Members
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Gabriel S. Dichter, PhD, Director
Research Statement: We are dedicated to the use of neuroscience methods to understand, detect, treat, and prevent psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, unipolar major depressive disorder, and social phobia. Research methods include psychophysiology, functional MRI, eye-tracking, and behavioral approaches. Our strategy is to first validate methods in non-clinical contexts, then to apply paradigms in acute psychiatric conditions, and finally to test our assays as potential biomarkers of treatment response.
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John “Tony” Richey, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Statement: I am primarily interested in utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural bases of social cognition, particularly in disorders characterized by disrupted social cognition such as social phobia and autism. I am also interested in using results from our brain imaging studies to inform treatment development, especially computerized interventions for these disorders. My graduate work focused on a brief but effective computerized intervention for social phobia, and I am now working toward extending this work outward into autism, a disorder known to frequently comprise a significant social anxiety component.
We expect that basic research into the brain regions supporting both normal and atypical social cognition will provide unprecedented insight into the neural systems underlying social-cognitive deficits. Indeed, such research will also lead to new insights into how to remediate neural dysfunction using targeted intervention, in the expectation that changes in functional activity resulting from intervention will ultimately result in symptom improvement. As such, my over-arching goal is to use fMRI as a tool to guide the development of cheap, freely available and valid interventions for social phobia and autism.
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Anna Sabatino, Developmental Psychology Graduate Student
Research Statement: I am interested in the development of executive function and aspects of cognitive control in typical and atypical development particularly children and young adults with autism spectrum disorders.
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Signe Boucher Naftel, PhD; UNC CDL Psychologist; Diagnostics
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Stacy Greeter (4th year UNC-CH Medical Student)
Howard Hughes Medical Institute & Scott Neil Schwirck Fellowships
Psychopharmacology & fMRI Studies in Autism
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Ali Rittenberg, Lab Manager & BIAC Post-Baccalaureate Fellow
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Cheryl Alderman; Autism Treatment & fMRI Project Coordinator
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