Meet our Core Investigators

Sheri Robb, PhD, MT-BC (she/her) is a Walther Professor of Supportive Oncology in the Indiana University Schools of Nursing and Medicine. Dr. Robb is internationally recognized for her expertise in pediatric music therapy and behavioral intervention research. She is a board-certified music therapist with degrees in music therapy and early childhood special education. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in behavioral oncology and cancer control at Indiana University, followed by a training award in clinical and translational research from the Indiana CTSI.

Dr. Robb’s program of research focuses on development and testing of music interventions to manage distress and improve positive health outcomes in children and adolescents with cancer and their caregivers. Dr. Robb is an established investigator with more than nineteen years of funding from the National Institutes of Health. She also led publication of Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions to address calls for more transparent and accurate reporting in music-based intervention research.

Elizabeth Harman is a postdoctoral research scholar focused on the development and testing of music-based interventions that mitigate the impact of medical trauma for children experiencing invasive medical treatment and their families. Dr. Harman has extensive clinical experience as a music therapist working in the pediatric hospital setting and earned her master's and PhD at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

Steven Holochwost, PhD, is a developmental psychologist who works with programs designed to improve the lives of vulnerable children and youth. His research in child development examines the effects of environment, and particularly poverty and parenting, on voluntary forms of self-regulation (e.g., executive functions) and the involuntary activity of neurophysiological systems that support self-regulatory abilities. This research is directly relevant to his applied work, which examines the efficacy of interventions for children in poverty. The common thread running through both these lines of work is the need to understand how poverty impacts child development, and how programs can mitigate those effects. He is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Lehman College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, where he directs the Regulation, Education, and Neuroscience (ReNeu) Lab.

Seethal Jacob, MD, is an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and the Division of Children’s Health Services Research at IU School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN. She has also served as the director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Sickle Cell Program at Riley Hospital since 2018, and co-director of the recently developed Indiana Lifespan Sickle Cell Center. Dr. Jacob’s primary area of research interest is in health care access and delivery for patients living with sickle cell disease, with a particular focus on implementation of health interventions to improve patient outcomes.

Claire Kendrick is the core project manager for the BIO-MUSE trial. She leads study-related activity at Indiana University and monitors all the BIO-MUSE recruitment sites. Claire earned her Bachelors and Masters of Music in Music Therapy from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. Prior to working on BIO-MUSE as the project manager and study intervener at Riley Hospital, she worked in Texas with people of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities, brain injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.

Julia LaMotte, PhD, (she/her) is a pediatric psychologist who specializes in working with children, adolescents and young adults with chronic medical conditions (sickle cell disease and end stage renal disease) at Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children. Dr. LaMotte’s embedded role within an interdisciplinary medical team takes the principles of psychology, applies them to pediatric health through evidence-based methodology, and reduces access barriers to quality mental health care. Academically, Dr. LaMotte has demonstrated a clear commitment to health equity in both her research endeavors and work with learners around strategies to mitigate bias in health care.

Jessica MacLean is a dual PhD student in speech, language, and hearing sciences and neuroscience at Indiana University (PI: Gavin Bidelman, PhD). She holds a Master of Music in Music Therapy with Undergraduate Equivalency (University of Miami) and a Bachelor of Science in Music (violin) with an outside field in neuroscience (Indiana University). Prior to doctoral work, Jessica served as core project manager for the BIO-MUSE multi-site R01 trial, and continues to work with Dr. Robb's team in areas including intervention monitoring, behavioral data analysis and dissemination.

Susan Perkins, PhD, joined the faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1997 after obtaining a PhD in biostatistics from the University of Michigan. She enjoys conducting collaborative research in many areas, primarily health services research, cancer research and quality of life in chronic illness. She is the director of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design program of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Nationally, she co-founded the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Special Interest Group of the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (with Leah Welty, PhD, at the Northwestern Fineberg School of Medicine).

Kristen A. Russ, PhD, is an assistant research professor in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at IU School of Medicine. She is also a co-Investigator at the National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD), where she serves as the laboratory director for the Biomarker Assay Laboratory (BAL). The BAL supports Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disease research by utilizing standardized processing and longitudinal quality monitoring to provide consistent delivery of fluid-based biomarker results. Dr. Russ received her PhD in toxicology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and went on to complete her postdoctoral research and several years as a CDC service fellow before being recruited to IU. Her research interests include development and standardization of new bio-fluid biomarker collection methods. She has been a part of the Bio-Muse project since it’s start and provides expertise on collection of biological samples for biomarker analysis.

Kristin Stegenga, PhD, RN, is a nurse researcher in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT at Children's Mercy, Kansas City. She is a co-investigator for the Biomuse Study. In addition to this, she is a co-investigator of an NCI funded grant studying symptom assessment and self-management in AYAs with cancer. Dr. Stegenga’s program of research focuses on supportive care interventions for children, AYAs and their parents. In addition, she serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nursing.

Maya Story, PhD, is a music therapist and holds a research faculty position at IU School of Medicine where she serves as a supportive role in Dr. Robb’s research. Dr. Story is also a core investigator at the VA Center for Health Information and Communication. Her research has included exploring music and imagery interventions for individuals with PTSD, chronic pain and related psychological distress; the relationship between arts participation and public health; and the use of technology in music therapy training and creative arts therapy delivery.

Natasha Thomas (they/she, plus any neo-pronouns offered with respect) is a board certified music therapist (MT-BC). Alongside their project direction roles in research, they serve on the steering committee of the Black Music Therapists Network (BMTN); you can also find Natasha co-curating the “Black Creative Healing” podcast and related wellness events with fellow BMTN colleague Adenike Webb. Natasha is a committed advocate for creative and culturally sustaining support for marginalized communities. Her current research focus involves healing justice (which includes culturally resonant and sustaining community care), social determinants of health, social emotional learning, and Black creativity (particularly as it relates to identity and memory). Natasha’s research and clinical work are inclusive of emerging technology, as well as the perspectives of disability and queer identities, and the unique ways those perspectives and resources can intersect through the meanings we make, to impact quality of life.