Our Team

Danielle Taubman joined the Depression Center in 2015 as a Technical Writer. Since 2019, she has served as a Program Evaluation Specialist. In this role, she strategically evaluates and documents the Depression Center's outreach and education programs--particularly in the areas of workplace mental health and e-mental health--develops courses and trainings, creates and disseminates educational materials, and conducts research. Ms. Taubman earned her Master’s in Public Health degree in Health Behavior & Health Education, with a focus on health communication, from the University of Michigan. She also received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan where she majored in Psychology and minored in Gender and Health.

Cortney Sera joined the Depression Center in 2019. She is the Clinical Research Manager for Sagar Parikh, MD, and the Mood Disorders Lab. She oversees several clinical trials and research projects investigating interventional psychiatric treatments and novel interventions for unipolar and bipolar depression. In her role, she collaborates with faculty, staff, sponsors, and regulatory affairs and manages the team. She also administers research assessments, conducts research interviews, manages data, and assists with data analysis. Her research interests include the relationship between emotion and cognition in mood disorders and their influence on clinical outcomes. Cortney received her BS in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science with Honors from the University of Michigan and her MA in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology in the near future.

Erica Vest, LMSW graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Psychology in 2010 and received her master’s in social work in 2013. She has a long and progressive career in clinical research coordination and care management and has held several positions at Wayne County, Wayne State University, and the University of Michigan. She is currently licensed in the state of Michigan to practice clinical social work and works as a research specialist and clinical social work at Michigan Medicine in the department of Psychiatry. In those roles she conducts clinical diagnostic assessments, coordinates research studies, supervises social work interns, co-facilitates psychotherapy groups, and handles IRB regulatory affairs

Abigail joined the Mood Disorders Lab in November of 2021. She graduated with a B.A. in 2021 from the University of Michigan with a major in Psychology and a minor in Gender and Health. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in the School of Public Policy, the Department of Sociology, and the Michigan Neurogenetics and Developmental Psychopathology Lab on the Michigan Twin Neurogenetics Study (MTwiNS) at the University of Michigan. In the future, she hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.

Ellie joined the Parikh Research Lab team as a Research Technician in June 2021. She graduated with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. As an undergraduate, she worked in the Michigan Psychoneuroendocrinology Affective Laboratory on the Detecting Risk of Youth Depression study. She wrote her honors thesis on the moderating effect of dehydroepiandrosterone on physiological and psychological stress responses. In the future, Ellie would like to attend a doctoral clinical science program.

Sophia joined the Mood Disorders Lab in May 2022. She is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan studying Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology. Prior to joining the team, Sophia worked as a research assistant in a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Clinic in New York. At the University of Michigan, her previous research experience includes working on pre-clinical studies exploring the neurobiology of addiction and the relationship between junk-food consumption and reward circuitry in the brain in the Ferrario Lab at Michigan Medicine. Her current research interests include studying the effectiveness of treatments and interventions for various mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. In the future, she hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology.

Daniela Lopez was a Clinical Research Manager for Sagar Parikh, MD and worked on the Mood Disorders lab projects from August 2017-January 2022. She is now working full-time in clinical work at Embodied Wellness Therapy and Community Health and Social Services.