PanLab

Principal Investigator

Vincent V.C. Woo Professor
Associate Chair of Translational Neuroscience
Stanford University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Director, Education & Precision Medicine Core

VA Palo Alto Sierra-Pacific MIRECC

Leanne Williams, Ph.D., is the Vincent V.C. Woo Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is the founding director of the Stanford Center for Precision Mental Health and Wellness and of the Stanford PanLab for Personalized and Translational Neuroscience, Associate Chair of Translational Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of Education and Precision Medicine Core at the Palo Alto VA Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center.

Prior to joining the Stanford community, Dr. Williams was the founding chair of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and directed the Brain Dynamics Center at Sydney Medical School. Her PhD was completed with a British Council Scholarship for study at Oxford University.

Dr. Williams' Center and translational programs integrate advanced neuroimaging, technology, and digital innovation to transform the way we detect mental disorders, tailor interventions and promote wellness. She has developed the first taxonomy for depression and anxiety that quantifies brain circuits for diagnostic precision and prediction. Dr. Williams' research programs are supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health, spanning priority Research Domain Criteria, Human Connectome and Science of Behavior Change initiatives. She has contributed over 390 scientific papers to the field.

Leanne Williams, PhD

Early Career Award Mentees

Primary Mentorship

Teddy earned his M.D. from the American University of Beirut and completed his Psychiatry Residency at both Stanford University and Cleveland Clinic, where he received the NIMH Outstanding Resident Award. He underwent postdoctoral training at Yale's Department of Psychiatry, specializing in multimodal neuroimaging, network neuroscience, and clinical trials of rapid-acting antidepressants like ketamine.

His current research focuses on understanding the neural underpinnings of trauma and chronic stress disorders, identifying brain-based biomarkers for precision psychiatry, and developing therapies for treatment-resistant depression and PTSD — namely, glutamatergic antidepressants, psychedelics, and neuromodulation.

Teddy Akiki, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Laura Hack, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor,
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Laura Hack, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine and a Staff Physician within the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She also holds the positions of Director of Novel & Precision Neurotherapeutics at the Stanford Center for Precision Mental Health and Wellness (PMHW), Director of the Stanford Translational Precision Mental Health Clinic, and Deputy Director and Esketamine Lead at the Precision Neuromodulation Clinic (PNC), VA Palo Alto Health Care System

She received her B.S. in Neuroscience from the College of William and Mary and her M.D. and Ph.D. in Human and Molecular Genetics from Virginia Commonwealth University. Subsequently, she completed a Psychiatry Residency at Emory, where she was Chief of the Research Track. Dr. Hack then completed a Fellowship through the Palo Alto VA MIRECC and Stanford under the mentorship of Drs. Williams, Schatzberg, and O'Hara. As an early career faculty member, Dr. Hack's translational research program focuses on identifying bioclinical subtypes of depression and testing mechanistically-guided treatments for these subtypes. Clinically, Dr. Hack specializes in delivering novel treatments to patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression and related disorders. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, vegetarian cooking, attending her husband's performances with robotic musicians, and spending time with her family, friends, and polydactyl cat.

John Leikauf, MD

Child & Adolescent
Psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor,
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

John Leikauf, M.D., is a graduate of the Stanford Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, Research Track. Previously, he served as Chief Resident of the General Psychiatry residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he also attended medical school. His clinical interests are many and include working with young people with disruptive behaviors, ADHD, anxiety disorders, and family conflict. His research interests are complementary, and he has been working with Prof. Leanne Williams in developing personalized approaches to the treatment of ADHD and anxiety by understanding the relationships between measures of impulsivity, inattention, and arousal across different levels of organization. Some of this work has benefited from collaboration and the incredible expertise in statistics and computer science here at Stanford, and he is currently working on a project involving the Apple Watch for deep phenotyping via passive data collection. He has greatly enjoyed his time at Stanford so far and is excited to be joining the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division as a junior faculty member. In his personal life, he enjoys spending relaxing time with family and friends, yoga, and exploring the natural beauty of the Bay Area on foot.

