Dr. Claudia Lugo-Candelas

One Mind-Luther Family Rising Star Award

Prenatal Sleep Health: An Untapped Intervention Target for the Intergenerational Prevention of Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Lugo-Candelas’ work bridges cutting-edge inhibitory control research with a strong commitment to underserved communities, influencing both clinical practices and equity in child mental health care.

Dr. Claudia Lugo-Candelas is a licensed clinical psychologist and Bender-Fishbein Scholar in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University, where she researches how early-life exposures shape risk and resilience for neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD. She earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and completed postdoctoral training in Columbia’s Department of Psychiatry. Her NIH- and NARSAD-funded work focuses on inhibitory control development, with a strong commitment to addressing health disparities in underserved communities. Dr. Lugo-Candelas is also deeply invested in mentorship and advancing equity in STEM, psychiatry, and neuroscience.