Employees
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Administrative Support
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Cheryl Anderson
Financial Services Associate
Cheryl Anderson is responsible for purchasing, relocations, travel oversight, and institutional accounts payable functions and reconciliations. She processes daily fiscal transactions, maintains operational records, and ...
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Brian Brindle
Senior Systems Administrator
Brian Brindle serves as the Senior Systems Administrator for the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute computer and IT systems.
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Paula Byron
Director of Communications
Paula Byron oversees communications for both the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
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Sarah Castle
Human Resources Manager
Sarah Castle assists the faculty and staff with their human resource needs, including recruitment, compensation, benefits, and employee relations.
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Sherri Cook
Senior Associate Director for Finance and Administration
Sherri Cook oversees the institute's financial and administrative units. Among her many duties, she develops and implements financial, administrative, and personnel policies and procedures; develops ...
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Bob Jentsch
IT Specialist
Bob Jentsch serves as the primary point of contact for end-user hardware and software support, as well as teleconference support.
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Justin King
Assistant Director, Information Technology & Data Management
Justin King manages information technology for the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
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Ken Kingery
Communications Coordinator
Ken Kingery serves as communications coordinator for both the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
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Gary Mason
Associate Director, Resource Management & Operations
Gary Mason manages the VTCRI facility, oversees renovations, and provides input on key issues such as master planning, space planning, budget development, facility maintenance, equipment ...
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Elizabeth McBride
Director of Development
Elizabeth McBride oversees development for both the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
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Amanda Mullins
Development and Communications Associate
Amanda Mullins provides development and communications support to both the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.
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Dana Nichols
Special Assistant to the Executive Director
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Dixon Smiley
Animal Care Technician
Dixon Smiley is responsible for all activities within the VTCRI animal facility.
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Audra Van Wart, PhD
Director of Education and Training, VTC Research Institute
Administrative Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Dr. Van Wart plays a lead role in developing graduate programs in biomedical sciences at Virginia Tech through the VTC Research Institute. She also coordinates ...
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Faculty Research Team Leaders
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Warren Bickel, PhD
Professor, VTC Research Institute
Director, Addiction Recovery Research Center
Professor of Psychology, College of Science, Virginia Tech
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, VTC School of Medicine
Fundamental to solving the problem of addiction and other dysfunctional health behaviors is to understand how an individual continues to engage in a behavior despite ...
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Pearl Chiu, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor of Psychology, College of Science at Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, VTC School of Medicine
How is it that a depressed individual may value nothing at all, whereas an addict might value drug consumption at the expense of all else? ...
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Stephanie DeLuca, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Stephanie DeLuca, PhD, is a developmental psychologist who works to advance both adult and pediatric innovative neurorehabilitation treatment techniques. Rehabilitation science is an expanding field, ...
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Harry Dorn, PhD
Professor, VTC Research Institute
Professor, Chemistry, College of Science at Virginia Tech
For nearly 40 years, Dr. Dorn has made pioneering developments in joining high-performance liquid chromatography with nuclear magnetic resonance to form a technique that has ...
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Michael Fox, PhD
Associate Professor, VTC Research Institute
Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Science at Virginia Tech
Synapses are specialized sites that allow information to be passed between neurons. Their importance is highlighted by the fact that even minor synaptic abnormalities, caused ...
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Michael Friedlander, PhD
Founding Executive Director, VTC Research Institute
Associate Provost for Health Sciences, Virginia Tech
Senior Dean for Research, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Professor of Biological Sciences, College of Science, Virginia Tech
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, VTC School of Medicine
My research program is directed at understanding the processes that regulate alterations in synaptic efficiency between neurons within the cerebral cortex—synaptic plasticity—and how these cellular ...
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Robert Gourdie, PhD
Professor, VTC Research Institute
Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Eminent Scholar in Heart Regenerative Medicine Research, VTC Research Institute
Director, Center for Regenerative Medicine Research, VTC Research Institute
Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech
Professor of Emergency Medicine, VTC School of Medicine
Director of Emergency Medicine Research, Carilion Clinic
The research of the lab is on the subunit proteins of gap junctions—connexins. Our work encompasses both basic and practical/translational aspects. In basic research we ...
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Deborah Kelly, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Science at Virginia Tech
My research focuses on developing innovative methodologies to study complex biological machinery. In particular, I am interested in using a combination of structural and functional ...