Co-Mentorship

Donna Murray, Ph.D., is a behavioral neuroscientist. She is a Research Health Science Specialist at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs HCS and Instructor (Affiliate) at Stanford School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Murray's research focuses on the neurobiology of substance use disorders and the impact of psychiatric comorbidities. Her research uses multimodal neuroimaging methods (MR spectroscopy and resting-state fMRI), neuropsychological assessment measures, and statistical learning methods.

Donna is a collaborator with the Padula BRAVE lab.

Donna Murray, PhD

Instructor (Afflifiate),

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

PanLab Post-Docs

Jeesung Ahn, PhD

Jeesung earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her doctoral research used neuroimaging to personalize behavioral health interventions and predict changes in health behaviors, such as physical activity. She also studied individual differences in vulnerability to mental health challenges, with a particular focus on loneliness and social isolation.

As a postdoctoral scientist at PanLab, Jeesung focuses on translating complex patterns of brain function into clinically interpretable measures to help guide more precise depression treatment selection for individual patients. Her research integrates neuroimaging, behavioral assessments, social network analysis, experience sampling, wearable data, and computational modeling. She is passionate about community outreach and making scientific research accessible and useful in everyday life. Her long-term goal is to bring brain-based measures into routine psychiatric care to help match patients with the treatments most likely to benefit them.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Ellie Beam, MD, PhD

Elizabeth Beam completed MD/PhD training and psychiatry residency on the research track at Stanford. Her doctoral thesis synthesized texts and data across the neuroimaging literature into a framework for knowledge of human brain function. As a psychiatry resident, she served as a co-chief of the research track, and she pursued research in the PanLab with the support of the T32 Biobehavioral Research Fellowship. She has undertaken further psychoanalytic psychotherapy training through the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis and the American Psychoanalytic Association.

Her post-doctoral research aims to develop computational methods for characterizing speech across depression biotypes. She is interested in applying psychoanalytic thinking to inform models of naturalistic speech and brain circuit function. Her current projects seek to identify biotype-specific speech patterns that predict response to emerging tools of interventional psychiatry including MDMA and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.

T32 Fellow Clinical Scholar

Liangfang Li, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Liangfang earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from Sun Yat-sen University, where she investigated transcriptomic mechanisms underlying brain network heterogeneity and evaluated the utility of individualized brain parcellation for predicting symptom severity and identifying biomarkers of depression.

At PanLab, her research focuses on leveraging large-scale, transdiagnostic neuroimaging datasets to identify brain-based dimensions and subtypes of anxious misery disorders. By integrating multimodal imaging data, clinical outcomes, and computational modeling within an individualized analytical framework, she aims to uncover biologically informed subgroups and treatment-responsive circuits, thereby advancing personalized clinical decision-making and the development of tailored, mechanism-based interventions.

In her spare time, Liangfang enjoys badminton and music, and is a passionate dog lover with a special fondness for Golden Retrievers and Samoyeds.

PanLab Staff

Andrea graduated from Queen’s University in 2024 with an MSc in Neuroscience. Her thesis focused on developing computational pipelines to analyze advanced neuroimaging data for the pre-operative assessment of patients with epilepsy. Since graduating, Andrea has joined the Psychiatry Department at Stanford, where she now works in the PanLab as a data analyst specializing in neuroimaging data. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, and is looking forward to exploring the Bay Area.

Andrea Ellsay

Precision Psychiatry Research Engineer - Neuroimaging Lead

Anna joined PanLab after extensive experience in various industries, cultures, and business environments, ranging from protocol-driven organizations to dynamic start-ups. She is fascinated with our research and committed to adding value by utilizing her professional experience while also learning new skills and expanding her knowledge about our work.

