Brenden Tervo-Clemmens

Mental health disorders typically first emerge during adolescence, a period marked by rapid brain development and dynamic cognitive, affective, and social changes. However, the links between these developmental processes and mental health are complex and vary widely across individuals. My research aims to understand individual variability in developmental pathways of adolescent mental health risk and resilience, with the goal of improving models of etiology and identifying targets for treatment. Our group uses a precision brain health approach that integrates large-scale and intensive longitudinal brain imaging, lab-based behavioral studies, and smartphone assessments. We focus on how differences within and between individuals in executive function and emotion regulation shape adolescent mental health, with an emphasis on substance use disorders and related transdiagnostic dimensions of psychopathology. We also develop and apply psychometric methods to improve how neurodevelopmental processes are measured, modeled, and translated into practice.