Our Team

Arielle H. Sheftall, PhD 
Director 

Dr. Sheftall, PhD is an Associate Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry in Rochester, New York. She is also the Chief of Academic Affairs for the Child and Adolescent Division of the Department pf Psychiatry. Her research focuses on the developmental mechanisms in early to middle childhood that confer vulnerability to future suicidal behavior. It is her goal to frame targets for early intervention to decrease incidence of a first suicide attempt in at-risk youth. Additionally, Dr. Sheftall is interested in the racial disparities present in suicidal behavior among youth. She was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Taskforce that created the “Ring the Alarm” report and continues to examine risk factors, practice, and policy recommendations necessary to decrease suicidal behaviors in Black youth. She is also a subject matter expert for SAMHSA, the Office of Minority Health, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention focusing on mental health promotion and suicide prevention for Black youth. Finally, Dr. Sheftall has received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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Ellen-ge Denton, PsyD, MS
Clinical Advisor

Dr. Ellen-ge Denton is an Associate Professor and licensed psychologist with an overall research aim to build mental health capacity and develop suicide prevention in resource limited settings. Dr. Denton’s publications highlight biopsychosocial risk factors to severe depression and suicide attempts among child welfare youth in a low-middle-income-country (LMIC), Guyana. She is currently funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to understand suicide risks among suicide attempters, family members who lost loved ones from suicide, and exposure to suicide in the general Guyanese population. She also works on investigation resources to treat and respond to patients following a suicide attempt and hospitalization. She has presented at the NIMH preteen suicide research roundtable, International Association of Suicide Research, European Symposium for Suicide and Suicidal Behavior, Ministry of Health in Guyana, etc. She currently serves on the steering committee for the Youth Suicide Research Consortium (YSRC)and has found greatest reward in mentoring first-generation undergraduate students into doctoral training programs at research institutions.

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Sandria Sawyers
Human Subject Research Specialist

Sandria Sawyers (she/her) is a Human Subject Research Specialist. She received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Louisville and previously served as the Lab Manager for the Risk Identification of Suicidal States to Inform Care (RISSC) Lab under Dr. Nadia Al-Dajani. Her research examines how the intergenerational transmission of trauma, resilience, and lived experience shapes psychopathology in marginalized populations, particularly within Black communities, and how these patterns relate to suicide risk.

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Christina Zhang
Human Subject Research Coordinator

Christina Zhang (she/her) is a human subject research coordinator at the Sheftall Lab. She graduated from the University of Rochester in May 2024 with her BA in Public Health. Christina previously worked as a research assistant at the Rochester Center for Research on Children and Families under Dr. Patrick Davies. Her research interests include intergenerational trauma, resiliency, stress, community mental health, and risk factors of suicidality. She would like to work to de-stigmatize mental health within marginalized communities.

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Vic Cohen
Human Subject Research Specialist

Vic Cohen (They/Them) is a human subject research specialist at the Sheftall Lab. They received a B.S in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Rochester in May 2025, and they are currently pursuing a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the Warner School. They previously worked on the NIH-funded RADxUP project partnering with underserved populations in the Rochester area, and worked in URMC's Goldman Lab on behavioral studies. Their research interests include the role of ruminating behaviors in non-suicidal self injury.

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Kaidence Pacheco
Human Subject Research Specialist, Psychiatry

Kaidence Pacheco (She/Her) is a Human Subject Research Specialist for the Sheftall Lab. She graduated in 2026 from the University of Rochester, majoring in psychology and minoring in dance. She has worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Sheftall Lab focusing on Project Family Risk, a research intern at the HOPE Lab URMC, and a research intern for Project FLIGHT 2.0 through the Mount Hope Family Center. She has been accepted into the University of Rochester’s Master’s program to become a school counselor. 

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Elisabeth Sohn
Human Subject Research Specialist, Psychiatry

Elisabeth Sohn (she/her) is a Human Subject Research Specialist for the Sheftall lab.  She graduated in 2026 from the University of Rochester with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a Psychology minor.  Previously, she worked in the Sheftall Lab as a research assistant focusing on project REACH, the Orlandi Lab in the URMC Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, studying orphan GPCRs.  Her goal is to attend medical school and specialize in adolescent psychiatry, with a focus on serving underrepresented communities.

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