Dr. Keith Shafritz is an Associate Professor in the Hofstra University Department of Psychology, and an Investigator in Translational Psychiatry at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.  He will be chair of the Hofstra University Department of Psychology beginning September 2013.

Dr. Shafritz received his PhD in Neuroscience from Yale University in 2002.  He then spent a year as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine.  In 2003, Dr. Shafritz moved to Duke University, where he spent two years as a Research Associate in Neuroimaging.  Prior to coming to Hofstra and the North Shore-LIJ Health System, he spent a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Drew University in Madison, NJ.

Dr. Shafritz’s research examines the neural and cognitive mechanisms of attention, executive function, and emotion.  He also studies psychological disorders that involve dysregulation of these processes, such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism.  To study these phenomena, he uses a combination of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), and classic cognitive tests such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Continuous Performance Test, and the Go-No/Go task.  A goal of this research is to determine the brain mechanisms underlying behavioral disorders, so that future treatments can target those specific brain areas.

Dr. Shafritz has published his research findings in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and NeuroImage.  In addition, his research has been featured in professional newsletters and trade publications, such as Advance for Speech Pathologists and Audiologists, Hofstra Horizons, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) eAdvances.  His research findings have also been featured by multiple media outlets, such as Newsday and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, AAAS, and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society.

1997-1998 Yale University Graduate Student Research Fellowship
1998-1999 Yale University Dept. of Psychology Graduate Research Training Fellowship
1999-2002 Yale University Graduate Student Research Fellowship
2000 Yale University Teaching Fellowship
2002-2003 National Research Service Award-Institutional, Yale Univ. Dept. of Psychiatry
2003-2005 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Duke University
2007, 2012 HCLAS Presidential Research Award
2007-2013 Hofstra College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (HCLAS) Faculty Research and Development Grant

1. Shafritz, K.M., Dichter, G.S., Baranek, G., and Belger, A. (2008).  ”The neural circuitry mediating executive functioning deficits in autism.”  Biological Psychiatry, 63, 974-980.
2. Casey, B.J., Epstein, J.N., Buhle, J., Liston, C., Davidson, M.C., Tonev, S.T., Spicer, J., Niogi, S., Millner, A.L., Reiss, A., Garrett, A., Hinshaw, S.P., Greenhill, L.L., Shafritz, K.M., Vitolo, A., Kotler, L.A., Jarrett, M.A., and Glover, G. (2007).  ”Frontostriatal connectivity and its role in cognitive control in parent child dyads with ADHD.”  American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 1729-1736.
3. Epstein, J.N., Casey, B.J., Tonev, S.T., Davidson, M., Reiss, A.L., Garrett, A., Hinshaw, S.P., Greenhill, L.L., Glover, G., Shafritz, K.M., Vitolo, A., Kotler, L.A., Jarrett, M.A., Spicer, J., Buhle, J., and Liston, C. (2007).  ”ADHD- and medication-related brain activation differences in concordantly affected parent-child dyads with ADHD.”  Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 899-913.
4. Shafritz, K.M., Collins, S.H., and Blumberg, H.P. (2006).  ”The interaction of emotional and cognitive neural systems in emotionally-guided response inhibition.”  NeuroImage, 31, 468-475.
5. Shafritz, K.M., Kartheiser, P., and Belger, A. (2005).  ”Dissociation of neural systems mediating behavioral and cognitive set shifting.”  NeuroImage, 25, 600-606. 
6. Shafritz, K.M., Marchione, K.E., Gore, J.C., Shaywitz, S.E., and Shaywitz, B.A. (2004).  ”The effects of methylphenidate on neural systems of attention in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.”  American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1990-1997.
7. Shafritz, K.M., Gore, J.C., and Marois, R. (2002).  ”The role of the parietal cortex in visual feature binding.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 99, 10917-10922.