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Brooks King-Casas, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, Psychology, College of Science at Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, VTC School of Medicine
My lab addresses two broad areas of inquiry: (i) neural basis of valuation and learning in social settings, and, (ii) abnormalities of social valuation. We ...
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Stephen LaConte, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, VTC School of Medicine
Research in the LaConte lab is devoted to advanced neuroimaging acquisition and data analysis approaches, aimed at basic scientific discovery as well as understanding and ...
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Sarah McDonald, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech
Understanding how viruses evolve as they replicate and spread in the human population is fundamentally important for effective disease control. Viruses with segmented, RNA genomes ...
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Read Montague, PhD
Professor, VTC Research Institute
Director, Human Neuroimaging Laboratory
Director, Computational Psychiatry Unit
Professor, Department of Physics, College of Science, Virginia Tech
Dr. Read Montague’s work centers broadly on human social cognition, decision-making, and willful choice with a goal of understanding the detailed underlying neurobiology of these ...
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Rosalyn Moran, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
The research in our laboratory focuses on parallel aims in neuroscience: to develop new neuroimaging methodologies and to investigate the neurobiology of aging. Within the ...
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Alexei Morozov, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech
We are interested in neuronal substrates of social behaviors. Empathy is an evolutional hallmark that has shaped human civilization by influencing social behaviors. Animals can ...
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Konark Mukherjee, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, College of Science at Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, VTC School of Medicine
The role of MAGUK ( Membrane Associated Guanylate Kinase) proteins in neurodevelopment. Neurodevelopment proceeds through a series of events culminating into formation of productive neuronal ...
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Steven Poelzing, PhD
Associate Professor, VTC Research Institute
Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech
Sudden cardiac death is a significant cause of mortality in the United States and around the world. There is an increasing awareness that sudden cardiac ...
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Craig Ramey, PhD
Professor and Distinguished Research Scholar, VTC Research Institute
Professor, Psychology, Virginia Tech
Professor, Pediatrics, VTC School of Medicine
My program of research centers on the role of experience – across the human lifespan - in the development of competence. My research relies largely ...
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Sharon Ramey, PhD
Professor and Distinguished Research Scholar, VTC Research Institute
Research Professor, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech
Professor of Psychiatry, VTC School of Medicine
My research addresses three major areas of human development: (1) the contribution of early experience, starting even prior to conception and extending through the prenatal ...
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Zhi Sheng, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech
Glioblastoma, a lethal and incurable brain cancer, often recurs after conventional therapies such as resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, possibly because cancer stem cells in ...
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Jamie Tyler, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, VTC School of Medicine
In our primary area of focus, we are developing novel methods for the control of neuronal activity in intact brain circuits. To this end, we ...
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Gregorio Valdez, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Science at Virginia Tech
My lab is interested in discovering molecules that protect synapses from the ravages of aging and age-related neurological diseases. Synapses are the sites where information ...
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Research Faculty and Postdoctoral Fellows
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Woo Young Ahn, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
My research incorporates computational modeling and neuroimaging methods to investigate the psychological and neural mechanisms of mood/anxiety and addiction disorders, also known as computational psychiatry. ...
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Jason Aimone, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
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Crystal Boudreaux, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Crystal Boudreaux's research interests include innate and adaptive immune responses to viral infection and molecular virology. In the McDonald Lab, she uses her molecular ...
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Dongil Chung, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Chung's research focus is social and neuroeconomic studies that include understanding social influence on risk preference using functional MRI. He is part of Dr. ...
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Kimberlee D'Ardenne, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Kimberlee D'Ardenne's research focuses on applying non-invasive magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic methods to study brainstem monoamine neuromodulatory systems, which are affected by drug addiction, ...
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Anders Eklund, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Anders Eklund’s research focus is on medical image processing and the development of algorithms for real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging. He takes advantage of powerful ...
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Quentin Fischer, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
The adult brain is capable of considerable functional reorganization often manifest as long term modification of synaptic strength (strengthening as long term potentiation or LTP, ...
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Christopher Franck, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Director, Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA), Virginia Tech
My research interests lie in the fields of statistics and biostatistics. In collaborative research the role of the statistician begins as soon as a research ...
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Ann Harvey, PhD
Research Scientist, VTC Research Institute
Director, Roanoke Brain Study
I am a research scientist at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. My duties include conducting research as well as coordinating the Roanoke Brain Study. ...
