About Us

Cambridge Biotherapies™, founded in 2016 by Daniel A. Brenner, M.D., was born out of a desire to help people who have tried traditional psychiatric treatments, such as medication and psychotherapy, with limited success.

We are a private treatment center committed to providing a uniquely warm, compassionate, welcoming, and comfortable environment. We are careful and thorough, and honor the dignity of every human being we work with, regardless of their background, circumstances, or identity. We maintain exemplary medical standards and incorporate developments from the most current research in a never-ending quest to improve our outcomes. All of our clinicians are highly skilled, carefully selected, have specialized training, and bring years of dedicated experience to their practice.

Our Staff

Patient Care Coordinators

Catherine Laplant
Patient Care Coordinator
Chara Cummings
Patient Care Coordinator
Morgan Barnes
Patient Care Coordinator

Providers

Daniel A. Brenner, M.D.
Medical Director, CEO
Mona Itani, M.D.
Psychiatrist
Olga Pavleyeva, P.M.H.N.P
Nurse Practitioner and Infusion Nurse
Odessa Holt, MSW
Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapist
Holly Randall, DNP
Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist

Nursing

Edward Joseph Almeida, RN, VA-BC
Nurse Manager, Infusion Nurse
Kelsey Paydos, RN, BSN, CPN
Asst. Nurse Manager, Infusion Nurse
Doreen Rynne, R.N.
Infusion Nurse
Erin Reilly
RN, VA-BC
Infusion Nurse
Katherine Marcinkus
R.N.
Infusion Nurse
Kaitlin O'Donnell
R.N.
Infusion Nurse
Sarah Slote
Infusion Nurse
Sarah Glick
Infusion Nurse
Melissa Martin
Infusion Nurse

TMS Technicians

Daniel T. Thompson
TMS Manager
Dana Colley
TMS Technician
Julia Finlay
TMS Technician

Operations Support

Livia Iwanicki
Data Analyst Intern

Leadership

Daniel A. Brenner, M.D.
Medical Director, CEO
Brendan O'Connor
Vice President of Operations
Chrystin Comeau
Director of Operations

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Catherine Laplant

Clinic Coordinator

Catherine graduated from UMass Amherst with a BA in Psychology and a Specialization in Developmental Disabilities and Human Services. She has worked in a variety of mental health settings, with an extensive focus on inpatient psychiatric care.

Her mission has been to increase access to safe, dignified treatment for folks experiencing mental health crises. She is a certified Verbal De-Escalation Instructor and a Basic Life Support Instructor and is happy to connect with and lend an ear to all who need.

Chara Cummings

Clinic Coordinator

Chara is an experienced mental health specialist who has provided her services in various inpatient and outpatient behavioral health settings, specializing in stabilization and rehabilitation skills. You’ll find her at the front desk greeting and orienting patients or helping new patients get the information and guidance they need to make informed decisions about their care.

Morgan Barnes

Clinic Coordinator

Morgan is a recent graduate of UMass Amherst! She is doing research on sleep-dependent memory consolidation and is currently working to complete her Master’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior. You can find her at the front desk of the Amherst office or working as a TMS tech.

Daniel A. Brenner, M.D.

Medical Director, CEO

Dr. Brenner received his BA from Harvard University and later attended Tufts Medical School. He completed his residency in Psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where he served as Chief Resident. He then served as an Attending Psychiatrist and Fellow in the Program for Psychotherapy. He was a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School from 2000-2010, and is a graduate of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He was board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology, and has been in private practice for over 20 years.

Mona Itani, M.D.

Psychiatrist

Dr. Itani completed her residency in Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center before completing a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Boston University. She then served as an Attending Psychiatrist in the Addiction Psychiatry department at Boston Medical Center from 2020-2021 before joining the Cambridge Biotherapies™ team. Dr. Itani is board certified in Psychiatry and Neurology and is also certified in providing Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute.

Olga Pavleyeva, P.M.H.N.P

Nurse Practitioner and Infusion Nurse

Olga is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with extensive training in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. She has worked in a wide range of medical settings, including surgical intensive care, was a member of the IV team at Massachusetts General Hospital, and has been with Cambridge Biotherapies™ since 2017.

Odessa Holt, MSW

Ketamine-assisted Psychotherapist

Odessa Holt completed master’s degrees at Boston University in social work and public health. She has over 20 years of experience working in healthcare as a medical social worker, clinical supervisor, trainer, and manager. As a ketamine-assisted psychotherapist, Odessa takes a trauma-informed approach and focuses on creating a warm and collaborative space for patients to safely explore this powerful treatment.

Holly Randall, DNP

Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist

Holly Randall, DNP, is a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist with a Doctorate in Nursing and a Masters Degree in both Nursing and Health Professions Education. She has had clients with a full range of psychiatric issues and has provided treatment using trauma-informed therapy, CBT, and integrative therapies. She has extensive experience prescribing psychotropic medications. She has studied and combined herbal remedies, nutrition, and shamanic plants with allopathic medicine to address symptoms with patients who crave a wider approach to living well.  A special interest of Dr Randall, DNP, is working with end-of-life planning, preparation, and working with fear of dying and complex terminal diagnoses. It is thought that facing the end of life aids us in living the present more fully.