Anna Boken

Executive Assistant

Conner Oberhauser

Clinical Research Coordinator Associate

Conner graduated from Stanford University in June 2025 with a B.S. in Neurobiology, a minor in Psychology, and honors in Science, Technology, and Society. For his honors thesis, he explored how housing conditions and environmental exposures in agricultural zones affect the physical and mental health of migrant farmworkers, an experience that deepened his interest in the ways social and environmental factors shape health outcomes. He is passionate about understanding the biological roots of mental illness while also considering the human stories behind diagnoses, with the long-term goal of supporting more effective and compassionate treatments for psychiatric disorders. Alongside his academic work, Conner has been deeply involved in mental health advocacy. He founded End the Stigma, a platform focused on destigmatizing mental illness and improving access to care, which led him to partner with the nonprofit NoStigmas. These experiences shaped his commitment to equity, advocacy, and patient-centered care, values that continue to guide his work today. Conner currently works as a CRCA in the PanLab and hopes to pursue an MD/PhD in Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology. In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym, traveling, watching TV shows, and spending time with his cat.

Daniella graduated from UC Davis in June 2023 with a B.S. in
Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. During her undergraduate
years, she worked as a Behavioral Health Associate at an inpatient
psychiatric hospital, where she supported patients experiencing a
range of mental health disorders. This experience sparked her
passion for mental health care. She later worked at SRI
International in the Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Lab,
contributing to NIH-funded research with sensitive populations,
including individuals living with HIV, alcohol dependence, and other
mental health challenges. In this role, she conducted neuroimaging
and administered neuropsychological assessments.

Daniella currently works as a CRCA in PanLab and hopes to
pursue a career in medical devices or pharmaceuticals while
continuing her work in clinical research. Outside of work, she
enjoys hiking, watching movies with her cat, and exploring different
cafés.

Daniella Evangelista

Clinical Research Coordinator Associate

Erica earned her B.A. from UCLA and conducted health services research at VA Puget Sound before completing her M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies at Stanford, where she collaborated with the Heifets Lab studying intraoperative dreaming, anesthesia, and mood. In PanLab, her work focuses on cognitive dysfunction in mood disorders, the effects of MDMA on brain circuits, and targeted treatment for specific biotypes of depression. She is dedicated to improving mental health care by translating research into clinical practice. In her spare time, Erica enjoys spending time outdoors, trad climbing, and exploring art, music, and vegan food. She values finding joy and humor in everyday life and spending time with her partner and friends.

Erica Ma

Research Physician Assistant

Hosna joins the Center as Executive Director, previously providing program support for a growing Stanford institute, running an internal grant-funding source, developing research infrastructure support, and developing an access request system to electronic medical records (EMR) for research personnel in the School of Medicine. Receiving the Dept of Pediatrics Donna Schurr Spirit Award for her notable contributions in her previous role. She’s received an MS in Clinical Research Management (Regulatory Science) at Arizona State University and brings her experience in streamlining processes, project management and showcasing the work of the center to both the internal Stanford community and external partners.

Hosna Omarzad

Director of Special Projects

Ihor is a clinical research professional with experience in medicine and research operations. Before joining Stanford, he managed the launch and coordination of several research projects at Columbia University Medical Center. After earning his medical degree and practicing psychiatry, Ihor transitioned into clinical research and operations, which allowed him to combine his clinical background with his interest in research. Outside of work, Ihor enjoys running, hiking, and exploring new restaurants around the Bay Area.

Ihor Hursh

Senior Research Program Coordinator

Isabelle graduated from Middlebury College in February of 2024 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Spanish. She is interested in neuroscience as a means to further characterize and understand psychiatric disorders. At Middlebury, she worked as a research assistant in a lab studying trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most recently, she conducted her thesis research on students’ psychophysiological responses to trigger warnings and trauma cues. Isabelle works as a CRCA at the PanLab and hopes to ultimately pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the outdoors by running, biking, and backpacking.

