Hi, I’m Helen Egger, MD.
I’m co-founder and chief medical and scientific officer of Little Otter.
My major research focus is on the developmental epidemiology of early childhood mental health and digital health utilizing cutting-edge technologies (i.e., computer vision and machine learning) to both advance the knowledge base in developmental neuroscience and improve the assessment of mental health disorders in young children (infant to preschool) in the U.S. and globally.
Research expertise
Developmental epidemiology of preschool psychopathology
Infant and preschool mental health
Psychometrics of early childhood mental health assessment
Early childhood emotional disorders, with a focus on anxiety disorders
Neural substrates of early childhood anxiety and depression
Developmental neuroscience of early childhood developmental and mental health disorders
Early childhood structural and functional neuroimaging
Temper tantrums and early childhood irritability
Early childhood global mental health
Early childhood digital health
Computational tools and instrumentation for assessment of early childhood developmental and
mental health disorders
Computer vision methodologies for automatic assessment of early childhood behavior
Utilizing digital and mobile health technologies to improve assessment of mental health disorders
Work history & academic appointments
03/2021-Present
Co-founder and Chief Medical & Scientific Officer, Little Otter San Francisco, California
2016-Present
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC
Faculty Appointments
09/2016-03/2021
Tenured, Arnold Simon Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Medicine, New York University (NYU), NYU Langone Health, New York, NY
05/2011-09/2016
Tenured Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
05/2011-09/2016
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
05/2013- 09/2016
Tenured Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC
07/2010-09/2016
Affiliate Faculty, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
07/2010-09/2016
Affiliate Faculty, Duke Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
12/2000-05/2011
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
07/1999-11/2000
Clinical Associate, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC
Administrative Leadership Positions
09/2016-03/2021
Chair, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU), NYU Langone Health, New York, NY
09/2016-03/2021
Director, Child Study Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY
09/2016-03/2021
Founder and Co-Lead, The WonderLab, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU), NYU Langone Health, New York, NY
09/2016-03/2021
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Digital DesignLab, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University (NYU), NYU Langone Health, New York, NY
12/2014-09/2016
Vice-Chair of Integrated Pediatric Mental Health, Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Durham, NC
01/2012-09/2016
Co-Leader, Information and Child Mental Health Initiative, Information Initiative at Duke University (iiD), Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC
05/2011-09/2016
Chief, Division of Child and Family Mental Health and Developmental Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
05/2011-09/2016
Director, Integrated Pediatric Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Hospital Appointments
09/2016–03/2021
Attending, Tisch Hospital, New York, NY
07/1999-09/2016
Attending, Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC
Other Visiting Appointments
2016
Visiting Expert, Singapore Health Manpower Development Plan, Ministry of Health, Singapore
2010-2011
Visiting Scholar, Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Education & training
Education
09/1986-05/1991
MD Medicine
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
06/1984-08/1985
Pre-med
Bryn Mawr Post-BA Pre-Med Program, Bryn Mawr, PA
08/1979-05/1983
BA English
Yale University, New Haven, CT
09/1976-06/1979
HS Diploma
Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
Training
09/1998-11/2000
T32 Post-Doc, Epidemiology, Social & Community Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Sheps Center and Duke University Medical Center, Chapel Hill and Durham, NC
07/1996-08/1998
Fellow, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
09/1993-06/1996
Resident, Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
07/1992-06/1993
Intern, Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC
07/1991-06/1992
Research Assistant, Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine,
New Haven, CT
09/1985-06/1986
Research Assistant, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Awards & honors
2021
Honoree for Scientific Achievement, Bloom Lecture, Child Study Center, Penn State University
2019
Winner, NYULH Biotech Venture Challenge
2017
Inaugural Endowed Emde Lecturer in Developmental Psychobiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO
2015-2016
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Faculty Fellow, Duke University
2015
Winner of Duke’s Blue Ribbon Teamwork Award for outstanding achievement
2013-2014
Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Fellow
2011
Chancellor’s Clinical Leadership in Academic Medicine Program Fellow (Duke)
2009
Marian Butterfield Early Career Award, Association of Women Psychiatrists
2005
Taghi Modarressi Memorial Lecturer, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
2004
Gerald L. Klerman Award, Outstanding Clinical Research, NARSAD Young Investigator
1999-2001
Solnit Fellow, Zero to Three National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families 1997 Presidential Scholar, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1995 NIMH Outstanding Resident Award
1991
Departmental Honors, Medical School Thesis, The Narrative of Memory: Child Holocaust Survivors and Traumatic Memory. Yale Child Study Center 1991 Graduated Yale School of Medicine, cum laude
1983
Graduated Yale College magna cum laude with distinction in the English Major
Contact Helen
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