curriculum vitae

Clare F. McCann, M.A.

The University of California, Los Angeles
Social Affective Neuroscience and Development Lab
clarefmccann [at] ucla.edu

Research Interests

• Explore the role of individual differences in pubertal development in shaping neural trajectories and predicting mental health outcomes
• Understand how different components of puberty (hormones, physical indicators, subjective experiences) differentially predict developmental outcomes
• Highlight the importance of puberty as a developmental transition primed for intervention and prevention efforts

Education

The University of California, Los Angeles
September 2022 – Present
Ph.D. Candidate, Developmental Psychology
Minor: Quantitative Psychology | GPA: 3.97

Master’s Thesis: “And how do you feel about that?”: Early Life Adversity, Pubertal Appraisals, and Well-Being in Young Adults
Advisor: Jennifer A. Silvers, Ph.D.

University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
September 2016 – June 2020
Major: Psychology
Minors: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Special Education
GPA: 3.7 | Dean’s List: 3 quarters

Honors Thesis: Examining self-perceived scholastic competence, mindfulness, and school transitions in adolescent girls
Advisor: Kathryn L. Mills, Ph.D.

Awards & Honors

• University of California, Los Angeles: Dissertation Year Award 2026–2027
• University of California, Los Angeles: GradSlam Semi-finalist 2026
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development T32 Fellowship – Brain and Behavioral Development during Adolescence 2024
• University of California, Los Angeles: Psychology Summer Research Award 2023
• University of California, Los Angeles: Graduate Summer Research Mentorship 2023
• University of California, Los Angeles: Alumni Fellowship 2022
• University of Oregon: Psychology Undergraduate Commencement Speaker 2020
• University of Oregon: Psychology Departmental Honors 2020
• University of Oregon: Dean’s Award for Service 2020
• University of Oregon: Dean’s List 2018, 2019, 2020

Research Experience

Summer Research Fellow | Youth Mental Health Tracker Team | Surgo Health
May 2026 – Present
Supervisors: Christina Mehranbod, Ph.D. & Adele Wang, Ph.D.

Graduate Student Researcher | Social Affective Neuroscience and Development Lab | University of California, Los Angeles
September 2022 – Present
Supervisor: Jennifer A. Silvers, Ph.D.

Lab Coordinator | Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab | University of Oregon
September 2020 – July 2022
Supervisor: Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Ph.D.

Research Assistant | Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab | University of Oregon
January 2017 – August 2020
Supervisor: Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Ph.D.

Research Assistant | Developing Brains in Context, Resting Child Brain Project | University of Oregon
September 2019 – June 2020
Supervisors: Akhila Nekkanti, Ph.D. & Kathryn L. Mills, Ph.D.

Papers

Note: * = equal first authorship, + = mentee

Published

McCann, C.F., Cheng, T.W., Mobasser, A., Mills, K.L., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2023). Self-perceived scholastic competence and trait mindfulness during school transitions in adolescent girls. Collabra: Psychology.

Barrett, A.-M.Y., Cheng, T.W., Flannery, J., McCann, C.F., Mills, K.L., Chavez, R., Fisher, P., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2024). Comparing the Multivariate Relationships of Conceptual Adversity Models and Structural Brain Development in Adolescent Girls. Developmental Psychology.

*Ali, S., *McCann, C.F., *Whitmore, L., *Thieu, M., & Laird, A. (2024). Now I Know My ABCD! A Global Resource for Researchers Using the ABCD Study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

+Yim, C., & McCann, C.F. (2024). Effects of Social Support on Adolescent Identity Development. Journal of Emerging Investigators.

McCann, C.F., & Silvers, J.A. (2025). Positive Emotionality and Regulation. Positive Youth Development: Integrating Research and Practice.

Rosenberg, B.M., Guassi Moreira, J.F., Méndez Leal, A.S., Saragosa-Harris, N.M., Gaines, E., Meredith, W.J., McCann, C.F., Coury, S.M., Waizman, Y., Ninova, E., & Silvers, J.A. (2025). Previous Institutionalization is Associated with Elevated Functional Connectivity between the Nucleus Accumbens and Amygdala during Aversive Learning. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

McCann, C.F., Cheng, T.W., Mills, K.L., & Silvers, J.A. (2026). Pubertal Timing and Tempo Differentially Influence Cortical and Subcortical Maturation in Adolescence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

McCann, C.F., Barendse, M., Bottenhorn, K., Byrne, M., Cheng, T.W., Guazzelli Williamson, V., Herting, M., Ladouceur, C., MacSweeney, N., Magis-Weinberg, L., McCormick, E., Patterson, M., Shirtcliff, E., Silvers, J.A., Whittle, S., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2026). Expert consensus: Considerations for developmental scientists working with puberty data longitudinally. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology.

