Meet Our Team
Principal Investigator
Dear Visitors,
My name is Dr. Melanie Bennett, Principal Investigator of the Connection LHS Hub, one of the eight hubs of the Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET), a nationwide research endeavor to improve clinical care and outcomes for people experiencing early psychosis. The purpose of this website is to foster a collaborative learning environment, and offer tools and resources for accessing more information and services.
On this website, you will find links to support and treatment options at our sites in Maryland and Pennsylvania, as well as broader helpful information. Whether you are a person seeking care, a mental health provider, or a stakeholder aiming to expand their knowledge about early psychosis, I hope this website will be of service to you.
Best wishes,
Dr. Melanie Bennett
About Dr. Bennett
Melanie Bennett, PhD, is a Professor and Director of the Division of Psychiatric Services Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
A psychologist by profession, she conducts practice-based research to implement services that improve health, enhance social and community functioning, and support mental health recovery for individuals living with mental illness. For the last several years, Dr. Bennett has worked in the area of treatment for young adults experiencing early psychosis and their families, and has contributed to the development and implementation of coordinated specialty care (CSC).
Dr. Bennett served as a co-Investigator and site-Principal Investigator for the NIMH-funded Recovery After Initial Schizophrenia Episode Implementation and Evaluation study and contributed substantially to the development of CSC’s psychosocial intervention components. She currently leads the Training and Implementation Support Services section of the Maryland Early Intervention Program, a state-funded center of excellence in early psychosis research and treatment. In this role, she has directed CSC implementation in Maryland and collaborated with the Maryland Behavioral Health Administration on topics related to reporting, outcomes measurement, and fidelity.
In 2020, Dr. Bennett and her team — in collaboration with colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Sheppard Pratt, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine — became one of eight teams (Connection Learning Healthcare System) that comprise NIMH’s Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET), a national effort to collect common measures from hundreds of CSC programs and to create a national database to support research that will improve practice. For this project, she leads a team of investigators and clinicians spanning 23 CSC programs and five academic institutions across Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bennett serves as Chair of the Connection LHS Executive Committee, Chair of the Connection LHS Planning Committee, and Co-Chair of the Connection LHS Practice-Based Research Committee.
Dr. Bennett also supervises and mentors psychology interns and fellows, and works with clinicians to implement evidence-based mental health interventions in community treatment settings.
Connection LHS Research Team
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Robert Buchanan, MD
Professor, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Director, Maryland Early Intervention Program
Richard Goldberg, PhD
Professor, Division of Psychiatric Services Research
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Learning Health System Committee
Julie Kreyenbuhl, PharmD, PhD
Professor, Division of Psychiatric Services Research
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Alicia Lucksted, PhD
Associate Professor, Division of Psychiatric Services Research
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Deborah Medoff, PhD
Associate Professor, Division of Psychiatric Services Research
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Data Management and Analysis Committee
Li Juan Fang, MS
Data Analyst
Belinda Kauffman, MS
Research Analyst
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Russell Margolis, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Site PI, Johns Hopkins Affiliated Sites
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Practice-Based Research Committee
Krista Baker, LCPC
Director of Operations, Community Psychiatry Program, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Assessment and Data Collection Committee
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Jill Marsteller, PhD, MPP
Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management Investigator
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Learning Health System Committee
Sheppard Pratt
Faith Dickerson, PhD, MPH
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Site PI, Sheppard Pratt Affiliated Sites
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
K. N. Roy Chengappa, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Deepak Sarpal, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Site PI, UPMC Affiliated Sites
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Assessment and Data Collection Committee
Swati Nayar, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Monica Calkins, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Site PI, University of Pennsylvania Affiliated Sites
Co-Director, Pennsylvania HeadsUp
Co-Chair, Connection LHS Data Management and Analysis Committee
Christian Kohler, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Co-Investigator, EPINET Connection LHS Hub
Co-Director, Pennsylvania HeadsUp
Megan Westfall, MS
Data Analyst
Donna Bencivengo, MS
Clinical Research Coordinator
Manager, Connection LHS Data Management and Analysis Committee