Our Team
Let Us Introduce Ourselves
Leadership
Catherine Monk, PhD
- Director, Center for the Transition to Parenthood
Catherine Monk, PhD, CTtP Director, is the Diana Vagelos Professor of Women’s Mental Health and Chief of the Division of Women’s Mental Health in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She also serves as a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and is a 2023–2025 Aspen Ascend Fellow. Trained as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Monk is the founding director of Women's Mental Health @Ob/Gyn, an integrated mental health service. Dr. Monk completed her National Institute of Health (NIH) post–doctoral fellowship in the Psychobiological Sciences at Columbia in 2000 and joined the faculty, establishing the Perinatal Pathways Laboratory. Dr. Monk’s research brings together perinatal psychiatry, developmental psychobiology, and neuroscience to focus on mental health interventions and the earliest influences on children’s developmental trajectories — those that happen in utero — and how to intervene early to help women and prevent risk for mental health disorders in the future children.
Elizabeth Werner, PhD
- Associate Director, Center for the Transition to Parenthood
Elizabeth Werner, PhD, CTtP Associate Director, is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Medicine in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She serves as the Director of Clinical Intervention Research in the Perinatal Pathways Lab. Dr. Werner is the co-developer along with Dr. Monk of PREPP, a clinical intervention to prevent postpartum depression, and the director of the PREPP training and certification program. She serves as the Associate Director of Women’s Mental Health @Ob/Gyn, through which she provides clinical care. Dr. Werner specializes in the treatment of mood disorders and stress management, particularly working with people during the perinatal period, and those struggling with infertility and assisted reproduction interventions. Dr. Werner is a co-investigator on several NIH-funded projects. She was selected as a NIH CHIPS fellow (Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services) and as a NY State Office of Mental Health Policy Scholar. Dr. Werner is featured on the Philips+ pregnancy app.
Khadija Jones, MPH, PMP, CHES
- Project Coordinator, Center for the Transition to Parenthood
Khadija Jones, MPH, PMP, CHES, CTtP Project Coordinator is a doctoral student at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. She also serves as the Clinical Research Manager at the Perinatal Pathways Lab within the Division of Women’s Mental Health and the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. With extensive experience in public health, Khadija is dedicated to dismantling barriers to care, addressing health disparities, and advancing health equity. Her expertise spans chronic disease prevention, global health, maternal and child health, and improving access to equitable care. Ms. Jones approaches her work with a focus on health policy as a tool for equity, employing mixed methods research to develop evidence-based, person-centered interventions for BIPOC communities.
Emily Branham
- Outreach Coordinator, Center for the Transition to Parenthood
Emily Branham, Outreach Coordinator, is delighted to be bringing her skills and enthusiasm around storytelling, outreach and project management to the CTtP. Her award-winning feature film, BEING BEBE: THE BEBE ZAHARA BENET DOCUMENTARY, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, was a New York Times Critic's Pick, and was picked up by Peacock. She led an impact campaign for BEING BEBE that built partnerships with global and grassroots human rights non-profits, educational institutions, and corporate organizations. Emily is also the Impact Producer for a short fiction film about identity crisis and post-partum mental health, Cow Heavy And Floral. She has years of experience producing visual effects and post-production for clients including Mercedes-Benz, Adidas, Nike, Google, and Apple. She’s also directed video content for clients including Lincoln Center, JP Morgan Chase, and AT&T. Originally from Minneapolis, Emily graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Communications and lives in New York City.
Postdocs
Danruo Zhong, PhD
Danruo Zhong, PhD, is a CTtP postdoctoral research scientist characterizing the ways in which early life stress impacts child development and health. Her work examines prenatal and early childhood adversity, parenting’s role in resilience, and interventions to mitigate health risks. She earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Minnesota.
Vivek Nandur, PhD
Vivek Nandur, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a collaborating postdoc at the CTtP. He studies how economic forces shape healthcare access, focusing on mental health and obesity treatment. Using econometric modeling, his research informs policies to improve healthcare equity and affordability.