Accepted, In Press

McCann, C.F., & Silvers, J.A. (In press). The Role of Control in Fear Development. Handbook of Emotional Development: Advances in Theory, Research, and Practice.

Albert, R., Davis, B.E.M., Morrow, E., Groves, A.R., Joshi, P., McCann, C.F., Finn, A., Ramotowski, D., Selland, E., Mattson, A., Rich, A., & Di Tomassi, I. (In press). Science Communication and Outreach as a Required Component of Graduate Education.

Under Review

McCann, C.F., Sahi, R.S., Gaines, E.M., Razon, A., Meredith, W.J., Méndez Leal, A., Saragosa Harris, N., Chi Juin Su, A., Lieberman, M.D., Eisenberger, N.I., & Silvers, J.A. (Under review). Social Reappraisal as a Peer-Leveraged Emotion Regulation Strategy in Adolescence: An fMRI Study Protocol.

In Prep

McCann, C.F., & Silvers, J.A. (In prep). A Systematic Review: Pubertal Timing and Tempo’s Influence on Socioemotional Neural Development Across Adolescence.

McCann, C.F., Coury, S., Chavez, S.J., Allen, N.A., Armstrong-Kelly, C., Cheng, T.W., Govender, T., Pfeifer, J.H., & Byrne, M.L. (In prep). Biological Reactivity to a Novel Social Evaluative Stressor Task in Adolescent Girls.

McCann, C.F., Barendse, M., Mills, K.L., & Pfeifer, J.H. (In prep). Puberty and Structural Brain Development: It’s About Time.

Posters and Presentations

Presentations

McCann, C.F., +Clarot, G., & Silvers, J.A. (2024, April). Adolescent and Young Adult Perspectives on Puberty. Presented in the “Advancement in pubertal markers and measurement” symposium at the Society for Research on Adolescence, Chicago, IL.

Posters

McCann, C.F., Feng, Y., Herting, M.M., & Silvers, J.A. (2026, September). A Longitudinal Moderated Nonlinear Factor Analysis Approach to Modeling Puberty-Brain Relationships. Poster presented at the 14th Annual Flux Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, La Jolla, CA.

Clarot, G., McCann, C.F., Vaidya, C.V., & Silvers, J.A. (2026, September). Everyday Executive Functioning Deficits in Siblings of Autistic Children: Evidence Beyond Autism Trait Load and Family-Level Factors. Poster presented at the 14th Annual Flux Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Congress, La Jolla, CA.

McCann, C.F., Feng, Y., & Silvers, J.A. (2025, November). Developmental Dynamics of Perceived Ethnic-Racial Discrimination and Pubertal Development: A Preregistration. Poster presented at the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology Conference, San Diego, CA.

McCann, C.F., & Silvers, J.A. (2025, September). Pubertal Timing & Tempo Predict BOLD Responses to Affective Facial Stimuli in Adolescence. Poster presented at the 13th Annual Flux Society for Development Cognitive Neuroscience Congress, Dublin, Ireland.

Goldberg, M.N., Reck, A.J., McCann, C.F., Machle, C.J., Shirtcliff, E.A., Murty, V.P., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2025, September). Hormonal Influences on Social Development and Brain Maturation Across Adolescence. Poster presented at the 13th Annual Flux Society for Development Cognitive Neuroscience Congress, Dublin, Ireland.

McCann, C.F., Cheng, T.W., & Silvers, J.A. (2024, September). Pubertal Timing, Tempo, and Structural Brain Development in the ABCD Study. Poster presented at the 12th Annual Flux Society for Development Cognitive Neuroscience Congress, Baltimore, MD.

McCann, C.F., & Silvers, J.A. (2023, September). Pubertal Timing and Affective Processing in the ABCD Study. Poster presented at the 11th Annual Flux Society for Development Cognitive Neuroscience Congress, Santa Rosa, CA.

McCann, C.F., Ali, S., Whitmore, L., Thieu, M., & Laird, A. (2023, July). Now I Know My ABCD! A Global Resource for Researchers Using the ABCD Study. Poster presented at the Organization for Human Brain Mapping Conference, Montreal, Quebec.

McCann, C.F., Guassi Moreira, J., O’Kelly, M., Ninova, E., & Silvers, J.A. (2023, April). Does Practicing Cognitive Reappraisal Enhance Impulse Inhibition during Subsequent Risk Taking? Poster presented at Society for Research on Adolescence Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.

