Anna Mears, BA Clinical Research Coordinator
Anna Mears, BA, joined the Developing Brain Institute (DBI) at Children’s National in May 2024 as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Mommy&Me study and developmental teams. Anna completed her undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University, where she studied Psychology and Writing Seminars. As an undergraduate, she was the lab manager of the Papadakis Clinical Psychology Lab, where she studied co-rumination and its associations with depression, anxiety and friendship closeness. Her Honors Thesis presented the preliminary results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses performed on the Beliefs about Co-rumination
Scale, a measure developed by the lab. Additionally, Anna was a research assistant in the Lab for Child Development (LCD) and worked on more than seven different projects. After graduating, she accepted a full-time position as LCD lab manager. There, she developed and ran her own project on children’s perceptions of others’ emotions. Anna also worked as a maternal mental health coach and intake consultant for pre- and postpartum mothers struggling with anxiety, depression, birth trauma and rage. With basic training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, she helped clients build adaptive coping strategies to enhance wellness. Anna was also a Child Life volunteer at the University of Maryland Hospital to support inpatient children. Her experiences with psychological research and her passion for working with children and parents inspire her to better understand and amplify the protective factors that influence children and their families. Anna is excited to contribute to DBI and hopes to make a positive impact on the infants, children and families who participate in DBI’s studies and to enhance their physical and mental health outcomes.
Address: 111 Michigan Ave. NW; Washington, D.C., 20010
Email: [email protected]
Department: MRI Lab
Recent publications & presentations
2025 | April
Cheung C, Henderson D, Brechot C, Mears A, Malosa J, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. “Are Education Levels Associated With Perinatal Mental Health?” Poster presentation. Children’s National Hospital 15th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. March-April 2025.
Weiner S, Cheng JJ, Wu Y, Liggett M, McCants C, Adegbulubge E, Mears A, Henderson D, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. “Maternal Stress and Anxiety: The Connective Thread Between Infant Brain Development and Toddler Social-Emotional Behavior” Poster presentation. Children’s National Hospital 15th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. March-April 2025.
Weiner S, Wu Y, Liggett M, McCants C, Adegbulubge E, Mears A, Henderson D, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. “Neurodevelopmental Consequences of In Utero COVID-19 Exposure” Poster presentation. Children’s National Hospital 15th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. March-April 2025.
Weiner S, Wu Y, Liggett M, McCants C, Adegbulubge E, Mears A, Henderson D, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. “Newborn Brain As the Basis of Early Childhood Development in a Normative Healthy Cohort” Poster presentation. Children’s National Hospital 15th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. March-April 2025.
Weiner S, Cheng JJ, Wu Y, Liggett M, McCants C, Adegbulugbe E, Mears A, Henderson D, Limperopoulos C, Andescavage N. "Neonatal Hippocampal Volumes Are Associated With Toddler Behavior in Children Born During the COVID-19 Pandemic." High-scoring Oral Abstract. Pediatric Academic Societies 2025. Honolulu, Hawaii. April 2025.