Holsen Lab

Laura Holsen, Ph.D

Primary Investigator

Laura Holsen is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and faculty member in the Division of Women’s Health, Department of Medicine and in the Department of Psychiatry at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She received her M.S. in Developmental Psychology from Vanderbilt University and Ph.D. in Child and Developmental Psychology from the University of Kansas under the mentorship of Dr. Cary Savage. Dr. Holsen completed postdoctoral training in affective neuroscience with Dr. Richie Davidson at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Outside the lab, Laura enjoys running, hiking and camping with her husband and two daughters.

Lilly Hacsi, B.A.

Research Assistant

Lilly Hacsi joined the Holsen Lab as a Research Assistant in July 2023. She studied at Pitzer College, where she graduated with Honors in Psychology and a minor in Data Science. Lilly previously conducted clinical research at the University of California, San Francisco, where she assisted with physiological studies on sleep and stress, and at Pitzer College, where she conducted EEG research on reward and motivation. She is currently coordinating a study utilizing fMRI and TMS to reduce hyperphagia in Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Kelly Armstrong, B.S.

Research Assistant

Kelly Armstrong joined the Holsen Lab in 2024, where she works on the ANSWER study to research adults with avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Kelly is a UMass Amherst graduate who got her B.S. in psychology with a specialization in neuroscience. She has a research background analyzing sleep patterns and motor memory across various age ranges through PSG sleep monitoring. Kelly is now a coordinator using fMRI to study eating behaviors in individuals with ARFID. 

Arjun Shreekumar, B.A.

Research Assistant

Arjun Shreekumar joined the Holsen Lab as a Research Assistant in July 2024. He studied at Columbia University, where he graduated with honors in History and Psychology. Arjun previously conducted clinical research on family based therapy for adolescents with anorexia nervosa at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Prior to research, he worked as a residential care specialist at an inpatient treatment facility for adults with depression. He is currently coordinating a study evaluating the neural and behavioral outcomes of cognitive-behavioral therapy for adolescents with ARFID.

Fiona Wu, B.S.

Research Assistant

Fiona joined the Holsen lab in July 2024 after graduating from Vanderbilt University with Honors in Medicine, Health, and Society and Neuroscience. She has previous qualitative and quantitative research experiences across labs and disciplines, all surrounding the topic of mental health. For instance, her honors thesis explored immigrant mental health through an anthropological lens while her research at Vanderbilt studied cortical thickness in infants with risks of ASD. She currently coordinates a clinical trial examining TMS as a treatment for hyperphagia.