Isabelle Wydler

Lead Clinical Research Coordinator

Lara Foland-Ross, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor

Lara Foland-Ross, Ph.D., is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. She earned her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCLA and completed postdoctoral training in Stanford’s Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology. Lara’s research focuses on understanding person-level differences in brain function, cognition, and behavior to identify meaningful subtypes of depression, with the broader goal of moving mental health care beyond one-size-fits-all approaches. She serves as Associate Director of Precision Mental Health Research Programs, where she helps lead scientific programs and initiatives across the Stanford Center for Precision Mental Health. She also provides scientific oversight for ACE-D, a multi-site NIH-funded study investigating a cognitive biotype of depression and its potential to inform prognosis and treatment selection. In addition, Lara serves as Scientific Program Lead and Commissioner for the Nature Mental Health Commission on Precision Mental Health, an international effort working to define a clinically actionable path for the field. Outside of work, Lara enjoys nature, reading, baking, and spending time with her dogs and family.

Lucas holds an M.P.S. in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU and is pursuing graduate certificates in biomedical data science and AI engineering at Stanford. Previously, he co-founded and led XR engineering at the R&D nonprofit Neurohue, exploring novel interfaces for health. At PanLab, he researches AI-driven methods for neuroimaging analysis, with a focus on network-based modeling of brain function and multimodal data integration to support individualized treatment approaches. He is especially interested in translating neurocognitive insights into clinical tools and developing novel ontology frameworks for precision mental health. In his free time, he enjoys adventuring around the Bay Area, experimenting with mind-body practices, and creating new media art.

Lucas Wozniak

Applied AI Engineer

Rachel Hilton is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). She received her education (MSN) and psychiatric training at Vanderbilt University. She is an experienced PMHNP in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Additionally, she is currently pursuing her PhD at Vanderbilt. Her research interests include precision psychiatry, sleep disorders and treatments, and implementation science. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and hiking with her husband and dog.

Rachel Hilton

Research Nurse Practitioner

Rio graduated from UCLA in July 2025 with a B.S. in Psychobiology and a minor in English. Her undergraduate work in the neural circuits underlying traumatic memory and value-directed remembering led to an enduring interest in how to apply neuroscientific theory and medical imaging tools to the humanistic study of mental illness. She is passionate about working with people managing depression and other mood disorders, and plans to eventually help translate precision neuroscience to the clinic as a psychiatrist. Outside of her life as a scientist, you can find Rio acting on stage or discussing a new favorite novel or film with friends.

Rio Hundley

Clinical Research Coordinator Associate

Thomas Tan

Thomas Tan holds an MSc in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto. His thesis used fMRI to investigate neural networks and examine the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on resting-state functional connectivity in major depressive disorder (MDD). His research also explored personalized targeting approaches to optimize rTMS treatment for MDD.

Thomas has since joined the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, where he works as a data analyst in the PanLab. He specializes in multimodal datasets, including neuroimaging, cognitive, and clinical data. Outside of work, Thomas enjoys Olympic weightlifting, biking, and hiking, and looks forward to exploring the Bay Area.

Data Analyst

Xue Zhang, PhD

Xue earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Tsinghua University, with a focus on neuroimaging and computation, and completed her postdoctoral training in the PanLab at Stanford University, specializing in
translational psychiatry. Now a Research Scientist at PanLab, Xue leads multiple precision psychiatry studies investigating rapid-acting therapeutics.
Her research centers on identifying brain circuit markers and biotypes that
predict individual treatment response to compounds such as ketamine,
MDMA, and psilocybin. She integrates task-based and resting-state fMRI with computational modeling to understand how these interventions modulate brain circuits, with the goal of advancing personalized mental health care.

Outside of work, Xue enjoys swimming, participating in conformation dog shows with her Bichon, Gongxi, and painting nails.

