Thomas J. Pearsall, Jr., Fellows

Sasini Bentota, MD
Dr. Bentota is a second-year psychiatry resident at the Medical University of South Carolina with interests in global mental health, cross-cultural psychiatry, the role of spirituality in mental health, integrative psychiatry, and trauma-informed psychotherapy. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, she moved to Washington, DC, during high school. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in Human Biology and discovered her passion for psychiatry during medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine. Through the fellowship, she aims to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to make a meaningful impact on individuals and communities affected by trauma, particularly underserved minority communities, immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, fostering healing and hope.

Gabriel Brotzman, DO
Dr. Brotzman is a third-year psychiatry resident at Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville, NC. After studying English at Brown University, he returned to North Carolina to complete his medical training at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. His interests include the philosophy of psychiatry, psychotic disorders, and psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Kritika Chugh, MD
Dr. Chugh is a third-year psychiatry resident at the University of North Carolina. She completed medical school at Virginia Tech Carilion in Roanoke, Virginia. She is interested in reproductive psychiatry and is receiving training through the Women’s Mood Disorders track at UNC. She is interested in incorporating psychodynamic psychotherapy with medication management to better serve this patient population. She is looking forward to expanding her psychotherapy skills through the Pearsall Fellowship. 

Rikera Curry, MD
Dr. Curry is a fourth-year psychiatry resident and chief resident in the Sandra and Leon Levine Psychiatry Residency Program at Atrium Health Wake Forest Medical Center. Her interests within psychiatry include treatment of mood disorders, women’s mental health, and psychoanalytic therapy.

Joseph Dayaa, MD, MS
Dr. Dayaa is a third-year psychiatry resident physician at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He was raised between Massachusetts and Florida prior to moving to North Carolina for college. He completed his undergraduate studies at UNC Chapel Hill in Biology, Chemistry, and English; graduate studies at Columbia University in Narrative Medicine; and medical school at UNC Chapel Hill. His interests in psychiatry span child and adolescent psychiatry, women’s and reproductive psychiatry, and psychodynamic as well as narrative approaches to caring for a person across the lifespan.

Jack Edelson, MD
Dr. Edelson is in his final year of the child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UNC Hospitals. He went to college at the University of South Carolina where he studied Experimental Psychology. After college, he completed his medical school training at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia, SC and completed his general psychiatry residency training at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC. He looks forward to furthering his knowledge through the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas to better serve his patients.

Shi Xun (Dave) Fang, MD
Dr. Fang is currently a fourth-year psychiatry resident at Duke University. He was born in China but spent most of his childhood in Ontario and adolescence in Buffalo, NY. He returned to Canada to attend undergraduate at McGill University in Montreal. After graduation, he crossed the border one more time to work in Maine with AmeriCorps at federally qualified health centers in underserved rural communities. He then journeyed down to North Carolina for medical school at Wake Forest. After completing residency, he hopes to work locally as an outpatient psychiatrist practicing both psychopharmacology as well as psychotherapy.

Charlotte “Regan” Fawcett, DO
Dr. Fawcett is currently completing her final year of the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at UNC-Chapel Hill. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she first became interested in physiology and thus medicine. She received her medical degree from Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine which deepened her interest in the mind-body connection. During her General Psychiatry Residency at Louisiana State University, Dr. Fawcett was first introduced to psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theory, an interest that has solidified with further exposure in fellowship to attachment and polyvagal theory. She is excited and optimistic to build upon this foundation with the support of the Pearsall Fellowship through the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas.

Andrés Fuenmayor, MD
Dr. Fuenmayor was born and raised in Venezuela. He is a third-year psychiatry resident at Duke University. During his medical training, he focused on working with underserved communities and adopting a patient-oriented model of care. He values a holistic approach to patient care, ensuring that all aspects of a patient’s well-being are considered. Dr. Fuenmayor worked at Columbia University in the Department of Global Mental Health, where he was involved in projects aimed at increasing access to care for low- and middle-income countries.

At Duke, he continues to promote cultural awareness and works with underserved communities to improve access to care. He is currently enrolled in the psychotherapy track and is a fellow in the Diversity Leadership Fellowship from the American Psychiatry Association. Dr. Fuenmayor is eager to learn more about psychoanalysis and hopes to implement it in a multicultural approach.

