Lab Alumni
JOSHUA
GORDON
Position/Time in Lab
Psychiatry Resident, 2022-2024
Post-Lab Position
Physician-scientist
I grew up in a small town in Upstate NY before moving to Medford, MA to attend undergrad at Tufts University. I developed a strong interest in social and environmental determinants of health, which led me to major in International Relations with a concentration in Global Health, Nutrition, and the Environment. After working as a research assistant at the Boston Children’s Hospital for two years post-undergrad, I returned to New York to attend the MD/PhD program at the University at Buffalo. During my PhD in the Epidemiology department, I studied the associations between periodontal disease, systemic inflammation, the oral microbiome, and hypertension in postmenopausal women. After returning to medical school, I fell in love with the field of psychiatry, and I am excited to pursue a career combining clinical practice in psychiatry with population-based research in the research track at Penn! Outside of the hospital I enjoy rock climbing, trying new foods, playing with my cat Linda, listening to music, and exploring the city while listening to audio books.
JEREMY
WORTZEL
Position/Time in Lab
Medical Student Researcher, 2020-2021
Post-lab Position
Psychiatry Resident, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Jeremy began working with the BarziLab in November of 2020, following his interest in the role of the environment in mental health. While working in the lab Jeremy was a fourth year MD-MPH student at the Perelman Medical School. During his time in the lab, Jeremy worked on the CovidSilience Project and studied the protective effects that urban greenspace has had on the mental health of study participants throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. His work led to his first-author paper on greenspace published in Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Wortzel et al., 2021).
After graduating Medical School, Jeremy started his Psychiatry Residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston Massachusetts.
DALLAS
RYAN
Position/Time in Lab
Undergraduate Researcher, 2020-2022
Post-lab Position
Program Coordinator at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania
Dallas began working with the BarziLab in 2020 as a student researcher while she was pursing her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. In the Barzi Lab, Dallas worked ion a project examining the association between racial discrimination and suicidality in preadolescent children.
Dallas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022. After graduation, Dallas started working at the Penn Netter Center as an Educational Pipeline Program Coordinator. In the future, Dallas plans to pursue a medical degree focusing on social determinants of health
STIRLING
ARGABRIGHT
Position/Time in Lab
Research Coordinator, 2020-2022
Post-Lab Position
MD/PhD Student at Vanderbilt School of Medicine
Stirling joined the lab in 2020 and quickly became an essential member of the lab. During Stirling’s time in the lab, he was very productive publishing three first-author papers. His first paper looked at the association between discrimination stress and suicidality in preadolescent children (Argabright et al., 2022, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) and his second paper explored the association of racial/ethnic discrimination and pubertal development in early adolescence (Argabright et al., 2022, Psychoneuroendocrinology).
After two years in the lab, Stirling left for the MD/PhD program at Vanderbilt School of Medicine.
INGRID
SOTELO
Position/Time in Lab
Undergraduate Researcher, 2020-2022
Post-lab Position
Fullbright Award to conduct research at the Freie Universität Berlin
Ingrid began working with the BarziLab in 2020 as a student researcher while she was pursing her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. While in the lab, Ingrid worked diligently to do the groundwork for the Exposome project, as well as assisted on the CovidSilience project studying resilience during the pandemic.
Ingrid graduated with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with minors in psychology and healthcare management in 2022. After graduation, Ingrid was awarded a Fulbright US Student Program grant to conduct research in Germany at the Freie Universität Berlin, where she will be studying the role of cultural values and resilience in transgenerational trauma of Holocaust survivor offspring.
SARA
BRIKER
Position/Time in Lab
Medical Student Researcher, 2022-2023
Post-lab Position
Psychiatry Resident, Georgetown University Hospital
Sara started research with the BarziLab in 2022 while she was a medical student within the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sara is currently a Psychiatry Resident at Georgetown University Hospital and is interested in Community Psychiatry and Women’s Mental Health.