About Trauma Continuum

A leading team of clinicians, scientists, educators, activists, staff, and trainees at McLean Hospital.

We partner with those affected by psychological trauma to deliver person-centered, innovative and trauma-informed treatment, research, education, and advocacy.

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We strive to end the enduring impacts of childhood abuse, interpersonal violence, and psychological trauma. 

We advance understanding of traumatic stress, dissociation, resilience, and posttraumatic growth through innovative research and transformative clinical treatments.

We empower patients as well as helping professionals with evidence-based knowledge.

We drive meaningful policy and cultural change to support recovery and resilience for all.

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Rebecca Modell, BS

Rebecca is a driven individual with a love of people, an interest in research, and a passion for empathetic clinical care. She graduated from Boston University in 2022 with a BS in Health Science. In the future, she is interested in pursuing an MD and/or PhD in the fields of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience. As a student, Rebecca discovered her interest in research as a Research Assistant in the Boston University Global Health Nutrition Lab under Dr. Lindsey Locks. In the Global Health Nutrition Lab, Rebecca studied malnutrition in populations of women, children, and adolescents and the interaction between malnutrition and infection. She continued to explore her research interests in the Dekel Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. As a Clinical Research Intern under Dr. Sharon Dekel, Rebecca helped to investigate women’s postpartum mental health and the processes involved in their adjustment post childbirth. Eventually, Rebecca’s interests led her to the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program at McLean Hospital where she now works as a Clinical Research Assistant under Dr. Milissa Kaufman and Dr. Lauren Lebois investigating the neurobiology of trauma and dissociative disorders. Rebecca’s ultimate goal is to become a physician-scientist working in the field of trauma and dissociative disorders. She hopes that one day, her research and clinical practice will be able to improve the lives of those struggling with trauma spectrum disorders.

Zoe Bair, BS

Zoe is passionate about understanding mental health issues through the stories and experiences shared by individual participants. She is currently a Clinical Research Assistant in the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program. Zoe graduated in 2022 from Tufts University with a B.S. in Clinical Psychology. While at Tufts she worked directly under Dr. Jasmine Mote in the Mote Emotion and Social Health Lab to investigate the effects of loneliness on heart rate variability in people with schizophrenia. She also was a part of the Social Identity and Stigma Lab with Dr. Jessica Remedios examining discrimination and adversity faced by individuals with multiple marginalized identities. Zoe has clinical experience conducting assessments for ADHD and autism and working for multiple crisis hotlines. In the future, she hopes to continue doing meaningful research in a clinical psychology graduate program.

Juliann Purcell, PhD

Dr. Juliann Purcell is passionate about supporting survivors of trauma through direct clinical work, research to understand neurobiological changes after trauma, and advocacy to help decrease mental health stigma.

Dr. Purcell earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham under the mentorship of Dr. David Knight and Dr. Sylvie Mrug and completed her clinical internship at the Central Virginia VA Health Care System in Richmond, Virginia. Her published research broadly explores the neurobiological impacts of adversity (e.g., childhood abuse and neighborhood disadvantage). Dr. Purcell’s NIH-funded dissertation work investigated relationships that different patterns of substance use across adolescence have with brain structure and function in young adulthood. Additionally, she was instrumental in developing an intervention designed to enhance emotion regulation and interpersonal skills for individuals reintegrating into their communities after incarceration. Dr. Purcell’s clinical background and neuroscience expertise afford a unique perspective from which she approaches clinical, research, and advocacy work.

Romeo S. Cabanban, MS

Cori is the Lab Manager for the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program. The clinical research studies she works on examine the neurobiology of dissociative symptoms and biological markers of PTSD. 


Cori received her MA in Clinical Psychology from Towson University, and her BS in Psychology from Sacred Heart University. Throughout her graduate training under the direction of Dr. Bethany Brand, Cori researched the assessment of complex dissociative disorders. She has clinical experience treating comorbid developmental disabilities, problematic behaviors, and trauma histories.

Cori Palermo, MA

Cori is the Lab Manager for the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program. The clinical research studies she works on examine the neurobiology of dissociative symptoms and biological markers of PTSD. 

Cori received her MA in Clinical Psychology from Towson University, and her BS in Psychology from Sacred Heart University. Throughout her graduate training under the direction of Dr. Bethany Brand, Cori researched the assessment of complex dissociative disorders. She has clinical experience treating comorbid developmental disabilities, problematic behaviors, and trauma histories.

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Lauren A. M. Lebois, PhD

Dr. Lauren Lebois is a cognitive neuroscientist who is passionate about understanding how the mind, brain, and body adapt in the aftermath of trauma.  She prioritizes translating scientific breakthroughs in accessible, compelling, and clinically-relevant ways.  Dr. Lebois is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, where she serves as the Director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program at McLean Hospital.  Dr. Lebois’ National Institute of Mental Health funded research program focuses on the neurobiology of dissociation in trauma-spectrum disorders.  Her published research analyzes the therapeutic effect of mindfulness-related treatments, the role of learning, experience, and plasticity in emotion, and the assessment of brain and behavioral correlates of dissociation.  Dr. Lebois serves as the Scientific Committee Immediate Past Chair for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and the Operations Co-Director of the Initiative for Integrated Trauma Research, Care and Training at McLean Hospital. In 2021, she was awarded McLean Hospital’s Alfred Pope Award for Young Investigators for the publication of an exceptional peer-reviewed, first-authored publication, and ISSTD’s Pierre Janet Writing Award for the best research paper in the field of dissociation and/or trauma within the past year. Recently, she also received the Morton Prince Award from ISSTD for her outstanding cumulative contributions to research on dissociative disorders. Dr. Lebois is deeply committed to using her advances in neurobiology, behavior, and treatment to reduce the stigma and improve care for individuals living with PTSD and dissociative identity disorder.


E-Mail – ResearchGate – Google Scholar – LinkedIn – X @LaurenLeboisPhD