevant to a NIH grant funded investigation of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and its correlation with the ASD and schizophrenia. As a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Foss-Feig Lab, Arabella manages the administrative, recruitment and data-collection aspects of EEG and eye tracking for all research studies. After her time at the Foss-Feig Lab, Arabella plans to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. 

Research Coordinator

Jadyn Trayvick

Jadyn graduated from Yale University in 2021 with a B.S. in Psychology. As an undergraduate she worked in the Sukhodolsky Lab at the Child Study Center which examines behavioral treatments for children with autism and anxiety as well as aggressive behavior in autism. She also has experience working with eye tracking and neuroimaging research methods. As a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Foss-Feig Lab, Jadyn manages the administrative, recruitment and data-collection aspects of EEG and eye tracking for all research studies. She hopes to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology after her time in the lab.

Research Coordinator

Monica Schreiber

Monica graduated from U.C. Berkley in 2019 with a B.A. in Public Health. While there, she volunteered with the Brain Development Research Program, where she worked on projects investigating potential biomarkers for patients with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. After college, she joined the Sabeti Lab at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, where she assisted Dr. Pardis Sabeti in coordination and communication across the 50+ person lab.

At the Foss-Feig Lab, Monica coordinates the EXPAND study, which seeks to validate a new diagnostic measure for Autism. In her role, she manages and maintains various clinical studies and works with visiting patients and families. In the future, Monica hopes to work as a health care provider with a special emphasis on Community Health models of care. 

Research Coordinator

Alissa Chen

Alissa Chen graduated from Bowdoin College in 2022 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Chemistry. While at Bowdoin, she conducted a study on epigenetic drivers of anxiety following early life adversity in rats. Transitioning to humans now, Alissa is working on the administrative, recruitment, and EEG and MRI data-collection aspects of misophonia, a condition characterized by decreased tolerance for specific sounds, hoping to address potential treatment. After her time in the Schiller and Foss-Feig lab, Alissa intends to apply for medical school to pursue psychiatry.

Master’s Student

Jeanpierre Tenesaca

Jeanpierre Tenesaca is a Biomedical Sciences master’s student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He completed his B.S. in Psychology & B.A. in Biology at The University at Buffalo. In Buffalo, he worked in a Development Biopsychology lab with a focus on prepubertal development and adolescent hormonal pathways. His current master’s thesis focuses on understanding memory reconsolidation and avoidance conditioning through EEG and MRI analysis within Misophonia participants, a disorder in which certain sounds trigger emotional or physiological responses. Jeanpierre has an interest in mental health awareness among LGBTQIA+ youth and plans to pursue medical school after graduation with an interest in Pediatric Surgery.

Undergraduate Research Volunteer

Jenny Chung

Jenny Chung is a second-year student in the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program BS/MD at City College, located in Harlem, New York. She will be earning a B.S in Biomedical Education in 2023 and an M.D in 2027. Beyond medicine, her areas of interest include social determinants of health, mental health awareness, as well as issues within the Asian American community. During her time at the Foss-Feig Lab, she is excited to engage in autism spectrum disorder research and learn about its clinical implications. She is open to exploring all medical specialties, but currently she intends to pursue a career in either primary care or psychiatry. 

Emily Isenstein
MD/PhD student at the University of Rochester
lab member: 2016 – summer 2018

Madison McCarthy
Research Assistant at New York University

Greg Belizaire
New York University

Nick Servedio
Hunter College High School

Christina Layton
Northwestern University
lab member: Summer 2017, Summer 2018

Yian Zhang
New York University
lab member: Summer 2017 – Spring 2019

Grace Adeyemi
New York University
lab member: fall 2017

Victoria Baskett
Columbia University, post baccalaureate
lab member: Spring 2018 – Spring 2019

Marta Migó
New York University
lab member: spring 2018 – summer 2019

Samuel Wang
New York University
lab member: spring 2018

Mateo Amezcua
Middlebury College
lab member: summer 2018

Israel Falade
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
lab member: summer 2018

Olivia Jones
Fordham University
lab member: fall 2018 – spring 2019

Sue Kim
New York University
lab member: fall 2019 – spring 2020

Julia Fagan
McGill University
lab member: summer 2019

Amanda Guzman
New York University
lab member: summer 2019

Gabby Privitelli
New York University
lab member: summer 2019

Jessica Edgar
Columbia University
lab member: spring 2020

Audrey Rouhandeh
Yeshiva University
lab member: Summer 2018 – spring 2020

Christopher McLaughlin
Columbia University Medical School
lab member: Summer 2018 – spring 2020

Hannah Grosman
Drexel University
lab member: summer 2018 – spring 2020

Sylvia Guillory
lab member: fall 2017 – fall 2020

Kate Keller
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
lab member: summer 2019 – summer 2021

Jacqueline Beltrán
Graduate School at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
lab member: fall 2020 – summer 2021

Sarah Barkley
Stony Brook University
lab member: Summer 2020 – Spring 2022

Bonnie Lerman
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
lab member: Summer 2020 – Spring 2022

Isaac Wert

Michael Peruggia
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
lab member: Summer 2022

Megan Braconnier

Maria Nava Palma

COLLABORATORS

Dr. Paige Siper, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment)
Dr. Alex Kolevzon, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment)
Dr. Hala Harony-Nicolas, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment)
Dr. Eva Velthorst, Icann School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment)
Dr. Daniela Schiller, Icann School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ( Schiller Lab)
Dr. Xiaosi Gu, Icann School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Computational Psychiatry Unit)

Dr. Katharine Thakkar, Michigan State University (MSU Clinical Neuroscience Lab)
Dr. Duje Tadin, University of Rochester (Tadin Lab: Vision & Cognitive Neuroscience)
Dr. Daniel Mathalon, University of California, San Francisco (Brain Imaging and EEG Lab)
Dr. Carla Mazefsky, University of Pittsburgh (Center for Excellence in Autism Research)

AFFILIATED INSTITUTES AND DEPARTMENTS

Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment
The Friedman Brain Institute
The Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The Brain Imaging Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai