Meet the Team

Joselyn is a post-baccalaureate researcher working under an NIH Diversity Supplement. Her project focuses on creating a culturally appropriate adaptation of the APPLES-Tele study for Hispanic families, known as MANZANAS. Joselyn is passionate about early intervention, parent education and exploring cultural perspectives on disability. She is dedicated to ensuring that interventions are inclusive and accessible to all families. With a strong commitment to global health, she strives to raise awareness of developmental disabilities and improve healthcare access for underserved communities worldwide.

Natalie is a licensed speech-language pathologist on the BBOP team. Natalie participates in parent training efforts and leads developmental assessments within longitudinal studies. Natalie is passionate about early social communication development and supporting and empowering caregivers. In addition to Natalie’s BBOP contributions, she is also involved in clinical and research programs at Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Dr. Castro, a bilingual (En/Es) OT, completed her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy and the Early SPOTS program at Georgia State University. She supports APPLES-TELE and MANZANAS (a culturally adapted version of APPLES-TELE for Hispanic families). Her passion lies in continuous learning for the early intervention community and providing OT to Spanish-speaking people. She serves as an OT and interpreter for Babies Can't Wait.

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As Program Administrator, Jennifer is responsible for financial management of all lab operations, as well as project management of several research studies for which BBOP serves as the neurodevelopmental core. Having spent over a decade in higher education administration at New York University and Columbia University, she joined BBOP with extensive prior experience in financial, operations and grants management.

Kate is a Research Specialist with a background in Chemistry and Global Health. At BBOP, she is responsible for managing participant recruitment, coordinating visits, and performing WECS coding to support NICU research and follow-up study. Her work focuses on improving access to healthcare and developing care models for vulnerable pediatric populations, particularly those with disabilities.

Dr. Kempfert is an experienced pediatric PT and researcher investigating how early motor behaviors, reflex patterns, and muscle tone impact neurological health. She specializes in neurorehabilitation and provides her CHOA clients with engaging, evidence-based care. She has expertise in evaluating infants’ gross motor development and is certified in the GMA. There’s nothing she loves more than tiny baby feet!

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Dr. Caitlin Kjeldsen is a postdoctoral fellow with the BBOP. She earned her PhD in Speech and Hearing Science from The Ohio State University and is a licensed and Board-Certified Music Therapist. Dr. Kjeldsen’s research examines how auditory experiences shape early neurodevelopment. She leads the lab’s EEG efforts and can often be found conducting assessments and interventions in the NICU.

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Will is a licensed educator; his primary focus at BBOP is supporting and managing our student research assistants and coordinating the HINE Validation study. Will also works with community programming at the BBOP lab and is passionate about further supporting children and parents in the metro-Atlanta community.

Dr. Marra received a PhD in Kinesiology with a focus in Adapted Physical Activity from the University of Michigan. Her research interests in community-based programming for individuals with disabilities are shaped by her prior experience at Indiana University as a Sam H. Jones Scholar and a Service Learning Assistant for the Adapted Motor Programs. At BBOP she supports APPLES-TELE, 3 for the Under 3, and the UNICEF initiative.

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As Lead Occupational Therapist, Allison is committed to improving therapists' and families' access to evidence-based interventions. She oversees therapy-based research studies and works with community partners to develop new projects. Allison studied Movement Science at the University of Michigan, received her OT degree from Eastern Michigan University, and is pursuing a PhD in Translational Health Sciences at George Washington University.

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Megan is a board-certified music therapist with 8 years of experience among infants, children, and adults. She has a B.A. from Pepperdine University, received her Master’s in Music Therapy from Maryville University St. Louis, and is certified in NICU Music Therapy by the National Institute for Infant & Child Medical Music Therapy. She is interested in the effects of singing on development, speech, and respiratory function.

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Dr. Murphy, a developmental psychologist with a PhD in Educational Psychology, is passionate about empowering individuals and teams. Her early research studied language and cognitive development of youth predisposed to developmental disorders, and the role of family characteristics and teacher experience in child outcomes. At BBOP, her work focuses on stakeholder engagement in research and parenting support programs.

Dr. Neel is an assistant professor, physician-scientist, and clinical researcher. She is passionate about how parents can improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants and studies parenting and parent/child interactions in multimodal ways including questionnaires, behavioral coding, and EEGs.

Paige grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta and graduated from Duke University in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She worked on a few projects while she was at Duke, including a study looking at how infants understand and learn about emotional expressions and a study evaluating a music therapy program for kids with autism. In the BBOP Lab, Paige coordinates the MIND NICU study and APPLES-tele study.

Dr. Kendrick-Allwood is an academic pediatrician with over 20 years of experience, and the medical director of the largest regional NICU follow-up clinic in the state of Georgia, the Developmental Progress Clinic. She is passionate about empowering families to achieve the greatest success in caring for their children and improving healthcare practices for marginalized populations.

Keecia received her MSW from the University of Utah and began her career in the Grady NICU, before later working in pediatric critical care at CHOA Scottish Rite. Since 2020 she has supported the psychosocial needs of DPC families. She is a wife of 34 years, a mother of two, a nanny of one, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. At her church she co-facilitates Grief Share and is a member of the Health and Wellness Ministry.