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Research Faculty—Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Program Director/Department Chair: Robert Gregory, MD

  • Stephen Faraone, PhD
    Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair
    Research Interests:

    Prof. Faraone studies the nature and causes of mental disorders in childhood and has ongoing research in psychiatric genetics, psychopharmacology, with a current focus on applications of data driven computational models (DDCMs) including classical machine learning and deep learning. His ongoing DDCM projects are: 1) predict neuro-developmental disorders and test hypotheses about brain differences in the disorders; 2) predict disorders from genome-wide association data and to test hypotheses about epistasis from such data; 3) predict comorbid psychiatric and somatic conditions among patients with ADHD and 4) to predict response to medications that treat ADHD. He also has a research program to create and disseminate quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in adults.

    Stephen V. Faraone, PhD CV

  • Christopher Gaiteri, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Gaiteri combines brain molecular, pathological, and imaging data to identify disease mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease.  He applies systems biology methods to identify drivers of molecular systems implicated in disease.  Dr. Gaiteri builds methods that extract molecular networks from brain omic datasets and define specific molecular control points within them.  However, this molecular analysis in Alzheimer's disease tends to operate independently of neuroimaging approaches to disease.  Therefore, we have assembled brain-based omics, fMRI, MRI, and cellular morphology data - all on the same set of individuals - which is allowing us to build a Rosetta stone of how different biophysical scales in the brain interact in health and disease.  Continuing with this theme of bringing siloed aspects of research together, Chris and his collaborators are also building collaborator recommendation systems, so that results can be repurposed across scientific fields.

  • Stephen Glatt, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Glatt is Director of the Psychiatric Genetic Epidemiology & Neurobiology Laboratory (PsychGENe Lab). The mission of the PsychGENe Lab is to develop and apply methods for finding the causes of mental health and mental illness. The vision of the lab is that we will discover those causes and use that information to design interventions that treat or prevent these disorders, or foster resilience to them. We are running numerous research projects aimed at finding the genes and environmental risk factors for a wide variety of disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and substance abuse disorders, among others. Our pipeline seeks to identify “risk genes” for these disorders by studying affected individuals and families and then to reveal how such genes alter brain biology leading to a vulnerability to mental illness.

    Stephen Glatt, PhD CV

  • Jonathan Hess, PhD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interests:

    I direct a computational neuro-genomics laboratory, focused on pioneering and using innovative methods to discover genes and pathways that play a pivotal role in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. Our goal is to identify genes contributing to susceptibility to disease, along with identifying factors of resilience that act as moderators against disease risk. Towards this goal, our lab developed the Brain Gene Expression and Network Imputation Engine (BrainGENIE) to allow researchers to noninvasively profile gene activity in the brain of living individuals based on gene activity measured in blood. Our BrainGENIE method, which is available as an open-source tool (https://github.com/hessJ/BrainGENIE), endeavors to fill a critical knowledge gap by providing a means to gain insight into molecular intricacies of the living human brain. Its primary aim is to identify and track molecular changes linked with brain health and disease, aging, as well as interventions. My lab was founded on three guiding principles: Our Mission (“We will decode the biological basis of risk and resilience for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.”), Our Vision (“Our scientific discoveries will provide a path toward reducing the burden of brain disease and achieving health equity.”), and Our Values (“We are at the forefront of scientific advancement, hence it is our responsibility to uphold the highest standards of integrity, accuracy, reliability, and transparency in our work. We conduct ourselves professionally with honesty and fairness. We treat others with courtesy, respect, and dignity.”).


    Jonathan L. Hess CV

  • Julio Licinio, MD/PhD
    Distinguished Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Licinio's work has examined the link between obesity and depression, looking into how anti-depressants can cause weight gain. Most recently, he co-led, with Dr. Ma-Li Wong, a study with a team of international researchers providing evidence of a strong link between schizophrenia and the organisms that reside in the digestive tract. The team found through genetic sequencing, vast differences of the gut microbiomes found in those with schizophrenia. These findings could transform the way schizophrenia is treated. He is also founder and current editor-in-chief of Molecular Psychiatry.