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Jill Maura Rabin, MD, is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Co-Director of the Advanced Clinical Experience (ACE) in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hofstra-North Shore LIJ School of Medicine, and Co-Chief of the Division of Ambulatory Care, Women’s Health Programs, PCAP Services at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and Head of Urogynecology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York. Dr. Rabin earned her MD from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, in Brooklyn in 1981. She then served a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine until 1985, followed by a fellowship in Urogynecology at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center from 1989 to 1992.

A Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Rabin is a journal reviewer for several peer-reviewed medical journals including the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the International Urogynecologic Journal. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Urogynecologic Society and the International Continence Society. In addition, she is an active researcher, consultant, frequently invited lecturer and media spokesperson. A practicing urogynecologist for over twenty years, Dr. Rabin has authored three books on women’s health including “Mind Over Bladder”, a step-by-step guide to continence and holds several patents for medical devices designed to increase safety and comfort for patients and their physicians.

Music has played a key role in Dr. Rabin’s life for as long as she can remember; she has held a student pulpit as Cantor of Congregation Adath Israel, in Newtown, Connecticut for over fifteen years.

Dr. Rabin’s research ranges from basic science work (on estrogen receptor heterogeneity) to clinical (from various ambulatory care issues in Obstetrics and Gynecology to Urogynecology) as well as medical device development and testing (resulting in five patents and one copyright, to date). Currently she is focusing on methods to improve efficacy, quality and patient safety in ambulatory care and in the ‘voltage change’ that occurs from the hospital to the outpatient setting. Bringing urinary incontinence to the fore of our national conscience is a passion and area of current research; an extrapolation of her clinical subspecialty of Urogynecology. Reducing the clinical impact of incontinence has the potential to vastly improve people’s lives (women in particular) and reduce healthcare costs associated with this condition (currently nearly thirty billion dollars per year).

Dr. Rabin has a long-standing interest in the emotional health and well-being of women of reproductive age/pregnant and postpartum and have worked clinically with our Ambulatory Psychiatry Team and Dr. Tina Walch regarding these perinatal mood/postpartum issues. We have issued clinical material for patients and their caregivers in this regard, including two videos-‘Why am I Blue?’ and “Ask the Question”. In addition, Dr. Rabin is interested in the role periodontal health impacts on Perinatal course and postpartum outcome and have helped to develop a program for all pregnant women at our Medical Center. This program targets those who have oral health needs who have not seen a dentist with the past six months and refers them to a dental office for needed dental and periodontal care.

Scientific presentations have included issues pertaining to women’s health, treatment of urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse as well as medical and surgical device development and results of trials. Various venues include local, national and international scientific meetings as well as radio, television, internet and print media.

Published research thus far includes peer-reviewed papers, several chapters and three books. Major areas of interest include ambulatory care and women’s health (breast cancer, adolescent and adult health and comprehensive health programs), urogynecology, medical education and medical device research and development. Particular interests are the development and implementation of a graduate medical ambulatory curriculum in Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as a multi-dimensional, integrated curriculum in Obstetrics and Gynecology for the undergraduate medical student.

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Degree: BA
1975
Field of Study: Premedical

State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Degree: MD
1981
Field of Study: Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, NY 
1985
Field of Study: Obstetrics & Gynecology

Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY
1985
Field of Study: Urology

2005 National Faculty Award, The Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics & Gynecology
2008 The Leo M. Davidoff Society of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Membership
2008 The George M. Estabrook Distinguished Service Award, Hofstra University
2011 Biographical Inclusion, Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, AN Marquis, publisher
2010-2013 Biographical Inclusion, Who’s Who in America, AN Marquis, publisher

1. Rabin JM, Seltzer V, Pollack S. “The Long Term Benefits of a Comprehensive Teenage Pregnancy Program.” Clin Pediatr 1991;30(5):305-309.
2. Rabin JM, Seltzer V, Pollack S. “The Benefits of a Comprehensive Teenage Pregnancy Program.” Am J of Gynecol Health 1992; 6(3):66-74.
3. Seltzer V, Rabin JM, Benjamin F. “Teenager’s Awareness of AIDS and the Impact on Their Sexual Behavior.” Obstet Gynecol 1989; 74(1):55-59.
4. Rabin JM, Weinstein ED, Seltzer VL, Langer M, Kohn N, “Benefits of a Comprehensive, Publicly Funded Prenatal Care and Obstetrics Program.”
5. Rabin JM, Hall, C. “What the practicing psychiatrist needs to know about urinary incontinence.” Med Update Psychiatr 1996;1(2):71-76.

