Meet the Faculty

Supervising Faculty Members

Christa Aoki, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and part of the diagnostic team at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Aoki received her doctoral degree from Palo Alto University where she studied children with medically complex presentations. She completed her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine within the Clinical Assessment and Diagnostic department. Her clinical interests include the provision of outpatient treatment services for children with comorbid anxiety and ASD. She values parent-mediated interventions and trainings to enhance child outcomes.

Bianca Brooks, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and part of the assessment and diagnosis team at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Brooks completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at Georgia State University, where she studied ways to facilitate access to early intervention after diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She continued her passion for serving underserved communities and reducing disparities in mental healthcare access by completing an internship at Memphis Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. She returned to Atlanta for her postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine and assisted with diagnostic services at Marcus Autism Center. In her current position, Dr. Brooks conducts diagnostic assessments of young children. She values exploring innovative techniques to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in accessing early intervention services for families.

Lindsey Burrell, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Autism and Related Disorders in the Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine. She received her PhD in clinical psychology at Texas Tech University, where she was also a research team member in the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Group. She completed internship at the Marcus Autism Center and continued to complete a clinical postdoctoral fellowship in the feeding program and a second year research fellowship focusing on modifying and delivering the Research Units for Behavior Intervention (RUBI) Autism Network parent training program for children with ASD via telehealth and parent groups. Dr. Burrell’s research focuses on developing, evaluating and delivering community viable parent-mediated interventions to decrease disruptive behaviors in children with ASD and improve feeding in young children. Dr. Burrell provides outpatient clinical services through the Severe Behavior program as well as the Feeding program.

Nathan A. Call, PhD received his PhD in School Psychology from the University of Iowa in 2003 under the mentorship of David P. Wacker, PhD He completed a pre-doctoral internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and Center for Disabilities & Development and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Marcus Institute and Emory University under the supervision of Wayne Fisher, PhD, and Henry S. Roane, PhD After working as an assistant professor at Louisiana State University from 2004-2006, Dr. Call returned to the Marcus Autism Center where he is currently the Clinical Director for the center. Dr. Call’s current research interests include the assessment and treatment of severe behavior disorders. This interest includes identifying the basic behavioral mechanisms that influence the occurrence of problem behavior, as well as the variables that impact the integrity with which caregivers implement treatment recommendations. Dr. Call has an active publication agenda that includes publishing and presenting research in applied behavior analytic forums.


Laura Dilly, PhD, ABPP, NCSP is the Training Director for the Doctoral Psychology Internship at the Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Emory School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. She received her doctorate in school psychology at Michigan State University in 2005. She completed her doctoral internship at the Houston Independent School District. Dr. Dilly then worked within the public school districts for 10 years as a lead psychologist and training coordinator. At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Dilly conducts assessments of young children and adolescents who are suspected to have an autism spectrum disorder. Her research interests involve the intersection of the school based and medically based services for children with autism spectrum disorders and the training of professionals in the provision of ASD services.

Emily Edwards, PsyD, earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at University Nebraska Medicine: Munroe-Meyer Institute in Omaha, Nebraska with an emphasis in pediatric feeding disorders. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in the Multidisciplinary Feeding Program at Marcus Autism Center through Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Edwards is a licensed psychologist in Georgia working primarily with children with complex medical needs in the Multidisciplinary Feeding Program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta - Center for Advance Pediatrics.

Nicole Hendrix, PhD received her PhD in school psychology at the University of Iowa, where her training concentrated on assessment and treatment of neurodevelopmental disabilities across the lifespan. She completed a doctoral internship at the Marcus Autism Center in the Language and Learning Clinic and Pediatric Feeding Program before then completing a postdoctoral fellowship in diagnostic services. Dr. Hendrix is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics within the Emory University School of Medicine and a psychologist on the assessment and diagnostic team. In her clinical role, she conducts diagnostic evaluations for children and adolescents. Dr. Hendrix’s research focuses on early assessment and intervention for at-risk populations, with current projects striving to better understand the development of nonverbal communication strategies within typical development and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Kathryn Holman Stubbs, PhD received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. She completed her doctoral internship at Munroe Meyer Institute (University of Nebraska Medical Center) and her fellowship through Emory University School of Medicine at the Marcus Autism Center in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program. She is currently a senior psychologist in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program where she works with children and families to develop effective treatments to improve mealtime behavior in the day treatment and outpatient programs and provides consultation in pediatric gastroenterology clinics. She supervises predoctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows in the intensive day treatment program for children with feeding disorders. Her clinical and research interests have focused on the assessment and treatment of children with pediatric feeding disorders as well as treatment adherence in pediatric populations.

Sarah Slocum Freeman, PhD, BCBA-D received her doctorate in Psychology at the University of Florida under the mentorship of Dr. Timothy Vollmer, BCBA-D. She was subsequently appointed as a Rollins College faculty member for two years before joining the Marcus Autism Center. In her clinical position in the Marcus Autism Center Severe Behavior Program, Dr. Slocum manages cases in the intensive outpatient program, coordinates employee supervision towards board certification as behavior analysts, and oversees the intake process for the Severe Behavior program. As a researcher in the Pediatrics Institute of Emory University’s School of Medicine, Dr. Slocum’s work focuses on behavior-analytic approaches to the assessment and treatment of problem behavior. Specifically, she is interested in further investigation into the variables that contribute to treatment effectiveness for problem behavior maintained by escape from aversive situations.

Cheryl Klaiman, PhD received her doctorate in School and Applied Child Psychology from McGill University under the mentorship of Jacob Burack. She completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the Yale Child Study Center where she worked with Drs. Ami Klin, Fred Volkmar, Robert Schultz and Sara Sparrow. She joined the faculty of the Yale Child Study Center as an Associate Research Scientist, and then relocated to California where she was the Director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Interdisciplinary Care Team at Children’s Health Council in Palo Alto, CA. She joined the team at The Marcus Autism Center and Emory University in January of 2012 where she directs the FDA regulated clinical trial which is attempting to validate our eye-tracking work as a medical device. She also works on the clinical characterization team among other various research projects. Research interests include early diagnosis and screening of autism spectrum disorders, innovative treatment strategies and clinical trials.

Meena Lambha, PhD completed her undergraduate training at the University of Georgia and earned her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Auburn University. She completed her internship at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the Marcus Autism Center and Emory University. She briefly worked in private practice before returning to the Marcus Autism Center. At Marcus, she has conducted psychological assessments for families participating in various research studies as well as children seen through the clinic for concerns related to autism. She has also provided parent training services through the RUBI Parent Training program for children with autism presenting with behavioral difficulties. Currently, she continues to conduct psychological assessments with children suspected of having an autism spectrum disorder.

David J. Marcus, PhD, ABPP/CN is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and a pediatric neuropsychologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He received his doctorate in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 2005, completed an internship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (through University of Pennsylvania) and a fellowship at National Children’s Medical Center in Washington, DC. Active as a clinical teacher, he supervises graduate practicum students, interns, residents and fellows. Dr. Marcus’ areas of interest include pediatric epilepsy, spina bifida, and genetic and metabolic disorders.

Joanna Lomas Mevers, PhD, BCBA-D received her doctorate in school psychology from Louisiana State University, under the mentorship of Jeffery Tiger, PhD and George Noell, PhD. She completed her pre-doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Marcus Autism Center and Emory University under the supervision of Nathan Call, PhD. Dr. Lomas Mevers is currently the Director of the severe behavior program and is responsible for working with families and clinicians to develop effective behavioral interventions that decrease challenging behaviors and replace them with appropriate behaviors. In addition to her clinical duties she also provides training for doctoral and postdoctoral trainees. Dr. Lomas Mevers’ current research interests include increasing the social validly of behavioral interventions, increasing efficiencies in caregiver training, treatment of enuresis and encopresis.

Colin Muething, PhD, BCBA-D received his doctorate in school psychology from University of Texas-Austin, after having completed a master’s degree in special education from University of Georgia. His research involves evaluating assessments and treatment for problem behavior across a large sample of individuals. Having completed his doctoral internship and postdoctoral residency at Marcus Autism Center, he joined the faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine in 2017. He oversees the Intensive Outpatient Program in Severe Behavior.

Alexis Pavlov, PhD, BCBA-D, received her doctorate in educational psychology from Oklahoma State University and completed her doctoral internship and post-doctoral residency at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Pavlov is an Assistant Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and a Psychologist in the Severe Behavior Program at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Pavlov specializes in the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior. Additionally, her clinical work focuses on behavioral supports for children diagnosed with developmental disabilities and who present to the hospital in crisis due to challenging behaviors. Dr. Pavlov’s research interests include assessment and treatment for severe problem behavior, crisis prevention and de-escalation in medical settings, and caregiver acceptability of crisis intervention programming.

Kristina S. Patel, PsyD, BCBA earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in the feeding program at Marcus Autism Center through Emory University’s Department of Pediatrics. She completed her post-doctoral residency at the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development at Nova Southeastern University with an emphasis on the treatment of pediatric feeding disorders and parent training to address challenging behaviors. Dr. Patel has specialized in providing evidence-based behavioral assessment, intervention, and caregiver training to families of children with and without autism spectrum disorder and behavioral difficulties.

Dr. Patel is a licensed psychologist in the state of Georgia and a board certified behavior analyst. As a psychologist for the Feeding Program at Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Patel conducts multidisciplinary feeding evaluations and provides behavioral intervention in the outpatient and day treatment feeding programs. 

Kaitlin Proctor, PhD earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Auburn University. She completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and her postdoctoral residency at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, in partnership with Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Proctor received training in the area of pediatric psychology, which focuses on children’s behavioral, developmental and psychosocial functioning in the context of pediatric healthcare. As a licensed clinical psychologist in the Feeding Program, Dr. Proctor provides multidisciplinary assessment services, as well as intervention services in the day treatment and outpatient programs. Dr. Proctor is also certified in parent-child interaction therapy, an evidence-based parent training intervention for disruptive behaviors or noncompliance in young children.

Shana Richardson, PhD is a clinical psychologist and member of the research assessment core. Dr. Richardson completed her undergraduate training in psychology at the University of Georgia and earned her doctorate degree from Georgia State University. Dr. Richardson completed her predoctoral internship at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. She returned to Atlanta for her postdoctoral fellowship with Emory University School of Medicine and the Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Center (PNC) at Marcus Autism Center. In her current position at Marcus, Dr. Richardson conducts psychological assessments for families participating in the various research studies, with a focus on the clinical characterization of infants and toddlers.

Mindy Scheithauer, PhD, BCBA-D received her PhD from Louisiana State University with a dual emphasis in Clinical and Biological Psychology and a minor emphasis in School Psychology. She completed a doctoral internship in the Neurobehavioral Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute through Johns Hopkins University and a postdoctoral residency at Marcus Autism Center through Emory University. Dr. Scheithauer is an assistant professor in Pediatrics at Emory University and is a psychologist in the Severe Behavior Program. She oversees the Brief Behavior Intervention program (a primarily community-based treatment service) and supervises cases in the Severe Behavior Day Treatment program. Her current research focuses on automatically maintained problem behavior, assessment and treatment of elopement, and improving methods for observational data collection. Her future research goals include clinical trials of specific behavioral treatments and the study of applied behavioral pharmacology through the use of functional analyses in drug trials. Dr. Scheithauer assists with the supervision and training of doctoral and postdoctoral training.