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Tor Haugstad, MD, PhD
Visiting Research Professor
Dr. Tor Haugstad’s broader field of interest is in the basic, translational, and clinical fields of neurology and neurorehabilitation. His work in particular focuses on ...
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Gro Haugstad, PhD
Visiting Research Professor
Dr. Gro Killi Haugstad’s research focuses on a clinical therapeutic approach to patients with psychosomatic disorders. More specifically, she focuses on therapy for patients with ...
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Kevin Hill, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Kevin Hill's research interests include studying how the brain makes decisions—specifically the role of individual differences in decision making—and how the brain deals with ...
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Wataru Ito, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Dr. Wataru Ito is a research assistant professor in the Morozov laboratory.
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Hodja Kalikulov, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Synaptic plasticity is widely considered to be a cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory. Intracellular calcium signaling plays a key role in the regulation of ...
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M. Amin Kayali, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
I am a member of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory and Computational Psychiatry Unit. My research focuses on studying the structure and the dynamics of functional ...
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Ken Kishida, PhD
Research Scientist
Human choice is constrained by such biological limitations as energetic constraints, sensory limitations, and valuation errors. Our species is not alone in dealing with this ...
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Mikhail Koffarnus, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
My research focuses on understanding drug abuse and developing drug abuse treatments from behavioral economic and pharmacological perspectives. Decision-making processes are often disrupted in drug ...
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Leslie LaConte, PhD
Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Assistant Professor of Basic Sciences, VTC School of Medicine
Dr. Leslie LaConte's research interests lie in the field of structural biology. Working with Dr. Konark Mukherjee, she is currently investigating proteins found in the ...
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Wynn Legon, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
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Terry Lohrenz, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, VTC Research Institute
Terry Lohrenz is a member of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory and Computational Psychiatry Unit. He was trained as a mathematician and spent time in the ...
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Sarika Srivastava, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Mitochondria are dynamic organelles central to energy production, metabolism, signaling and apoptosis. Proper mitochondrial function is critical for the maintenance of cellular energy and metabolic ...
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Jianmin Su, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
I am working in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Fox exploring the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive synapse formation—synaptic targeting, synaptic differentiation and maturation. ...
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Justin Tanner, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Justin Tanner's research interest focuses on using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) to visualize biological processes in their native forms rather than in a reconstituted ...
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Milagros Tenga, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
My research focuses on the identification of molecular mechanisms that protect the neuromuscular junction, the synapse formed between motor neurons and muscle fibers, from aging ...
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Rengasayee (Sai) Veeraraghavan, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
My primary research interest is the structural basis of cardiac conduction. Specifically, I am investigating the precise ultrastructural organization of ion channels and gap junctions ...
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Michael Wesley, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Wesley's research focuses on the neurofunctional correlates of complex decision-making and affective processing in drug abusing populations in the laboratories of Dr. Warren Bickel ...
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A. George Wilson, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
My research focuses on understanding whether the motivating effects of a future opportunity to ingest nicotine, through puffs on a cigarette, are different in cigarette ...
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Jianping Wu, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
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Shu Zhang, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Zhang is a postdoctoral associate in Dr. McDonald's lab. Her research program is focusing on understanding rotavirus genome reassortment restriction by using a reverse ...
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Lusha Zhu, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
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Research Support
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Nathan Apple
Head, Software Development
Nathan Apple leads the software development effort at the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory.
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Sabah Bangash
Research Assistant
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Aaron Barbour
Research Assistant
Aaron Barbour is a research assistant in Dr. Jamie Tyler's laboratory.
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Laura Bateman
Senior Administrative Assistant
Laura Bateman provides administrative support to Drs. Craig and Sharon Ramey.
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Samuel Bowman
Undergraduate Research Student
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Justin Brooks
Graduate student
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Vanessa Brown
Graduate Student
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Raymon Burke
MRI Research Assistant
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Cassandra Carrin
Research Coordinator
Cassie Carrin works in the Montague Lab studying decision-making using fMRI analysis of brain function.
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Anne Carter
ARRC Research Associate
Anne Carter studies the successful experiences of people in recovery from addictions for the Bickel Lab and Addiction Recovery Research Center.
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Vrushali Chavan
Research Associate
Vrushali Chavan manages the Mukherjee Lab, where she also studies CASK domain deletions and their importance in mental retardation.
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Katherine Degen
Graduate Student
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Harshawardhan Deshpande
Graduate Student
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Cyrus Eierud
Graduate Student
Cyrus Eierud's principal research interests are in decoding states of mind and detecting learning using neuroimaging. He studies multivariate pattern analysis to predict mind states ...
