Dr. David Zald, Director of the CAHBIR at BHI, introduces the center and four new faculty: Dr. Avram Holmes, Dr. Andrew Westbrook, Dr. Linden Parkes, and Dr. Noelle Stiles. The CAHBIR is dedicated to conducting high-quality human neuroscience research using state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques. “Our mission has been to incorporate the latest developments in scanning so that our researchers can push the boundaries of what we can learn about how the brain works in both health and diseases,” Dr. Zald says.

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS)

Core Faculty Member, Brain Health Institute (BHI)

Dr. Holmes studies the fundamental organization of large-scale human brain networks, with a particular focus on higher-level cognition and the intersection of emotion and cognition. Using a multi-scale approach, his lab studies phenomena across levels, from genes and molecules through cells, circuits, networks, and behavior.

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS)

Core Faculty Member, Brain Health Institute (BHI)

Dr. Westbrook’s lab studies neuromodulator systems regulating higher-order cognitive function, including the impact of striatal dopamine in learning and decision-making and of cortical E-I balance in cognitive flexibility. Studies combine pharmacology and TMS, with fMRI, EEG, eye tracking, and computational modeling of behavior.

Assistant Professor, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) Department of Psychiatry

Core Faculty Member, Brain Health Institute (BHI)

Dr. Parkes is a computational neuroscientist with extensive research experience at the intersection of network neuroscience, psychiatry, machine learning, and neuroimaging, including a range of different neuroimaging modalities (e.g., structural, diffusion, and functional magnetic resonance imaging). He uses magnetic resonance imaging and draws on tools from network science and dynamical systems to build statistical models that forecast the emergence of developmental psychopathology.

Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) with a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Ophthalmology at New Jersey Medical School (NJMS),Core Faculty Member, Brain Health Institute (BHI)

Core Faculty Member, Brain Health Institute (BHI)

Dr. Stiles studies multimodal interactions, exploring how sensations cooperate with each other, resolve conflicting signals, and change when one sense is removed or restored. Her lab will study enhanced crossmodal plasticity in the blind relative to the sighted, neural imaging and behavioral testing of individuals using sensory substitution devices and retinal prostheses, and multimodal illusions such as the double flash illusion and the rabbit illusion.

Dr. Mark Rossi, BHI Core Member and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, received his five-year NIH R01 grant to study the role of the lateral hypothalamus in diet-induced obesity. The project will enhance understanding of the impact of obesity on brain feeding circuits to test whether targeted manipulation of affected circuitry can mitigate obesity. The long-term goal is to discover the cellular mechanisms controlling energy homeostasis to pave the way for possible therapeutic interventions.

Dr. Wayne Fisher, Director of the Rutgers Center for Autism Research, Education and Services (RUCARES) and a BHI Core Member, and his team have been awarded a $3 million NIH R01 grant to examine a novel quantitative theory and its predictions about harmful extinction bursts. His team includes Dr. Brian Greer and Dr. Robert LaRue at Rutgers and Dr. Timothy Shahan at Utah State University. The clinical studies will be conducted at the RUCARES and the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, and the basic studies will be conducted at Utah State University.

Dr. Brian Greer, Assistant Director of the Rutgers Center for Autism Research, Education and Services (RUCARES) and a BHI Core Member received a $1.9 million NIH R01 grant to improve the treatment of severe destructive behavior exhibited by children and adolescents with developmental disabilities by refining the critically important process of reinforcement schedule thinning following treatment with functional communication training. This novel project has the potential to substantially improve standards of care guiding the treatment of self-injury, aggression, and other forms of severe destructive behavior.

Dr. Mi-Hyeon Jang, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a BHI Core Member, received new funding from the Department of Defense (DOD) and New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, explores how nanoparticles can be used to diagnose and treat brain-related side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. Dr. Jang collaborated with Dr. Kibum Lee and Dr. Peter Cole to identify how chemotherapy damages the brain cells that are important for proper learning and memory function.

Dr. Hai Sun, Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Research at the Department of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a BHI Regular Member, published "Ictogenesis proceeds through discrete phases in hippocampal CA1 seizures in mice" in Nature Communications. Predicting seizure onsets may allow for seizure prevention in patients, and identifying discrete phases of seizure development may usher in new strategies to prevent seizures in patients. The study shows two distinct phases that always preceded temporal lobe seizures in mice, with activity confined within these two phases failing to progress into seizures.

Dr. Walter Zahorodny, Associate Professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, published a study "Prevalence and Characteristics of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area" in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The study is the first population-based data on the prevalence and expression of Autism Spectrum Disorder among adolescents in the NY-NJ metropolitan area.

Dr. Eldo Kuzhikandathil, Executive Director of Administration at BHI, received the 2023 RBHS Chancellor Leadership Award “For an existing leader who demonstrates exemplary leadership through significant ongoing and sustained contributions to RBHS”.

Dr. Victoria Abraira, Assistant Professor of cell biology and neuroscience in the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) and a BHI Core Member, was recognized as a 2023 Rita Allen Foundation Scholar for her research into the sense of touch and how it helps us to move, socialize, and feel pain. Gaining a better understanding of touch could help those suffering from anxiety, PTSD, and neurological disorders like autism and attention deficit disorder which often results in sensory overload and makes it hard for someone to cope with their surroundings.

Dr. David Barker, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) and a BHI Core Member received the 2023 Grossman Innovation Prize from SAS, which provides up to $50,000 to faculty members developing research with commercial potential. Dr. Barker studies the pathways in the brain involved with psychiatric disorders with the goal of finding effective treatments. His work has recently focused on a receptor that shows promise in promoting pain relief without triggering the addictive response associated with opioid receptors.

Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research (CAHBIR)

BHI-CAHBIR Research Pilot Grants are now available for RU-NB faculty to facilitate scanning at the CAHBIR. Two types of grants are available: a $100k full research pilot and a $35k minigrant. The application deadline for both grants is November 1, 2023. 

Rutgers Addiction Research Center (RARC)

The BHI, RARC, and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Department of Emergency Medicine are recruiting a tenure-track faculty member at the Associate or Assistant Professor level with expertise in addiction, substance use, or overdose. We are particularly interested in candidates with research programs in opioid and/or alcohol addiction.

Rutgers Center for Autism Research, Education and Services (RUCARES)

The BHI, RUCARES, and Department of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) are seeking a tenure-track assistant or associate professor for a clinical research program focused on improving interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder. 

Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research (CAHBIR)

The CAHBIR is recruiting for multiple faculty positions at all levels (Assistant/Associate/ Professor). We seek investigators who use innovative MRI approaches to image human brain structure and function. Individuals who utilize additional approaches such as EEG, tDCS, and rTMS to study human brain function would also be attractive.