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Dr. Speiser did her undergraduate work at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. She received her MD from Columbia University, The College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY in 1979. Dr. Speiser went on to complete her internship & residency in Pediatrics at The Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, followed by a research fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Cornell University Medical Center. After two years as a fellow, Dr. Speiser was appointed as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at Cornell, where she also held the position of Assistant Program Director of the Children’s Clinical Research Center.

Dr. Speiser has received grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her work on Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. She has been a faculty member of the North Shore-LIJ Health System and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at the Cohen Children’s Medical Center of NY since 1993. Dr. Speiser has served as a member of numerous committees and review boards for regional, national and international organizations. Her current titles include Professor of Pediatrics at the Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine and Assistant Investigator at the Feinstein Institute.

Dr. Speiser is the author or co-author of over 80 peer-reviewed publications and more than 70 reviews and book chapters. She has received the H. Jack Baskin Endocrine Teaching Award from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and has been recognized among the Best Doctors in NY for the over a decade.

Dr. Speiser has had a long-standing interest in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and related disorders. She served as Chair of The Endocrine Society Task Force for Clinical Practice Guidelines for CAH from 2008-10 and is on the Medical Advisory Boards of The CARES Foundation and the National Adrenal Diseases Foundation. Other clinical research interests include childhood growth, obesity and diabetes. Dr. Speiser has received foundation funding to study the natural history of diabetes risk factors in middle school children as part of a consortium of several metropolitan New York are hospitals, and has participated in multicenter diabetes trials sponsored by The National Institutes of Health.

Margaret Pellizzari, RN, CDE
Diabetes

Katherine Brunner, RN
Growth

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
Degree: BA
1975

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York
Degree: MD
1979

1975 BA Magna cum laude with Honors in Biology, Brandeis University
1990 Cardiovascular Review & Reports, Master Teacher Classic Award
1994-2013 Listed among “The Best Doctors in New York Metro Area,” Castle Connolly Medical Publishers, NY
Listed among “The Best Doctors in New York,” New York Magazine
Listed in “Guide to Top Doctors” published by the Center for the Study of Services, Washington, DC
Listed in “America’s Registry of Outstanding Professional’s”
Listed in Marquis’ Who’s Who in Medicine & Healthcare & Who’s Who in America
Listed in Best Doctors
Listed in Top Pediatricians in America
Listed in Best Doctors US News & World Report
2002 Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology, elected
Listed in Guide to America’s Top Physicians, Consumer Research Council of America
2010 American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists H. Jack Baskin, MD Endocrine Teaching Award