    Julio Licinio , MD/PhD CV

  • Chunyu Liu, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Liu’s laboratory is studying how genetic variants impact gene expression, protein abundance and various levels of regulatory networks, ultimate influence the risks of developing major psychiatric disorders, treatment responses, as well as related psychological, behavioral traits. Funded by NIH, his current projects are about regulatory networks in genomics, epigenomics, and proteomics of postmortem brains. Multiple advanced sequencing-based technologies, cell biology and bioinformatics methods are commonly used in this lab to facilitate discovery of risk genes and pathways.

    Chunyu Liu , PhD CV

  • Usha Satish, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interests:

    Professor Satish studies the use of man-machine simulation methodologies to assess and train human factors and productivity across many fields. This methodology is used worldwide to measure decision making and critical thinking in people both in clinical and non-clinical settings. These simulations focus on higher order cognitive processes, that impact decision making and include such functions as initiation, information management, planning, strategy, problem solving and flexibility. These skills are important for adaptation and productivity in real world situations and are closely aligned with employees’ actual work functions. Her work includes understanding the impact of environmental variables on decision making; the impact of different pharmaceutical agents on thinking abilities and the impact of burden of disease on critical thinking. She is also actively involved in use of this methodology in metacognitive training of health care professionals. Her contributions to the field are considered seminal and have impacted the understanding of the interactions of the environment and metacognition in different fields.

  • Thomas Schulze, MD
    Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Schulze’s research focuses on genotype-phenotype relationship in psychiatric disorders. He coordinates a German-wide center grant on longitudinal psychosis research (www.kfo241.de; www.PsyCourse.de) and spearheads an international study on the genetic basis of response to lithium treatment in bipolar disorder (www.ConLiGen.org), comprising several research groups from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia.

  • Richard Servatius, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Servatius' program of research spans rodent models of learning and coping to studies of civilians, active duty military and veterans.  The primary focus is detailing learning diathesis models for mental health issues such as anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder.  Another line of research is toward the development of objective signs in mild traumatic brain injury to break the reliance on self-report symptoms.  Dr. Servatius has active collaborations with the Department of Defense with the Stress & Motivated Behavior Institute (SMBI) as a centerpiece of the collaborative efforts.

  • Paula Trief, PhD
    Distinguished Service Professor
    Research Interests:

    My research focuses on the psychosocial issues that affect patients with diabetes and those at risk for diabetes.  I have developed and tested effective and practical interventions for patients with diabetes, those at risk, and their partners, to help them achieve better physical health (e.g., control of blood sugar, weight) and quality of life.  I have also studied the relationship between depression/anxiety and diabetes outcomes. My current NIH-funded project follows young adults with type 2 diabetes to better understand factors that affect medication adherence and healthcare usage, to design more effective behavioral interventions for this vulnerable group. 

  • Ma-Li Wong, MD, PhD
    Distinguished Professor
    Research Interests:

    The long-term goals of Dr. Wong's research are to develop a translational research program that spans the bench and the clinic to understand the molecular, cellular and circuit bases of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, particularly those comorbid with metabolic disorders. Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic consequences of obesity are associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety and dementia. The ongoing focus on Dr. Wong's lab include: Characterization of novel biomarkers in major depression and the role of specific genes or pathways in depression, including the inflammasome signaling, epigenetic markers, alternative splicing, and the gut microbiome.

    We have 4 current projects: 

    1) To determine the specific role(s) of PHF21B (plant homeodomain finger protein 21B) in neuronal function relevant to social recognition impairment; this is relevant because social cognitive impairments are a central feature of several neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental (e.g., autism spectrum and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) conditions, and also occur following acute brain damage after traumatic brain injury and stroke.

    2) A innovative research line focused on investigating the interface between neuroinflammation and serotonin signaling in chronic stress.

    3) A line of research focusing on the role of pre-mRNA splicing in the pathophysiology of chronic stress.

    4) A line of research focused on the role of alternative splicing in the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and aging.

  • Wei-Dong Yao, PhD
    Distinguished Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dopamine; synaptic plasticity and remodeling; prefrontal cortex; neural mechanisms of addiction and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

     

    Wei-Dong Yao, PhD CV

  • Yanli Zhang-James, MD, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interests:

    Dr. Zhang-James primarily focuses her research on the etiology and mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders with an onset during childhood. Her work spans across interdisciplinary fields, with a particular emphasis on pioneering data-driven approaches and leveraging the power of AI and machine learning to improve our understanding of neuropsychiatric conditions, as well as their diagnosis and treatment.

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