Team

Jen Goldschmied, PhD

Jen Goldschmied is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Chronobiology and Sleep Institute. She received her doctorate in Clinical Science from the University of Michigan in 2016. Her program of research aims to identify the mechanisms by which sleep modulates mood and to determine the functional importance of slow-wave activity in both mood and cognition. She was awarded an NIH Career Development Award (K23) to study the relationship between sleep slow-wave activity, neuroplasticity and mood in depression in 2019. In addition to her research, Jen also engages in clinical work in behavioral sleep medicine, treating patients with sleep disorders and comorbid psychiatric illness.

Elly Goldstein, BA

Elly graduated from Johns Hopkins University in December of 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish. As an undergraduate, she did research on the quality of mental health care in Argentine prisons and worked with the undocumented community in Baltimore to improve access to social resources. At Penn, she worked in the Center for Psychotherapy Research for two years working in community mental health. She has been with the SNaP Lab since July 2020 and is the primary coordinator for Dr. Goldschmied’s research on slow-wave sleep and neuroplasticity.

Emma Palermo

Emma is a current senior at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in psychology and minoring in neuroscience and statistics. Alongside working in the Slow-Wave Lab, she has been involved in several research projects focusing on the mechanisms and treatment of anxiety and depression and development of mobile health interventions for emotion regulation. Currently, Emma is conducting her senior honors thesis on the relationship between sleep and emotion regulation under the supervision of Dr. Goldschmied and works as an RA on the SWIP study.

Samantha Costello

Sam is a junior at the University of Pennsylvanian pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in cognitive neuroscience and a minor in philosophy. She works under Dr. Goldschmied in examining the relationship between slow-wave sleep and neuroplasticity. Her research interests include neuroplasticity and its effects in development and rehabilitation from brain injury. After graduation she hopes to pursue a PhD in neuroscience.

Margaux Games

Margaux is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience with minors in Music and Chemistry. Throughout her undergraduate career, she has witnessed the consequences of a growing prevalence of mental health problems in a community with a limited number of mental health services. This issue has driven Margaux’s desire to better understand the causation of anxiety disorders, specifically in its relation to sleep. Her interest in research focuses on the intersection between slow wave sleep, anxiety, and cognition. She will be attending medical school beginning in Fall 2022.

Grace Estabrook

Grace is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania graduating in May 2022 pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She worked under Dr. Goldschmied in investigating the effects of slow wave sleep disruption on mood, cognition, and behavior in people with Major Depressive Disorder. In the future, she hopes to obtain a Masters in Social Work.

Zachary Zamore, BA

Zachary Zamore is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (C’21) with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Neuroscience. He was a research assistant in the Sleep Neurobiology and Psychopathology (SNaP) Lab from 2020-2021 working under Dr. Goldschmied looking at the use of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a biomarker for Major Depressive Disorder. Zach is currently a research assistant in Dr. Sigrid Veasey's Lab at the Perelman School of Medicine investigating the relationship between chronic sleep disruptions and the development of Alzheimer's disease. His research interests are studying the biological mechanisms that result in Major Depressive Disorder and Alzheimer's disease in order to predict future treatment options. Zach plans to begin medical school in the summer of 2022.

Emily Overholt, BA

Emily studied psychology and public health at the University of Arizona where she graduated in 2021. She did personality research at U of A as well as sleep and psychopathology research with Dr. Goldschmied at HUP. She now is getting her master’s in clinical social work at Penn. She enjoys taking her dogs to the park and a good book!

Director