The Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics pre- and post-doc awards were announced on December 16, 2019. This year, the awardees include Kevin McKee, who received the Kenneth S. Kendler Award for Excellence in Pre-Doctoral Research, and Joshua Pritikin, Ph.D., who accepted the Lindon Eaves Post-Doctoral Award. Both Mr. McKee and Dr. Pritikin have been working with Michael Neale, Ph.D.
Continue reading →The Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics pre- and post-doc awards were announced on December 6, 2018. Annually since 2007. This year, the awardees include Dana Lapato, who received the Kenneth S. Kendler Award for Excellence in Pre-Doctoral Research, and Chris Chatzinakos, Ph.D., who accepted the Lindon Eaves Post-Doctoral Award. Awards were presented by the recipients’ advisors, Roxann Roberson-Nay, Ph.D. and Silviu-Alin Bacanu, Ph.D., respectively. The awardees discuss their research goals ...
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Josh Pritikin, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, working with Dr. Michael Neale, Ph.D. His primary research interest and background is in software development. At VIPBG, Dr. Pritikin helps to improve OpenMx. This started when he was a graduate student studying quantitative psychology at the University of Virginia. A current project of his specifically focuses on how to run structural equation ...
Continue reading →Meridith Eastman, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral fellow at Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics working with Dr. Roberson-Nay, Ph.D. Her overall interest is the intersection of biological, psychological, and social influences on adolescent health and wellbeing. Dr. Eastman’s Ph.D. training in public health captured the social component of her interests while her post-doctoral training is fulfilling her biological and psychological interests. VIPBG is the perfect place for her to continue her training, ...
Continue reading →Chris Chatzinakos, Ph.D. is a post-doctoral fellow at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, working with Dr. Silviu-Alin Bacanu, Ph.D. His Ph.D. is in robust statistics and electrical engineering and he has already completed one post-doctoral engagement in electrical engineering. This position focused on teaching and when it was over, Dr. Chatzinakos wanted a position that would bring together his full knowledge of math and engineering. Currently, he focuses on software ...
Continue reading →The Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics pre- and post-doc awards were announced on December 7, 2017 and presented by Drs. Roxann Roberson-Nay, Ph.D., and Michael Neale, Ph.D.
Ashlee Moore was presented with the Kenneth S. Kendler Award for Excellence in Pre-Doctoral Research, and Lance Rappaport, Ph.D. received the Lindon Eaves Post-Doctoral Award. These awards are given annually by VIPBG faculty to one outstanding pre- and post-doctoral trainee who have demonstrated ...
Continue reading →Jeffry Alexander, Ph.D. is a post-doctoral fellow at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. His interests in psychiatric genetics developed in an indirect fashion. After practicing as a veterinarian for seven years, he decided a change was in order and began looking for a career with more of a public health impact. Therefore, he pursued a master’s degree in public health (MPH) at VCU.
While completing his master’s degree, he worked in Dr. Brien ...
Continue reading →Lance Rappaport, Ph.D. is a post-doctoral fellow at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. He first became interested in the field of behavioral genetics while earning his undergraduate degree in psychology at New York University, where he also studied child and adolescent mental health in the Child Study Center. At NYU, he was exposed to faculty interested in child development and daily diary research, which fueled his interests in affect and research ...
Continue reading →Christina Sheerin, Ph.D. is a post-doctoral fellow at Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. Her interests in trauma and its sequela began while she was completing her internship at the VA hospital while completing her PhD in clinical psychology. At the VA, she was first introduced and became quite interested in trauma, PTSD, and substance use disorders. Subsequently, she completed her clinical post-doctoral fellowship also at the VA, during which she worked with ...
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Roseann Peterson, Ph.D. is a senior post-doctoral fellow at Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. Her interests in genetics began during her childhood. A deep curiosity about the natural world, first realized as a child during trips to her grandparents’ farm, led her to major in biology at the University of Minnesota (U of MN). During this time, she studied psychology as a second major. These interests converged when she took a behavioral ...
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