William G. Sharp, PhD is the Director of the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at the Marcus Autism Center and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Autism and Related Disorders in the Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine. He received his doctorate from The University of Mississippi in 2006, with an emphasis in pediatric and clinical child psychology. Dr. Sharp completed a doctoral internship and a post-doctoral fellowship at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, where he focused on the application of behaviorally-based interventions for severe behavior problems, feeding issues, anxiety and sleep difficulties. His current research interests include the assessment and treatment of feeding disorders among children with autistic spectrum disorders, the impact of antecedent manipulations in the treatment of pediatric feeding disorders, and the use of parent training to address feeding difficulties.

Jennifer L. Stapel-Wax, PsyD received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology in 1998. She completed her doctoral internship at Miami Children’s Hospital and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Emory University School of Medicine at the Marcus Center. As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, she directed a statewide evaluation project for children with complex neurodevelopmental disorders, conducting neurodevelopmental assessments with young children and supervising dozens of trainees. Dr. Stapel-Wax also taught graduate clinical psychology at the Georgia School of Professional Psychology. She currently is the Director of Infant and Toddler Clinical Research and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and is a Past President of the Georgia Psychological Association. Her current clinical and research interests lie in teaching and training, assessment of young children and community implementation of scientifically based methods of screening, assessment and intervention.

Stephanie Trauschke, PsyD, BCBA-D received her PsyD in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University where she worked in an outpatient severe behavior program utilizing applied behavior analysis to assess and treat challenging behavior.  She completed her first postdoctoral residency at the Neurobehavioral Unit Outpatient Program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute through Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her second postdoctoral residency at the Marcus Autism Center Severe Behavior Program through Emory University.  At this time, she worked with children in the day treatment, follow-up, and toileting programs.  Currently, Dr. Trauschke is a licensed psychologist, providing services in the long-term follow-up and RUBI parent training programs.  Her interests include the assessment and treatment of children with challenging behavior, durability of treatment, and caregiver training.  Dr. Trauschke assists with the supervision and training of doctoral trainees.

Renee’ Ussery, PsyD received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Argosy University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in private practice and the Marcus Autism Center. For the next several years, Dr. Ussery completed psychological evaluations with children and adolescents in private practice In 2008, Dr. Ussery rejoined Marcus Autism Center where she continued to complete assessments with school aged children within the Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Center. She coordinates training experiences that involve conducting comprehensive psychological assessments for children and adolescents who present with complex histories and differential diagnosis is essential.

Valerie Volkert, PhD, BCBA-D is a psychologist program manager in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at Marcus Autism Center. She also holds the position of Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Emory University School of Medicine. She received her doctorate in school psychology from Louisiana State University, completed a doctoral internship at the Marcus Institute and a postdoctoral residency at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. She was faculty at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for seven years and during that time she was President of the Heartland Association for Behavior Analysis (2009-2011) and training director for the MSIA PhD program in ABA and Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology in the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (2012-2015). An active clinician, teacher and researcher, she sees patients in the outpatient clinics of the Feeding program, supervises interns and fellows and pursues lines of clinical research. Of particular interest are treatments to increase advanced feeding skills (e.g., self-feeding and chewing).

Stormi Pulver White, PsyD is a psychologist program manager in the Clinical Assessments and Diagnostics Program at the Marcus Autism Center. She also holds the position of Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Emory University School of Medicine. She pursued her doctorate in school psychology from University at Albany, State University of New York. Dr. White completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD), focusing on early identification of autism. Additionally, Dr. White completed a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) fellowship while at Vanderbilt. Before joining Marcus Autism Center, Dr. White was an Assistant Professor at University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW), where she held administrative titles of head of psychology and co-clinical director in the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CADD). Dr. White’s clinical and research interests include early identification and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as clinical characterization of rare variant disorders.

Latasha Woods, PhD is a licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist. She earned her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Woods completed her pre-doctoral internship at Marcus Autism Center and her post-doctoral fellowship at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, during which she served on the clinical assessment and research teams. As a part of the assessment and diagnosis team at Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Woods specializes in conducting diagnostic assessments with children, adolescents and young adults, and providing evidence-based treatment to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Dr. Woods is a certified Research Units in Behavioral Intervention (RUBI) therapist with the RUBI Autism Network. Prior to entering clinical practice, Dr. Woods spent more than a decade serving children and families in schools as a certified school psychologist and classroom teacher.

