Dr. Agazzi is a Professor in Pediatrics and Psychiatry and the Section Chief of the Division of Child Development.

She is a licensed psychologist and board certified in child and adolescent clinical psychology. Dr. Agazzi is the Internship Director of the USF Health Internship in Professional Psychology. She specializes in services for children with a range of neurodevelopmental problems including disruptive behavior disorders, developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, trauma exposures, and learning disabilities.

Dr. Agazzi’s research interests include behavioral parent training programs for children with developmental disabilities, disruptive behavior disorders and social-emotional problems associated with trauma. Namely, her research has focused on the implementation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, HOT DOCS, and DOCS K-5 for young children and their families.  

She earned her doctorate degree from University of South Florida and completed an internship in pediatric school psychology in Pasco County Schools (school-based) and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (clinic based). Dr. Agazzi became faculty at USF Health in 2007.    

Dr. Childres is an  Associate Professor at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. She is a licensed psychologist and her clinical work focuses on assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for young children with disruptive behavior disorders, developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, social-emotional difficulties, and learning disabilities.

Dr. Childres’ research interests include behavioral parent training for children with disruptive or challenging behaviors and early intervention for extremely premature or medically complex infants and toddlers. Dr. Childres is a Professional Trainer of the HOT DOCS parenting program.

She earned her doctorate degree from University of South Florida and completed a pre-specialist internship in Pediatric School Psychology in the Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium (school-based and clinic based) and a pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (clinic based). Dr. Childres became faculty at USF Health in 2011.

Sarah Dickinson, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and licensed psychologist in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Dickinson is a Professional Trainer of the HOT DOCS and DOCS K-5 parenting programs, a PCIT Therapist, and is trained in Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Dickinson’s work in early intervention, especially with toddlers with trauma exposures has been awarded by the National Association of School Psychologists and the Florida Association of School Psychologists.

Dr. Dickinson earned her doctorate degree from the University of South Florida and completed an internship at the Egyptian Public & Mental Health Department/Wabash and Ohio Valley Special Education District and a post-doctoral fellowship at the USF Rothman Center for Pediatric Neuropsychiatry. 

Dr. Najmabadi is an Assistant Professor at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.  She is a clinical psychologist providing services for children, adolescents, young adults, and families with a wide range of concerns, including noncompliance, self-injury, depression, psychotic disorders, anxiety, and trauma. She uses a variety of empirically-based treatments (e.g., DBT, TFCBT, PCIT, CBT with ERP) in order to empower her clients to make real, lasting changes for a better future.

Dr. Najmabadi earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University. She completed her internship at Devereux Massachusetts & Rhode Island, a nonprofit therapeutic day school and residential treatment center. She received specialized training in the treatment of adolescents engaging in self-injurious behaviors who have experienced either a single incident trauma or chronic childhood abuse. She also completed a two year fellowship with the Division of Medical Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida. During her fellowship, Dr. Najmabadi specialized in providing mental health services to patients with OCD, Gender Dysphoria, Depression, Trauma-and Stressor Related Disorders, and other psychiatric conditions across a variety of settings including hospitals and outpatient clinics. Dr. Najmabadi’s clinical interests include parent-child interactions, depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mood disorders.

Dr. Giselle Ruano is a bilingual, clinical psychologist in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, who conducts comprehensive psychological evaluations in English and Spanish for both children and adults. She specializes in assessments of ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, personality, substance abuse and trauma related disorders.  Dr. Ruano has specialty training and extensive experience working with children and families exposed to trauma, including both victims and perpetrators of abuse. She also has experience evaluating court-mandated individuals involved in legal proceedings with family, dependency and drug court. Dr. Ruano provides psychotherapeutic services to children, adolescents and adults using evidence-based practices and a trauma-informed approach to help them overcome a variety of mental health challenges and diagnoses.

Dr. Ruano graduated from Albizu University in Miami, Florida in 2011 with a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology and a concentration in Forensic Psychology. She graduated with her Master’s degree in Psychology from Boston University in 2000 and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida International University in 1998. Dr. Ruano completed an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship as well as a Post-Doctoral Residency program at the Child and Family Guidance center in Northridge, California.

Dr. Shaffer-Hudkins is an Associate Professor at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and the director of the Bay Area Early Steps program, serving children birth to three with special needs in Hillsborough and Polk counties. She specializes in psychosocial assessment and intervention for young children with developmental disabilities, including challenging behavior, autism spectrum disorder, and feeding concerns. Her research also focuses on the incorporation of positive psychology and resiliency in healthcare.

Dr. Shaffer-Hudkins earned her doctorate in school psychology from the University of South Florida, with an emphasis in pediatrics. She completed a doctoral internship with the University of South Florida and Pasco County School District.

Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor and licensed psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. Dr. Smith is a PCIT Therapist and Within Agency Level 1 Trainer. He specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with psychiatric, behavioral, and medical challenges to promote psychological health and well-being. Dr. Smith earned a PhD from the University of South Florida. He completed his clinical child/pediatric internship at the University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development and a pediatric psychology postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. Dr. Smith’s research interests focus on evidence-based methods to improve family functioning in response to pediatric illness and psychosocial factors contributing to youth subjective well-being and quality of life.  

Dr. Parke is a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist with Tampa General Hospital who primarily provides outpatient neuropsychological evaluations. She sees patients from infancy through young adulthood with leukemia, brain tumors, genetic disorders, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, stroke, and other complex medical conditions. Dr. Parke also serves as a collaborative professor in the department of psychiatry at University of South Florida (USF) and co-chairs the National Academy of Neuropsychology’s Leadership & Ambassador Development (LEAD) program. Dr. Parke earned her doctorate at University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), internship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and post-doctoral fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH)/Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in the neuropsychology tracks.