Our Team

Gil Noam

Gil G. Noam, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School focusing on prevention and resilience and leads the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth (ISRY) at McLean Hospital. He served as the director of the Risk and Prevention Program and founded the RALLY Prevention Program, a Boston-based intervention bridging social and academic support in school, afterschool, and community settings. Through HMS/MGH, Dr. Noam trains child and adolescent psychiatry fellows in youth development and developmental psychopathology.

Dr. Noam has published over 200 papers, articles, and books in the areas of child and adolescent development as well as risk and resiliency in clinical, school, and afterschool settings. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the journal New Directions for Youth Development: Theory, Practice and Research with a strong focus on out-of-school time. Dr. Noam is trained as a clinical and developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst in both Europe and the United States.

Virginia Andrews

Virginia Andrews, MPH, is the Research Project Manager for ISRY. She supports the current NSF Award #2101554, Dimensions of Success: Transforming Quality Assessment in Middle School Science and Engineering. Virginia received bachelors’ degrees in biology and psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master of public health in maternal and child health from the George Washington University. She was a certified high school chemistry teacher in Arkansas and has volunteered teaching English as a Second Language to adult learners.

Virginia works at the intersection of health research and education practice to support wellbeing across the life course.

Patty Allen

Patricia J. Allen, Ph.D., is the Director of Research at the Institute for the Study of Resilience in Youth at McLean Hospital and an instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Allen received a doctoral degree in Nutritional Neuroscience from Tufts University in 2013. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in basic and translational research in the Stewart T. Hauser Clinical Research Training Program at Judge Baker’s Children’s Center and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Allen’s research focuses on social, emotional, and academic development. After many years conducting “bench-to-bedside” research in laboratory settings, she was drawn to ISRY, a translational center that adapts social, emotional, and academic data into practices for educators using a strengths-based public health approach. Dr. Allen is dedicated to developing assessment tools to help educators support every child and to finding innovative ways of translating data to transform practice.

Sabie Marcellus

Sabie Marcellus, MPH, is a Senior Research Assistant for ISRY. She attended Northeastern University and earned her Bachelor of Science in behavioral neuroscience with minors in health, humanities, and society and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. Sabie joined ISRY as a Graduate Student Intern in January of 2022 while completing her master’s degree at The George Washington University. Now a full-time employee, she supports current NSF Award #2115868 and Project BRAINY.

Sabie's career interests center around inclusive mental health care and behavioral health research, particularly for minority populations.

Victoria Oliveira

Victoria (Tori) Oliveira, M.S., is a Research Assistant for ISRY who provides support on various projects across the organization, including the current NSF Award #2101554, and other initiatives. Tori earned bachelors’ degrees in sociology and crime and justice with a minor in psychology, and a master’s in crime and justice studies. She joined ISRY in November 2021 after receiving both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Suffolk University.

Tori's goal is to center issues of equity, inclusion, and access to STEM learning in her work within the fields of education and youth developoment.


Sara Hoots

Sara Meyers Hoots, Ed.M., is the Director of Administration for ISRY. She has supported the research, training, evaluation, and business aspects of ISRY for over 15 years. She attended the University of Vermont and  Harvard Graduate School of Education, and was a certified high school teacher in Massachusetts. She has also worked in administration at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in finance and trust investments.

Sara is committed to improving inclusion and access for all students, with focus on LGBTQIA youth and students with special needs.

Bethany Dill

Bethany Dill, Ed.M., is a Research Assistant for ISRY. She attended Barry University, studied international education policy at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a current MSW student at the Columbia School of Social Work, where she specializes in policy practice and services to refugees and immigrants. Bethany has worked in teaching, administrative, and research roles for non-profit organizations in the U.S. and internationally.

Bethany supports educational opportunities for students with refugee and immigrant backgrounds.

Our Student Visitors Summer 2022

ISRY trains future researchers, clinicians, and other practitioners specializing in resiliency and contributes to the knowledge base of the fields of mental health, social-emotional resilience, and learning.

  • Anisha Ahmed

    Anisha is a rising junior (Class of 2024) at Binghamton University with a major in integrative neuroscience. She is from Yonkers, NY.

  • Yilyn Chen

    Yilyn (Yiyi) is a rising junior (Class of 2024) at Barnard College with a major in neuroscience & behavior. She is from Cambridge, MA.

  • Danny Choo-Kang

    Danny is a rising junior (Class of 2024) at Barnard College with a major in psychology. She is from St. Louis, MO.

  • Megan Dailey

    Megan (Meg) is a senior (Class of 2023) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with majors in psychology and human development & family studies. She is from Davidson, NC.

  • Victoria González García

    Victoria (Vicky) just graduated from Boston College in summer 2022 (Class of 2022) with a neuroscience major and an inclusive education minor. She is from Miami, FL.

  • Darya Khodakhah

    Darya (D) will be graduating from Middlebury College in winter 2022 (Class of 2022.5) with a major in psychology. She is from Harrison, NY.

  • Danielle La Camera

    Danielle (Dany) is a rising senior at Boston College (Class of 2023) with a major in psychology. She is from Newton, MA.

  • Nick Lindheim

    Nick just graduated from Lesley University (Class of 2022) with a major in psychology. He is from Arlington, MA.

  • Lesley Lu

    Yongyi (Lesley) will be graduating from Hamilton College in winter 2023 (Class of 2023.5) with a double major in psychology and world politics. She is from Shenzhen, China.

  • Jessica Pham

    Jessica (Jess) is a rising senior at Carnegie Mellon University (Class of 2023) with a major in psychology. She is from Easton, MA.

  • Yelena Schwartz

    Yelena is a rising second-year at University College London (UCL). She is majoring in biomedical sciences with chosen stream in human organs & systems. She is from Paris, France.

  • Eboni Thomas

    Eboni is a rising senior at Davidson College (Class of 2023) with a major in psychology. She is from Houston, TX.