Contact the Program

Isha Jalnapurkar, MD

Training Director

Isha Jalnapurkar, MD is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program. She serves as an Investigator with the Child and Neurodevelopmental Initiative (CANDI) at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center and directs the Fragile X Behavioral Health Clinic at the UMass Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO). Dr. Jalnapurkar’s clinical practice focuses on the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Fragile X syndrome, and other neurodevelopmental conditions. She also serves as an attending psychiatrist for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities (MCPAP for ASD-ID), where she provides consultation to emergency services supporting neurodiverse youth and their families.

Dr. Jalnapurkar’s academic and research interests center on improving mental health outcomes in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. She is Principal Investigator on multiple national clinical trials evaluating novel therapeutics for Fragile X syndrome. Dr. Jalnapurkar co-leads preclinical psychiatry education in the VISTA curriculum for medical students and contributes to systems-level care through her role as an expert panel member for the ECHO Autism Crisis Care educational program. Her work integrates research, clinical innovation, and community collaboration to promote evidence-based and compassionate care for youth with developmental and psychiatric needs.

Brian Skehan, MD, PhD

Associate Training Director  

Brian Skehan, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Medical Director of Pediatric Consult Liaison Psychiatry & Emergency Mental Health Services at UMass Memorial Health, and Vice Chair of Education in Psychiatry at UMass Chan Medical School.  He is a proud alumnus of UMass Chan Medical School where he matriculated for his M.D., Ph.D. training in 2002 after conducting bench research in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology prior to his training. 

Following medical school, he entered the Integrated Adult/Child Psychiatry Residency Program at UMass Chan and became faculty in 2017, when he was named Associate Training Director of the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship.  Dr. Skehan is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry where he is currently the co-chair of the Transitional Age Youth/College Student Mental Health Committee and has served as a mentor in the academy for aspiring students, residents, and early career psychiatrists.  He has received numerous teaching awards as both a trainee and faculty member in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics. 

In addition to his clinical and teaching roles, he also serves as the Director of College Mental Health and works in the Student Development and Counseling Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  He served as chair of the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance, a coalition of 10 national organizations invested in improving the mental health and well-being of college students in 2023, and has published and presented nationally on issues involving college mental health.  He has also worked clinically in the Screening and Treatment of Early Psychosis clinic, the Adolescent Medicine Integrated Care Clinic, and the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP).

Dr. Skehan continues to see patients in college settings and within the Children’s Medical Center at UMass Memorial and has provided consultation to the MA Department of Mental Health for management of complex eating disorders with comorbid serious mental illness.  He is passionate about education and mentorship and believes in preparing trainees to work within interdisciplinary teams, provide high quality clinical care, psychotherapy, and psychoeducation to patients, families, and collaborators to improve mental health outcomes for all ages.

Email | Voice mail 508-856-1256