Past Donald F. Klein Early Career Investigator Awardees

Congratulations to our past Klein awardees for the best original research paper on neurobiology, psychopharmacology, psychosocial treatments, or experimental psychopathology of anxiety disorders and depression. 

Apply for the Klein award

2025

Emily M. Becker-Haimes, PhD
University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the Clinical Director of the Pediatric Anxiety Treatment Center at Hall Mercer (PATCH) program.

Mohammad Sendi, PhD
McLean Hospital and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

2024

Kristin Szuhny, PhD
NYU Langone Health

"I am appreciative and grateful for the support of ADAA for early career investigators, particularly through the Donald F. Klein Early Career Investigator Award. Due to this award, my research in transdiagnostic processes associated with anxiety disorders was highlighted at the national conference and promoted on a broader scale to clinicians and researchers, an invaluable opportunity for someone early in their career. I also valued meeting the vast array of talented researchers and clinicians involved in ADAA and the support offered to continue to build my professional community and connections. This is a fantastic program and one of many to support students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career investigators offered by ADAA."

2023

Emily Belleau, PhD
McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School

“ADAA has this very unique blend that brings together basic researchers, clinical researchers and clinicians in practice. Having those diverse perspectives is so important for moving the science forward. When you’re at a time in your early career, gaining visibility in your research agenda is so important, and this award helps that in multiple ways: through an interview with ADAA, presenting at the conference, facilitating a webinar, and fostering connections with other researchers.”

2022

Sage E. Hawn, PhD
Boston University School of Medicine

"Thanks to the Donald F. Klein award, I had the pleasure of attending my first ADAA conference.  The conference covered a refreshing blend of basic and applied topics and provided me with ample networking opportunities, which are invaluable as I transition into an independent faculty position.  I particularly enjoyed meeting several CDLP awardees and hearing about their research, which I am hopeful will lead to future collaborations.  The Donald F. Klein award offers a wonderful opportunity to highlight the work of promising young investigators and provides the logistical support for them to be able to share their work with the field more broadly.  I am grateful for the opportunity to share my work with others and to have expanded my academic connections."

2021

Annmarie MacNamara
Texas A&M University

Finalist

Hilary Weingarden
Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School

2020

Sanne J. von Rooij
Emory University

Finalist

Autumn Kujawa, PhD
Vanderbilt University

2019

Suzanne Vrshek-Schallhorn, PhD 
University of North Carolina-Greensboro

2018

Katie Burkhouse, PhD
UIC's Pediatric Mood Disorders Clinic

2017

Jessica Maples-Keller, PhD Emory University School of Medicine
Targeting Memory Reconsolidation to Prevent the Return of Fear in Patients with Fear of Flying

Finalists:

Annmarie MacNamara, PhD Multimethod Affect and Cognition Lab, Texas A&M University
Transdiagnostic Neural Correlates of Affective Face Processing in Anxiety and Depression

Danielle R. Miller, PhD National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity is Associated with Reduced Default Mode Network Connectivity in Individuals with Elevated Genetic Rsk for Psychopathology

2016

Erin Dunn, ScD
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) and Genome-Environment-Wide Interaction Study (GEWIS) of Depressive Symptoms in African American and Hispanic/Latina Women

Finalists                
Negar Fani, PhD
Emory University
Structural and Functional Connectivity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Associations with FKBP5

Anthony King, PhD
University of Michigan
Altered Default Mode Network (DMN) Resting State Functional Connectivity Following a Mindfulness-based Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Combat Veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq

Heide Klumpp, PhD
University of Illinois at Chicago
Neural Reactivity to Reward as a Predictor of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Response in Anxiety and Depression

Naomi Sadeh, PhD
National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System
Epigenetic Variation at SKA2 Predicts Suicide Phenotypes and Internalizing Psychopathology

2015

Phillip Johnson, PhD
Indiana University School of Medicine
Orexin 1 and 2 Receptor Involvement in CO2-Induced Panic-Associated Behaviors and Autonomic Responses

Honorable Mention
Randy Auerbach, PhD
McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Emotion Processing Biases and Resting EEG Activity in Depressed Adolescents

2014

Rebecca B. Price, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Looking Under the Hood of the Dot-Probe Task: An fMRI Study in Anxious Youth

"As a winner of the Donald F. Klein Early Investigator Award, I felt that the organization was fully committed to fostering my career growth and opening new and exciting doors for me. ADAA helped broadcast my work to a wide audience, both during the annual convention and beyond (e.g., through their email distributions and journal). It was a fund and rewarding experience that reflected the many positive qualities of the ADAA community as a 'professional home ' -- warmth and friendliness, integrations across research-to-practice continuum, and a strong commitment to making a difference."

2013

Chandra Sripada, MD, PhD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Aberrant Reward Center Response to Partner Reputation During a Social Exchange Game in Generalized Social Phobia

2012

Roxann Roberson-Nay, PhD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Childhood Separation Anxiety Disorder and Adult Onset Panic Attacks Share a Common Genetic Diathesis

Christopher Lowry, PhD
University of Colorado Boulder
Elevated tph2 mRNA in a Rat Model of Chronic Anxiety

2011

First Place
Jacek Debiec, MD, PhD
New York University
Memory Reconsolidation Studies and Their Implications for PTSD

Honorable Mention
Heide Klumpp, PhD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Trait Anxiety Modulates Anterior Cingulate Activation to Threat Interference

Honorable Mention
Carmen Andreescu, MD
University of Pittsburgh
Altered Cerebral Blood Flow Patterns Associated With Pathologic Worry in the Elderly

2010

Greg Hajcak, PhD
Stony Brook University
Distinct Electrocortical and Behavioral Evidence for Increased Attention to Threat in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Learn more about the Klein Award