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Our Staff

  • Kristin Cadenhead, M.D.

    Kristin Cadenhead, M.D.

    Dr. Cadenhead is the Director of the  CARE Program. She is a Professor of Psychiatry and an Attending Physician at UC San Diego Health. She serves as the Program Director of the Psychiatry Residency training program. Dr. Cadenhead received her BA in Biology/Psychology from Rice University and her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She completed her residency in Psychiatry and Fellowship in Schizophrenia Research at UC San Diego. Dr. Cadenhead established the CARE Early Psychosis Research Program in 1999.

    Dr. Cadenhead’s primary research interests include early identification and intervention in the beginning stages of psychosis. Much of her research focuses on risk factors, biomarkers and targeted treatment in the schizophrenia spectrum of disorders. She specializes in identifying individuals at clinical high risk for serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and providing early intervention and treatment.

    Dr. Cadenhead has participated in multiple large research consortia including the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Studies (NAPLS), Harmonization of At Risk Multisite Observational Networks for Youth (HARMONY), California Collaborative Network to Promote Data Driven Care and Improve Outcomes in Early Psychosis (EPI-CAL), and the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS).

    Dr. Cadenhead’s UC San Diego Psychiatry Department Biography
    Named in the 2015 “Top Docs” San Diego Magazine “Physicians of Exceptional Excellence” in Psychiatry
    Dr. Cadenhead on Early Identification, Prediction and Intervention 
    Lecture at the Department of Psychiatry 50th Anniversary.

  • Heline Mirzakhanian, Ph.D.

    Heline Mirzakhanian, Ph.D.

    Dr. Mirzakhanian is an Associate Clinical Professor in the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her research interests include understanding brain changes associated with the onset of psychotic illness. Specifically, she uses neuroimaging techniques to investigate the brain's glutamate system.

    Dr. Mirzakhanian has co-authored many articles, and her work has appeared in JAMA Psychiatry, The American Journal of Psychiatry, and NeuroImage, among others. She also serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Psychological Medicine and Bipolar Disorders, and several others.

    Dr. Mirzakhanian is the Clinical Director of the CARE Early Psychosis Specialty Clinic and since its inception has been involved in planning and development of services, delivery of patient care, and supervision and teaching of junior staff members. She performs comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, provides therapy and educates patients and their families on the different aspects of psychotic illness. Dr. Mirzakhanian's expertise is in treating individuals with early symptoms of psychosis; schizophrenia; and bipolar disorder with psychotic features. She uses cognitive-behavioral therapies (e.g., CBT for Psychosis, CBT+social skills), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) techniques, exposure and response prevention (ERP), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). She is also involved in mentoring and teaching in the UC San Diego School of Medicine, teaching Practice of Medicine to medical students, as well as mentoring psychiatry residents and doctoral students.

    Dr. Mirzakhanian completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego's Cognitive Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) program. She completed an internship in neuropsychology at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Mirzakhanian earned her PhD from the San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology.

  • Isabel Domingues, M.D.

    Isabel Domingues, M.D.

    Dr. Domginues is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego. She earned her medical degree from the University of Porto Medical School in Portugal and her residency in Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego. She served as the Chief Resident in Psychiatry and joined the CARE team in 2009. She specializes in the early identification and treatment of early psychosis with a special interest in metabolic abnormalities in patients with psychosis. She speaks Portuguese, Spanish and French.

  • Donna Corbett, Psy.D.

    Donna Corbett, Psy.D.

    Dr. Donna Corbett is a licensed psychologist. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California, Irvine and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology. She completed an APA accredited pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the State Center Community College District. She served as the faculty advisor to the Active Minds Club, a student-run organization aimed at reducing the stigma of mental illness on college campuses. She has experience working in inpatient as well as outpatient dual diagnosis treatment facilities, including an externship at Harbor UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Corbett joined the CARE program in 2015 and is currently working with clinical patients and in research. She specializes in early psychosis treatment and intervention with a special interest in how the duration of untreated psychosis impacts long-term prognosis. She currently facilitates the Wellness Group and DBT Groups at CARE.

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    Daniella Cardenas, MHP

    Daniella is the Recruitment Study Coordinator of the CARE Program. Daniella obtained her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the Autonomous University of Baja California (Tijuana, Mx) before earning her Master’s degree in Health Psychology from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Santiago, Ch). She spent 5 years working on projects in different areas such as community health, tobacco cessation & substance abuse prevention, and HIV research. Daniella is experienced working with vulnerable populations and implementing her social/communication skills to assist in programs that aid in the physical and mental health needs of pregnant women and incarcerated men. She joined the CARE team to focus on the research aspect of mental health. She is also fluent in Spanish.
  • Leda Kennedy, MSc

    Leda Kennedy, MSc

    Leda is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology within the Joint Doctoral Program (JDP) at San Diego State University/ University of California San Diego (Experimental Psychopathology track) working under the mentorship of Dr. Kristin Cadenhead. She graduated from American University with a B.A. in Anthropology and soon after spent several years working in early psychosis research settings at both Harvard Medical School and Columbia University Medical Center. She received her MSc. in Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, Department of Psychosis Studies, in 2021. Within the CARE program, her primary research focus is on developing novel interventions for individuals with early-course psychosis, and studying longitudinal clinical, neurocognitive, and functional outcomes for individuals across the psychosis-spectrum.

     Email: lekennedy@health.ucsd.edu

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    Noor Alomar, BA

    Noor Alomar is a Research Study Associate for the CARE Program. She graduated with a bachelor's in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego in 2019. Prior to joining CARE, she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for a neurology lab at the University of California, Davis. Her research interests include neuroimaging and blood-based biomarkers of schizophrenia in young adults.