Rachel Yosick, PsyD, BCBA-D, is a licensed psychologist and board-certified behavior analyst–doctoral in the Language and Learning Program at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Yosick completed her doctorate in clinical child psychology at the Georgia School of Professional Psychology and obtained her certification in applied behavior analysis from Florida Institute of Technology. She completed her doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Marcus Autism Center and Emory University School of Medicine, where she gained extensive experience working with children affected by autism and significant language delays, severe problem behavior, and feeding difficulties.

Contributing Faculty Members

Kristina R. Gerencser, PhD, BCBA-D, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and a board-certified behavior analyst doctorate (BCBA-D) and Program Manager for the Language and Learning Program at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Gerencser has worked with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related disabilities in home-, center- and school-based programs targeting skill acquisition and reducing challenging behavior. Dr. Gerencser completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Marcus Autism Center in the Severe Behavior Program. She holds a doctorate in disability disciplines, with a specialization in applied behavior analysis from Utah State University, and received her master’s in behavior analysis from Western Michigan University.

Warren Jones, PhD received his doctorate in biomedical sciences from Yale University. From 2000 to 2003, he worked at the Yale Child Study Center with Ami Klin, PhD During his time at Yale, Dr. Jones used eye-tracking technology to map visual salience young children with autism, as they view movies of social interaction. In a lab setting, Jones uses concealed cameras that zoom in on children's eyes and monitor the movement of their pupils to determine exactly what they are viewing on the TV screen. In 2006, Dr. Jones was awarded the American Psychological Foundation Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Award for his work with eye-tracking technology. He serves as the Director of Research for the Center.

Ami Klin, PhD is the Director of the Marcus Autism Center and Professor and Chief of the Division of Autism and Related Disorders in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Klin is an internationally recognized psychologist and researcher. His primary research activities focus on developmental social neuroscience; specifically on visual engagement of individuals with autism from infancy through adulthood. In his most noted work, Klin uses eye-tracking technology to visualize and measure social engagement, allowing him to monitor infants who potentially have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His research goal is to identify individuals with and at risk for ASD as early as possible so that potential therapies can have their maximal effect. He serves as Chief Psychologist of the Internship.

David O’Banion, MD, FAAP, attended University of Texas Medical School in San Antonio, and matched to Oregon Health Science University's pediatric residency program, where his mentors helped shape his interests in relational health, parenting, adverse childhood experiences and difficult behaviors. He then pursued a fellowship in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma. Upon finishing fellowship, he followed his wife to London in her pursuit of a master’s in public health for eye care. There, he was a research assistant and co-authored a parenting support program for cerebral palsy in Ghana.

Helen Panarites, MD, received her medical degree from Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. She completed her adult psychiatric residency training at the New York Hospital-Westchester Division in White Plains, N.Y. In 1992, she moved to Atlanta for her child psychiatry residency training at Emory University School of Medicine. After training, Dr. Panarites continued as a faculty member at Emory University, working with children and adolescents with a wide range, psychiatric, behavioral and developmental disabilities. She had a position as assistant professor of psychiatry and served as the medical director of the Grady Health System Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. During her time with Grady Health System, Dr. Panarites helped develop a school-based partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, setting up psychiatric teams that provided direct in-school services to several elementary schools. The school-based clinic was effective in improving access to mental health care for children in high-risk schools.

Lawrence Scahill, MSN, PhD is Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University and Director of Clinical Trials at the Marcus Autism Center, where he plays a role in mentoring other faculty members who seek to investigate the feasibility, efficacy and effectiveness of clinical models developed or refined at the Center. Dr. Scahill completed his PhD in Epidemiology h at Yale University (1997) and his master's in Child Psychiatric Nursing at Yale in 1989. Scahill's primary research interests relate to treatment in autism and Tourette syndrome.