Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship

Zachariah Pranckun, DO (Class '18)
Board Certified Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Current Faculty and Supervisor, Jefferson Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship

Dr. Pranckun is a board-certified psychiatrist in Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatry. He earned degrees in Psychology and Sociology from Penn State before researching health disparities at the University of Colorado. He obtained his medical degree from the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, completing his Adult Psychiatry residency at Case Western Reserve University as Chief Resident and his Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as Chief Fellow.

For over five years, Dr. Pranckun was a Clinical Assistant Professor at Jefferson, working across diverse clinical settings. He also served as Director of Child Outpatient Services and Associate Program Director for both the Psychiatry residency and Child & Adolescent fellowship. He continues to lecture, mentor, and supervise second year fellows in their outpatient caseloads.

On his CAP training at Jefferson:  “I was drawn to Jefferson’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship for its well-established reputation of producing highly skilled clinical psychiatrists who have a strong foundation in psychotherapy. The program’s diverse training settings provide broad exposure, equipping fellows to practice across all continuums of care. I was fortunate to learn from many wonderful supervisors during my time in the fellowship and enjoy spreading this knowledge on to current fellows."

Marie Dona, MD, PMH-C (Class '21)
Adult and Child & Adolescent Board-Certified Psychiatrist
Founder, Dona Wellness Clinic 

Marie Dona, MD, is a double board-certified psychiatrist specializing in youth, adult, and reproductive mental health. As the founder of her private practice, the Dona Wellness Clinic, she is passionate about providing compassionate and personalized psychiatric care, whether through therapy, medication management, or a holistic approach tailored to each patient’s needs.

Dr. Dona’s journey into psychiatry was sparked during medical school, where she discovered her love for getting to know people and understanding their unique stories. 

Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Dona is committed to breaking mental health stigma through educational content and podcast guest appearances. She also runs a YouTube channel where she discusses various mental health topics, making information accessible to a wider audience.

Fun Facts: she loves all warm weather related activities which prompted the move to Florida (beach, jetski, swimming) and resides with her family and two dogs. She is licensed in Florida, Pennsylvania, New York and Washington D.C and has the ability to see patients in person in Florida or virtually throughout those other states.

On her CAP training at Jefferson: During her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) fellowship at Jefferson, she had the privilege of working alongside a supportive network of professionals, further shaping her approach to patient care. It was during this time that she solidified her love to care for patients of all ages.

David Halpern, MD (Class of '22)
Board-Certified Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Beit Daniella Therapeutic Day Program
Halpern Psychiatric

David Halpern, MD, is a board-certified adult and child & adolescent psychiatrist. He currently serves as the primary psychiatrist at Beit Daniella, a therapeutic day program in Israel supporting teens transitioning from or working to prevent psychiatric hospitalization. Dr. Halpern also maintains a private practice—Halpern Psychiatric—where he sees patients in both Israel and the U.S. via telehealth.

After finishing fellowship, Dr. Halpern worked as an attending at Belmont Behavioral Hospital in Philadelphia, where he ran the adolescent inpatient unit and oversaw medical student education. In 2023, Dr. Halpern moved to Israel and spent six months working at Eitanim Psychiatric Hospital as an inpatient attending before transitioning to his current role at Beit Daniella. He continues to stay connected to medical education and returns to Jefferson annually to give a lecture on religious diversity in psychiatric care.

Fun facts: Dr. Halpern trained at Jefferson for nine straight years—med school, residency and then through fellowship—a feature that made Jefferson feel like home. Dr. Halpern had two of his four kids during medical school, one during residency, and one during fellowship.

He is also the co-author of The Rabbi’s Brain: Mystics, Moderns, and the Science of Jewish Thinking. Back in residency, Dr. Halpern's favorite post-call ritual was going to the movies; as he states, "sinking into those big seats with a soda and snack—sometimes the best things are the simplest ones".

On his CAP training at Jefferson: "What I appreciated most about fellowship was the space to grow into independence. Whether managing complex care at CCTC or NET or learning to run a service, I really learned how to make clinical decisions without needing someone to double-check me—and that confidence has stayed with me".

Hephsibah Loeb, MD (Psychiatry Residency Class '20, CAP Class of '22)
Board-Certified Child and Community Psychiatrist

Dr. Loeb completed Psychiatry residency and Child Psychiatry fellowship at Jefferson (2020, 2022). After CAP fellowship, Dr. Loeb was a Community Psychiatry fellow at University of Pennsylvania (2023), and she now works as a child psychiatrist at a community mental health agency in Philadelphia.

Dr. Loeb is interested in addressing barriers to increase family engagement in community child psychiatry. During CAP fellowship, Dr. Loeb worked with Jefferson faculty on a proposal to interview family members about experiences receiving psychiatric services.  

As a Community Psychiatry fellow, Dr. Loeb partnered with family peer support specialists from Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and mentors from Community Behavioral Health (CBH) to create a resource on shared decision-making for providers: 

On her CAP training at Jefferson: Supervision at Jefferson during weekly meetings, seminars, and thorough feedback on written evaluations helped prepare Dr. Loeb for a rewarding career working with families.