Meet the PI

Sarah Nelson

Sarah Nelson, PhD

Principal Investigator

Sarah Nelson, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an Attending Psychologist in the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. Her research focuses on the incidence rate and correlates of adverse childhood experiences in pediatric chronic pain populations and on the neurobiological mechanisms of psychological stress, including allostatic load, in pediatric chronic pain. Her work has been continually funded by internal and NIH mechanisms since 2018.

Lab members

Carrie Lampert

Carrie Lampert, MA 

Clinical Research Assistant

Carrie graduated with a Master’s in Child Study & Human Development at Tufts University in Spring 2026 following her Bachelor of Science in Child Study & Human Development and Biopsychology at Tufts in 2025. Carrie served as a graduate student intern during her Master’s and is now a full time clinical research assistant mainly focusing on the R01 study that examines how intergenerational adversity may influence pain outcomes in children. She is particularly interested in how adverse experiences in childhood may relate to pain and mental health outcomes, so she is very excited to be part of the new study! 

Aahir Mrittika

Aahir Mrittika, BA 

Clinical Research Assistant 

Aahir completed their Bachelor of Arts from Bennington College in Cell/Molecular Biology and Biostatistics in the Spring of 2025. They are currently a Research Assistant in the Pain and Stress Lab and the Young Adult Pain Rehabilitation Program. Outside of research, they like writing, singing, and boxing! 

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Aaron Mamoon, BS 

Research Intern

Niamh Waterman

Niamh Waterman, BA 

Research Intern

Jen Christofferson

Jen Christofferson, PhD 

Co-Investigator

Caitlin Schneider

Caitlin Shneider, PhD 

Co-Investigator

Alumni

Samantha Bento, PhD
Co-Investigator and Collaborator

Sydni Britton, BS
Research Intern

Jenny Kim
Clinical Research Coordinator

Brent Leung, BS
Research Intern

Morgan Mitcheson, BS (she/her)
Clinical Research Assistant 

Joaquin Moreno, BSA, BA
Research Assistant

Bridget Nestor, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Aarabhi (Nammu) Srinath
Research Intern