Profile

Akhila Nekkanti came to the Prevention Science doctoral program with a B.S. in Neuroscience and is currently studying under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Skowron in the Family Biobehavioral Health Lab and Dr. Kate Mills in the Developing Brains in Context Lab. Her current research examines the impacts of early adversity and intensive, practice-based intervention (i.e., Parent-Child Interaction Therapy) on children’s executive functioning capacities and resting-state neural activity. Her long-term goal is to delineate the type and extent of environmental enrichment necessary for enhancing lasting change in self-regulatory capacity in families facing early adversity and trauma. Ultimately, she aims to translate this neuroscience and implementation research into policy and legislation.