McCann, C.F., Barendse, M., Mills, K.L., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2022, September). Puberty and Structural Brain Development: It’s About Time. Poster presented at Flux Society Conference, Paris, France.

Barrett, A.-M.Y., Cheng, T.W., Flannery, J., McCann, C.F., Mills, K.L., Chavez, R., Fisher, P., & Pfeifer, J.H. (2022, September). Comparing the Multivariate Relationships of Conceptual Adversity Models and Structural Brain Development in Adolescent Girls. Poster presented at Flux Society Conference, Paris, France.

McCann, C.F., Cheng, T.W., Pfeifer, J.H., & Mills, K.L. (2020, May). Examining self-perceived scholastic competence, mindfulness, and school transitions in adolescent girls. Poster presented at the University of Oregon Psychology Honors Ceremony, Eugene, OR.

Non-Peer Reviewed Work

McCann, C.F. (2023, June). “Are You There, god? It’s Me, Margaret”: Let’s talk about puberty! Blog posted on Psychology in Action.

Ad Hoc Reviewer

Journal of Adolescent Health
Biological Psychiatry

Teaching

Introduction to Psychology – Winter 2023
Teaching Assistant

Developmental Psychology – Fall 2023, Winter 2024
Teaching Assistant

Developmental Psychology – Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025
Teaching Associate

Professional Experience

Graduate Facilitator | Center for the Developing Adolescent High School Boot Camp
Summer 2024, Summer 2025, Summer 2026

Facilitator | Lively Globe – Research Program for High School Students
June 2024 – September 2024

Mentor | Summa Mentorship Program – Research Program for High School Students
February 2024 – September 2024

Mentor | Polygence – Research Program for College-focused High School Students
May 2023 – Present

Student Assistant | Vivian Olum Child Developmental Center | University of Oregon
September 2017 – June 2020
Supervisor: Susan Schneider

Facilitator | Sexual Violence Prevention Education | University of Oregon
May 2017 – October 2019
Supervisor: Kerry Frazee, Ph.D.

Student Coordinator for Staff Management | Orientation Programs | University of Oregon
October 2018 – October 2019
Supervisor: Keith Frazee, Ph.D.

Professional Organization Memberships

Scientist Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP)
National Science Policy Network (NSPN)
Social Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS)
International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP)
Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA)
Flux: The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)

Skills

Statistical software: R, MATLAB, JupyterLab, Python, SPSS, PROCESS Macro, JAGS, BLIMP
Data applications: Excel, REDCap, Qualtrics
Other: GitHub, Zotero, Word, PowerPoint, Bash, FreeSurfer, fmriprep, psychopy

Certifications

Scan Operator Certified – Lewis Center for Neuroimaging (40-hour training)
MRI Safety Certified

Training

Bayesian Longitudinal Data Analysis Workshop - International Society for Data Science and Analytics (UCLA & University of Virginia) 2026
ABCD ReproNim Hackathon - The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Consortium & ReproNim 2026
Longitudinal Structural Equation Modeling - CenterStat, Asynchronous 2025
Science Policy Skills 101 – National Science Policy Network
Science Diplomacy Training – National Science Policy Network
NeuroHackademy – University of Washington, 2022
Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) – The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
LifeWorks Start Suicide Prevention Training
Youth Mental Health First Aid – National Council for Mental Health
Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development ReproNim Course – Observer Student
Training in Advanced Analytical Data Analysis for Behavioral and Social Sciences – National Institutes of Health
Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) – Human Subjects Research

Professional Service & Community Outreach

High School Outreach Committee
Underrepresented Graduate Students in Psychology, 2022–Present

Science Communication & Policy Writing Committee Co-chair
UCLA Science Policy Group, August 2025 – September 2026

Orientation Committee
Department of Psychology, Developmental Area, UCLA, September 2023

Blog Writer
Psychology in Action, June 2023

Youth Advisory Board Member
To Be Honest, 2021–2023

Brainhack Global 2022 Organizing Committee
July 2022 – December 2022

Communications Committee Member
Flux Society, 2022–2024

Sighted Volunteer
Be My Eyes, 2020–Present

Crisis Text Line Counselor
Crisis Text Line, 2021–2022

Letter Writer
Virtual Prison Correspondence Program, Critical Resistance, 2020–2022

iCouldBe Mentor
iCouldBe, 2020–2022

Living Lab Day
Eugene Science Museum, 2020

Summer Academy to Inspire Learning
University of Oregon, 2020