Cassandra Mondesir is an intern on the Neuropsychology Track in the Penn Psychology Internship Program. She is completing a rotation in the Penn Memory Center with Dr. Mechanic-Hamilton and will co-lead an ACT based psychotherapy group for patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment. She is also completing rotations with Drs. Tran and Read in the Neuropsychology Division, conducting comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations. Cassandra is currently a fifth-year graduate student at Loyola University, where she is pursuing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology and specializing in neuropsychology. Prior to her current tenure, she completed her practicum rotation at the University of Maryland Center for Infant Studies, where she conducted developmental assessments with infants and toddlers. Concurrently, she provided short-term parent child focused therapy consisting of parenting training, behavioral management, and trauma focused CBT. Prior practicum placements included pediatric neuropsychological assessment at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, psychoeducational and psychological evaluations across the lifespan at a private practice, and forensic assessment through a non-profit organization. Originally from New York, Cassandra completed undergraduate studies at Stony brook University in Long Island, NY.
Michael DiCalogero
Michael DiCalogero is a practicum student conducting neuropsychological evaluations with Dr. Mechanic-Hamilton. He is currently a second-year graduate student at Drexel University, where he is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology and specializing in neuropsychology. Prior to graduate school, Michael worked as a clinical research coordinator at the Penn Memory Center where he was a part of several studies that investigated associations between memory and aging. Originally from Massachusetts, Michael completed undergraduate studies at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.
Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton, PhD, ABPP/CN
215-662-4516
dawn.mechanic@uphs.upenn.edu
Dr. Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton joined the Penn Memory Center in 2012. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology, Chief of the Division of Neuropsychology, and Director of Cognitive Fitness Programs and Neuropsychological Services at the Penn Memory Center. She Co-Leads the Clinical Core in Penn’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Co-Leads the ADRD Pilot Core for the Penn AI and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech). She is Associate Director and Neuropsychology Track Lead for the Penn Psychology Internship Training Program and supervises pre- and postdoctoral clinical neuropsychology trainees.
Dr. Mechanic-Hamilton earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology from Drexel University. She completed her internship at Brown University and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mechanic-Hamilton’s research focuses on cognitive assessment and behavioral intervention in AD/ADRD. Her lab is developing and testing a suite of digital cognitive tasks aimed at improving early detection of cognitive decline in those at risk for AD/ADRD. She also works with a team to collect data on Social and Structural Determinants of Health to better understand how life course experiences influence cognitive aging. Her intervention work is multidisciplinary and collaborative and includes developing group based behavioral interventions for individuals living with cognitive impairment and app-based intervention for increasing goal-directed behavior.