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Olivia Fitch
Research Scholar
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B. Christopher Frueh, PhD
Affiliated Scholar
Dr. Frueh's research focuses on epidemiology, clinical trials, and mental health service delivery for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and geriatric depression in a variety of ...
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Kirstin Gatchalian
ARRC Project Coordinator
Kirstin Gatchalian studies risky decision-making and executive function in addicted individuals as part of the Bickel Lab and the Addiction Recovery Research Center.
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Sharon George
Graduate Student
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Brian Gilmore
Research Associate
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Amara Greer-Short
Graduate Student
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Sujuan Guo
Research Associate
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Brittany Hamilton
Research Coordinator
Brittany Hamilton is the research coordinator for the laboratories of Pearl Chiu, Brooks King-Casas, and Stephen LaConte.
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Laura Hatz
ARRC Research Assistant
Laura Hatz studies decision-making, social interactions, and brain activity in addicted individuals for the Bickel Lab and the Addiction Recovery Research Center.
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Harshad Hegde
Computer Programmer
Harshad Hegde's responsibilities include the development and maintenance of computer applications and websites for the Bickel Lab and the Kelly Lab.
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Gecia Hermsdorff
Research Assistant
I am a member of Read Montague's lab. Broadly, I am interested in using normative computational models and brain imaging techniques to understand the connection ...
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Stephanie Hurt
Laboratory and Research Specialist for Dr. Harry Dorn
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Kara Johnson
MRI Research Technologist
Kara Johnson works in the Montague Lab studying decision-making using fMRI analysis of brain function.
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Jane Jourdan
Lab Manager, Center for Regenerative Medicine
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Corey Judd
ARRC Research Assistant
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Christine Koefer
Senior Administrative Assistant
Christine Koefer provides administrative support to Dr. Read Montague, the director of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory, and to the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory staff.
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Nina Lauharatanahirun
Graduate Student
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Jacob Lee
Research Programmer
Jacob Lee is a research programmer for Dr. Pearl Chiu and Dr. Brooks King-Casas.
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Yanping Liang
Research Associate
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Jonathan Lisinski
Research Associate
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Patsy Marshall
Senior Administrative Assistant
Patsy Marshall is the senior administrative assistant to Dr. Warren Bickel, director of the Addiction Recovery Research Center (ARRC). She also provides administrative support to ...
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Katie McCurry
Graduate Student
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Allison McKell
Graduate Student
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Kathleen McLachlan
Research Assistant
Kathleen McLachlan is a research assistant for Dr. Pearl Chiu and Dr. Brooks King-Casas.
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Rob McNamara
Clinical Research Coordinator
Rob McNamara provides clinical management and supervision for the behavioral and neuroimaging research performed in the laboratories of Dr. Pearl Chiu and Dr. Brooks King-Casas.
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Katherine McRoberts
Graduate Student
Katherine McRoberts is a Virginia Tech graduate student in biomedical engineering, and she works as a research assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen LaConte.
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Lara Moody
Graduate Student
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Jerel Mueller
Graduate Student
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Sharon Mullen
Animal Care Assistant
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Susan Murphy
Research Associate
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Emily Ongstad
Research Associate
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Duy Phan
MRI Research Technologist
Duy Phan works in the Montague Lab studying decision-making using fMRI analysis of brain function.
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Andre Plate
Research Coordinator
Andre Plate is a research coordinator for Dr. Pearl Chiu and Dr. Brooks King-Casas.
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Zachary Robertson
Undergraduate Student Research Assistant
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Cari Rosoff
Clinical Research Assistant
Cari Rosoff is a clinical research assistant for Dr. Pearl Chiu and Dr. Brooks King-Casas.
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Tomo Sato
Affiliated Scholar
Tomo Sato develops hardware and software as well as an ultrasonic neuromodulation research platform for use in the Tyler Lab.
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Mariah Schroen
Research Assistant
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Jae Shin
Software Developer
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Justin Smith
ARRC Research Assistant
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Kyle Trageser
Undergraduate Student Research Assistant
Kyle Trageser is an undergraduate student research assistant in the Montague laboratory.
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Matthew Tripp
MRI Research Technologist
Matthew Tripp works in the Montague Lab studying decision-making using fMRI analysis of brain function.
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John Wang
Graduate Student
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Jason White
Research Associate
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