![A smiling, light-haired woman wearing a red top and a black blazer against a gray background.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-08/Ferland-Beckham%2C%20Chantelle%20-%20Headshot.jpg?itok=XTTZjXEU)
Chantelle Ferland-Beckham
Chantelle Ferland-Beckham, PhD, is a director on the Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team at MI Philanthropy. She is a translational neuroscientist by training and has nearly two decades of experience in trauma-related brain disorders such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury, with expertise in patient advocacy, mental health care policy, and Veteran's mental health.
Prior to joining the Institute, she was a Health Science Policy Analyst at the National Institutes for Health as part of the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship program, working to promote progress in biomedical research and strengthen the relationship between the NIH and Congress. Additionally, she was part of the Fellows in Innovation initiative, spearheaded by the Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Obama administration, analyzing current strategies and providing policy recommendations for suicide prevention. She spent the last seven years at Cohen Veterans Bioscience, a nonprofit biomedical research and technology organization dedicated to advancing precision diagnostics and tailored therapeutics for trauma-related brain disorders, where she oversaw external affairs, including stakeholder engagement and partner relationships, government affairs, and leading the Coalition to Heal Invisible Wounds, a Veterans mental health-focused advocacy coalition. She received her PhD in Neuroscience from Tulane University and completed postdoctoral training in the fields of neuropsychiatry, substance abuse, and traumatic brain injury. She is based in Washington, DC.