Academic Research Scientist

PanLab Students

Graduate Students

Divya is a fifth-year PhD student in the Mechanical Engineering department at Stanford. During her PhD, she also completed her Master's in Computational and Mathematical Engineering. Her doctoral research focuses on applying computational modeling and simulation techniques to identify therapeutic mechanisms of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in depression. She leverages medical images and numerical simulation methods to develop personalized image-based modeling frameworks in conjunction with large-scale automated pipelines. Outside of graduate school and research, Divya loves to read, travel, do yoga, listen to music, and spend time with her friends and family.

Divya Rajasekharan

PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering

Tanner Pulice

Tanner Pulice grew up in Newport Beach, California, and was recruited out of high school to play Division I water polo. He began his collegiate career at UCLA, where he won a national championship as a freshman, before transferring to Stanford University. Tanner recently earned his Bachelor of Science in Human Biology with a concentration in Medical Entrepreneurship and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy while competing in his final season with the Stanford men’s water polo team.

Tanner’s passion for mental health and precision psychiatry is deeply personal. After losing his older brother to suicide in high school, he became committed to advancing innovative approaches to mental health care. He recently launched the Save Toby Project, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the adoption of precision psychiatry and raising awareness about suicide prevention in honor of his brother. Tanner aims to attend medical school and ultimately become a psychiatrist.

Master's Student in Public Policy

Elena is pursuing her PsyD in Clinical Psychology through the PAU-Stanford consortium. Previously, she earned a master's in Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, where she worked with the Neuroscience and Mental Health Lab to investigate the mechanisms of CBT’s effect on anxiety disorders. For her undergraduate degree, Elena studied Computer Science and Psychology at Duke University, and after graduating, she worked as a technology business consultant in the healthcare industry. Elena is committed to leveraging her interdisciplinary background to improve the precision and effectiveness of mental healthcare. In her free time, Elena enjoys hiking, soccer, and exploring the Bay Area!

Elena Gray

PsyD Candidate in Clinical Psychology
MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience

Undergraduate Students

Sierra grew up in Northern California and currently resides in Tucson, where she is completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Arizona. Her interest in neuropsychology developed while studying at St. Mary’s University in London, and she is excited about her future in clinical psychology.

Sierra Healy

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Evelyn is an undergraduate student at Stanford studying Psychology (neuroscience) and Computer Science (biocomputation). She is deeply committed to advancing precision psychiatry, with a career-long mission to personalize treatment for psychiatric disorders based on biomarkers and machine learning algorithms. Prior to Stanford, Evelyn assisted animal experiments at a neurology lab investigating the molecular mechanisms of migraine; conducted a systematic review of “the spiritual brain”; and presented her work on trust at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology 2021 Annual Convention.

Evelyn Song

Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Scholar

Interns

Sean Nesamoney

Sean Nesamoney is a Menlo School student here in the Bay Area. He is passionate about using technology to pioneer innovation in the field of neuroscience as well as using music as a means to improve the well-being of individuals, especially teens.

Sean is a H.S. intern at the Panlab, part of Stanford's Center for Precision Mental Health & Wellness. With mentorship from Dr. Leanne Williams, he's worked on various projects in the field of neuroscience. Some of these projects include developing a user interface for Mentaid, a wearable device to monitor individuals' mental health that the lab had created prior to Sean joining. He is currently working on an individual research paper, studying how various mental health diagnoses impair cognitive function. Sean is also the student leader of PMHW's Creative Science Communications Group, a cohort of H.S. students passionate about raising mental health awareness from a scientific lens.

Sean is the founding director of "Menlo Voices for Hope,” a student-led organization that recently put on a benefit concert to raise awareness about teen mental health, with a focus on how students have used the arts to cope with the COVID pandemic.

Additionally, Sean is a published app developer of a free mobile app called "Muse: Music for the Mind." Muse is a music recommendation platform to help teens find songs that suit their mental health needs. Using an emotionally-cognizant machine learning algorithm, Muse suggests songs to users based on their current mental state.

A two-time semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, Sean is eager to continue his musical endeavors, his work with Menlo Voices for Hope, and his research at the Center.