Nicholas Horswill, MD
Dr. Horswill is a third-year resident physician at UNC Hospitals. He completed his medical degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. His clinical education emphasized the social determinants of health and a holistic approach to the practice of medicine. His clinical interests are in consult-liaison psychiatry, primary thought disorders, personality disorders, and mood disorders. Dr. Horswill has a strong interest in education and has held various teaching and tutoring roles prior to residency and enjoys working with medical students in the hospital. As part of his residency, he is pursuing additional training in clinical informatics.  Dr. Horswill is hoping to blend psychodynamic and humanistic approaches with pharmacologic management. The Pearsall Fellowship will help him to expand on these skills and better serve his patients.

Thomas Mayer, MD
Dr. Mayer is in his first year of the child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UNC. After graduating from Boston College with a degree in psychology, he spent three years teaching middle school math in Houston, TX with Teach for America. He completed medical school and general psychiatry residency also at UNC where he has been involved with clinical education projects. He is looking forward to developing his understanding of analytic theory and technique.

Alexander Moghadam, MD, PhD
Dr. Moghadam is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at Duke University Hospital and is originally from Providence, Rhode Island. He received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University and his MD/PhD from New York Medical College. His research focuses on circuit mechanism of antipsychotic drugs and identifying new therapeutic targets for psychotic disorders. Through his outpatient training at Duke, Dr. Moghadam has become interested in learning about psychotherapy and has joined the Duke Psychotherapy Track. He hopes to advance his knowledge further and continue his own growth as a Pearsall Fellow.

Gualberto B. Morco VI, DO
Dr. Morco realized psychiatry would be a great outlet to apply the holistic approach to patient care while in medical school at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. As an immigrant from the Philippines and growing up in California, he’s well acquainted with how cultural upbringing and socioeconomic influences affect a person’s mental wellbeing. His family’s limited access to medicine taught him the power of non-pharmacological strategies in the healing process. Furthermore, he’s witnessed the benefits of incorporating psychoanalysis in planning and executing treatment plans as a psychiatry resident. Dr. Morco hopes to utilize the skills he develops as a Pearsall fellow during his 4th year at Cape Fear Valley Hospital and beyond. He is confident his time with the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas will translate into a more complete approach to patient care.

Jeanne Oord, MD
Dr. Oord is a third-year psychiatry resident at UNC Hospitals. She received her medical degree from Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in her hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her clinical interests include reproductive psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and psychotherapy. She is also interested in medical education and enjoys spending time working with and teaching medical students. Dr. Oord is involved in the Women’s Mental Health Track at UNC and hopes to one day combine her interests in reproductive psychiatry and psychotherapy in the outpatient setting. She is looking forward to further developing her psychotherapeutic skills and knowledge through the Pearsall Fellowship.

Catherine Parker, MD
Dr. Parker is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at the UNC Chapel Hill. Raised in Asheville, North Carolina, she completed her medical training at Columbia University. She holds a B.A. in French Studies and Philosophy from Scripps College and an MPhil in European Literature & Culture from Cambridge University. She was a 2023-2024 Recipient of the Pearsall Fellowship and is excited to return to the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas this year to nurture her passion for psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy. During residency, Dr. Parker has enjoyed being a member of the research track and teaching medical students. She is interested in eating disorders, correctional psychiatry, and global mental health.

Lara Thibodeau, MD
Dr. Thibodeau is a fourth-year psychiatry resident at Duke University Hospital with interests in child and adolescent psychiatry, reproductive psychiatry and psychotherapy. She received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Tufts University and worked as a middle school teacher through the national organizational Teach for America before graduating from Tufts University School of Medicine. She is looking forward to continued growth, introspection and learning more about psychoanalytic theory and practice prior to pursuing a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship.

Brice Thomas, MD
Dr. Thomas is a third-year psychiatry resident at the University of North Carolina. Mostly raised in Texas, he studied classical music at New England Conservatory in Boston, MA before deciding to pursue a career in medicine. He completed his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine, where he earned distinction for medical education, clinical ethics, and global health. His clinical interests include child and adolescent psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, and psychotherapy. Dr. Thomas plans to combine psychodynamic approaches with medication management. The Pearsall Fellowship will help him to develop these skills and better serve his patients.

Stephanie Vaughn, MD
Dr. Vaughn is a third-year psychiatry resident at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto and earned her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. She has special interests in child and adolescent psychiatry, social determinants of health and psychotherapy. She hopes to utilize her psychoanalytic training within child and adolescent psychiatry to provide early and lasting interventions for her patients.