Edward Joseph Almeida, RN, VA-BC

Nurse Manager, Infusion Nurse

Ned is a board certified vascular access nurse who has devoted his career to excellence in vascular access and has been a member of the Vascular Access Team at Massachusetts General Hospital since 2011. He has been a member of the Cambridge Biotherapies team since 2017. He is also an Eagle Scout.

Kelsey Paydos, RN, BSN, CPN

Asst. Nurse Manager, Infusion Nurse

Kelsey has over 10 years of experience as a nurse in a wide range of specialties including pediatrics, adults, and infusion therapy. She has been a member of the Cambridge Biotherapies team since 2020.

Doreen Rynne, R.N.

Infusion Nurse

Doreen has been an RN, BSN since 2014 and joined the Cambridge Biotherapies™ team in 2021. She received her nursing degree from The MGH Institute of Health Professions and has a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from UMass Amherst. Her background is in emergency medicine and acute care. She also works on the IV Team at MGH.

Erin Reilly, RN, VA-BC

Infusion Nurse

Erin is an RN, BSN with over 10 years of nursing experience. She has been part of the Cambridge Biotherapies team since 2021. She also works as an Emergency Room and Dialysis Nurse in Worcester, MA.

Katherine Marcinkus, R.N.

Infusion Nurse

Katherine has experience in a wide range of medical settings, including emergency and intensive care nursing. She has been a member of the Cambridge Biotherapies™ team since 2021.

Team > Kaitlin O'Donnell, R.N.

Infusion Nurse
Kaitlin is a registered nurse with over 10 years of nursing experience. Kaitlin has experience in a wide range of specialties including hemodialysis, infusion therapy, general adult medicine, and occupational health. She has been part of the Cambridge Biotherapies team since 2023.

Sarah Slote

Infusion Nurse
Sarah is an RN with 14 years of experience. Her background is in adult oncology in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. She joined Cambridge Biotherapies in 2023. She also works as an infusion nurse at Dana Farber.

Sarah Glick

Infusion Nurse

Sara is a nurse with over ten years of experience. she received her RN degree from NYU and has grown her career in NYC and Boston. She has experience in a wide range of specialties including vascular access, outpatient oncology, and infusion.

Melissa Martin

Infusion Nurse

Melissa has been a nurse for over 10 years after obtaining her degree at Simmons University. She has experience working in emergency medicine, psychiatry, and inpatient medicine/surgery. In 2022 she obtained her master’s in nursing degree at Southern New Hampshire University. Melissa has been a part of Cambridge Biotherapies since 2023.

Daniel T. Thompson

TMS Manager

Daniel and Dr. Brenner partnered to open Cambridge Biotherapies in 2016, where Daniel has since grown into the role of TMS Manager. Daniel received his BA from the University of Massachusetts and has experience in mental health services and outreach for facilities that help the homeless in Boston.

Dana Colley

TMS Technician
Dana is a TMS clinician and psychiatric assistant. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and has extensive experience working as a physical care attendant for patients with quadriplegia. He is also an accomplished musician and remains active as a performer and recording artist.

Julia Finlay

TMS Technician
Julia is a TMS Technician who is kind-hearted, caring, and passionate about helping others in any way that she can. She has a BA in Psychology with a concentration in forensics from Southern New Hampshire University, where she is currently working on her Master’s degree.

Livia Iwanicki

Data Analyst Intern

Livia is a senior at UMass Amherst pursuing Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Spanish. Simultaneously, she’s immersing herself in the realm of Data Analytics and Computational Social Science through her Master’s program, creating a dynamic fusion of insights at the intersection of human behavior and data-driven solutions. Currently, as a team member at Cambridge Biotherapies, Livia’s passion for data and efficiency shines through her work. She is spearheading the development of a live patient data dashboard, a crucial resource in optimizing the allocation of resources and staff. Livia is also helping with the integration of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) systems throughout the company, enabling streamlined patient management and efficient operational processes.

Brendan O'Connor

Vice President of Operations

As a partner serving as Vice President of Operations, Brendan is focused on scaling evidence-based, integrative approaches to mental health. He is co-leading the efforts at Cambridge Biotherapies to expand our reach to patients across New England, bringing best-in-class, leading-edge mental healthcare to those in need.

Brendan studied Process & Systems Engineering at Northeastern University (Industrial Engineering, B.S.), with a Capstone at the Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute of Northeastern University (HSyE) & Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He completed a graduate level CE course at Harvard Medical School focusing on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and a course on leadership development at Harvard Business School. Brendan is also a professionally-trained leadership coach, co-founder of a non-profit committed to decriminalizing psychedelics throughout MA to improve access, and an Eagle Scout.

Chrystin Comeau

Director of Clinic Operations

Chrystin (CJ) Comeau is the Director of Operations, overseeing daily operations to ensure the consistent delivery of exceptional healthcare services to the community.

In her role as Director of Operations, CJ wears many hats. She oversees HR functions, including hiring and benefits management, leads ongoing improvement projects, manages compliance and regulatory affairs, leads the administrative team, and works with the leadership team to craft the organization’s strategic direction.

CJ’s values are deeply rooted in her career. She is driven by a desire to serve the community while finding fulfillment in her work. She believes in equity and transparency in leadership and is passionate about fostering a supportive environment for staff to pursue professional development feel nurtured within a culture that values appreciation, honesty, and excellence.

Outside of work, CJ enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, pursuing fitness and longevity, and strives to maintain a harmonious balance between work and life.