To celebrate the launch of our 2026 MQ Fellows round, we caught up with one of our most recent Fellows Dr Rebecca Etkin from the Yale School of Medicine.
Rebecca became an MQ Fellow in 2024 and is studying the effectiveness of a new parent-based intervention for helping children with anxiety called SPACE. You can read more about Rebecca’s project here.
Please give a brief summary of your academic career to date:
I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish from Johns Hopkins University. After graduating, I worked as a project manager in the Family Studies Lab at the University of Notre Dame, where I deepened my research experience and refined my interests in child and family mental health. I then completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University at Buffalo, where my research focused on adolescent social development and internalizing problems (e.g., shyness, anxiety). Following graduate school, I joined the Yale Child Study Center Anxiety & Mood Disorders Program as a postdoctoral associate and, after becoming an MQ Fellow, transitioned to a faculty position.
How long have you been at your current university/institution and what do you like about it?
I have been at Yale since 2019. The Child Study Center is a collaborative, supportive, and intellectually vibrant environment to be a clinician-scientist. Science informs every part of what we do, ensuring that our care for youth and families is grounded in evidence and innovation. Every day I get to work with colleagues and mentors who are not only brilliant and creative, but also lovely people with an exemplary dedication to helping others. I have learned so much from their diverse perspectives and expertise, and their influence has shaped my research in really meaningful ways.
What is your area of study?
My research focuses on the development and treatment of youth anxiety disorders and related challenges. I am particularly interested in how young people’s social relationships—especially with peers and parents—shape the course of their anxiety and how these relationships can be leveraged in treatment to improve outcomes.
What motivated you to study this area? Do you have a personal connection to the subject?
As far back as my own teenage years, I’ve had an interest in child development and desire to help young people. As I began training not only as a researcher but also as a clinician, I saw first hand how profoundly youths’ relationships shape their mental health—serving at times as risk factors and at other times as powerful sources of protection. These experiences led me to specialize in parent- and family-focused treatment approaches.
My training at Yale is where these interests came together. I’ve had the privilege of working with leading experts in youth anxiety and learning about family accommodation as a key maintaining factor that can be directly addressed in treatment. My MQ project represents the next step in this trajectory by integrating research and clinical practice in a trial of a parent-based treatment for teen anxiety that targets this impactful relationship process.
What are you hoping to discover or achieve as a result of your research?
Through the research supported by this fellowship, I aim to generate new insights and evidence on the effectiveness of working solely with parents as a treatment approach for teen anxiety. As therapy is not ‘one size fits all,’ my hope is to expand the range of evidence-based treatment options for teens struggling with anxiety. I also want to offer hope to families who feel stuck in cycles of accommodating the anxiety by providing concrete, practical strategies that not only reduce the anxiety but also strengthen relationships and improve family life. Involving teens and parents with lived experience of anxiety in the design of this research is a key priority, and I believe their voices will be essential in making these outcomes possible.
What does your day to day look like as an MQ Fellow?
My days as an MQ Fellow include a blend of research, clinical work, and teaching. I meet with teens and parents participating in our co-design groups and supervise members of our research team and study therapists. I also continue to analyze data and write manuscripts for related projects that strengthen my broader program of research. In addition, I frequently have opportunities to share this work and engage with communities of parents, providers, and schools, which I find inspiring and energizing.
What does receiving an MQ Fellowship mean to you?
It means so much to be an MQ Fellow. I don’t take for granted how competitive and rare this level of support is—both intellectually and financially. Partnering with an organization whose mission is to support science that directly improves the lived experiences of those with mental health challenges perfectly aligns with my own goals as a researcher and clinician. The fellowship has given me not only the resources to advance my work and my career, but also a community that shares a deep commitment to improving lives.
Would you encourage other scientists to apply for an MQ Fellowship?
Absolutely—I already have! The entire experience, from the application process to ongoing collaboration, has been wonderful. When I received the fellowship, MQ welcomed me into their “family,” and that sense of cohesion and shared values resonated with me, especially given the focus of my work. I’m grateful to be part of the MQ family and would wholeheartedly encourage other researchers to apply.
To learn more about the MQ Fellows programme, including how you can apply to become a 2026 MQ Fellow, please take a look at our Fellows page.
The post Interview with MQ Fellow Dr Rebecca Etkin first appeared on MQ Mental Health Research.