1. Speiser PW. ”Invited editorial: Growth and development: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia-glucocorticoids and height.” Nature Rev Endocrinol 2010; 6: 14-15.
2. Speiser PW, Azziz R, Baskin LS, Ghizzoni L, Hensle TW, Merke DP, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Miller WL, Montori VM, Oberfield SE, Ritzen M, White PC. “Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline.” J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010; 95: 4133-4160.
3. TODAY Study Group (Speiser P, collaborator). “Design of a family-based lifestyle intervention for youth with type 2 diabetes: the TODAY study.” Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 ;34:217-26.
4. Rosenbaum M, Accacha SD, Altschuler LA, Carey DE, Fennoy I, Lowell BC, Rapaport R, Speiser PW, Shelov S. “The reduce obesity and diabetes (ROAD) project: Design and metholodogical considerations.” Childhood Obesity. 2011; 223-234.
5. Copeland KC, Zeitler P, Geffner M, Guandalini C, Higgins J, Hirst K, Kaufman FR, Linder B, Marcovina S, McGuigan P, Pyle L, Tamborlane W, Willi S; TODAY Study Group (Speiser P, collaborator). “Characteristics of adolescents and youth with recent-onset type 2 diabetes: the TODAY cohort at baseline.” J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011;96:159-67.
6. TODAY Study Group (Speiser P, collaborator), Wilfley D, Berkowitz R, Goebel-Fabbri A, Hirst K, Ievers-Landis C, Lipman TH, Marcus M, Ng D, Pham T, Saletsky R, Schanuel J, Van Buren D. “Binge eating, mood, and quality of life in youth with type 2 diabetes: baseline data from the TODAY study.” Diabetes Care. 2011;34:858-60.
7. Conroy R, Espinal Y, Fennoy I, Accacha S, Boucher-Berry C, Carey DE, Close S, DeSantis D,  Gupta R, Hassoun AA, Iazetti L, Jaques FJ, Jean AM, Michel L, Pavlovich K, Rappaport R, Rosenfeld W, Shamoon E, Shelov S, Speiser PW, Ten S, Rosenbaum M. “Retinol Binding Protein 4 is Associated with Adiposity-Related Co-Morbidity Risk Factors in Children.” J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 2011; 24: 913-919.
8. Boucher-Berry C, Speiser PW, Carey DE, Shelov SP, Accacha S, Fennoy I, Rapaport R, Espinal Y, Rosenbaum M. “The relationship between Vitamin D, osteocalcin, and risk for adiposity comorbidities in middle school children.” J Bone Mineral Research 2012; 27: 283-293.
9. TODAY Study Group*, Zeitler P, Hirst K, Pyle L, Linder B, Copeland K, Arslanian S, Cuttler L, Nathan DM, Tollefsen S, Wilfley D, Kaufman F. N Engl J Med. 2012 Jun 14;366(24):2247-56. (*P. Speiser listed in supplementary appendix under Clinical Centers, Columbia University).
10. Rosenbaum M, Fennoy I, Accacha S, Altshuler L, Carey DE, Holleran S, Rapaport R, Shelov SP, Speiser PW, Ten S. “Racial/ethnic differences in clinical and biochemical type 2 diabetes mellitus risk factors in children.” Obesity. 2013; in press

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Dr. Chang leads the Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics and is an Assistant Investigator at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. He is a neurophysiologist with an interest in the synaptic changes and genetic risk factors associated with brain disorders. In particular, he would like to understand how specific genes affect synaptic physiology and animal behavior.

Dr. Chang completed his graduate training at New York University’s Center for Neural Science, an internationally recognized center with a focus on neurophysiology and systems neuroscience. His studies at NYU focused on electrophysiological and structural deficits in genetically modified (knock-in and knock-out) mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Following graduate school, Dr. Chang was a Goldsmith Research Fellow at the Burke Medical Research Institute, a research campus of Weill Cornell Medical College. His postdoctoral work centered on brain recordings from freely behaving mice during the performance of recognition and spatial memory tasks. He also performed brain recordings in a mouse model of neuropsychiatric lupus (NP-SLE) that was developed in the lab of Dr. Betty Diamond of the Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal diseases.

Currently, Dr. Chang is utilizing a broad range of techniques that include state-of-the-art molecular manipulations, in situ hybridization, in vitro electrophysiology, and a battery of behavioral tasks to investigate the functional roles of identified schizophrenia risk genes. Working with Dr. Anil Malhotra of the Zucker Hillside Hospital, he hopes to reveal how polymorphisms and variations in the genome contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a highly heritable, disabling brain disorder that affects 1-2% of the population and is the third leading cause of disability amongst people aged 15-44 in the U.S. Recent advances in genetic and molecular technologies have allowed researchers to identify multiple genetic loci that contribute to risk for developing schizophrenia. Capitalizing on these contemporary genetic tools, Dr. Malhotra’s group at the Zucker Hillside Hospital and the Feinstein Institute were the first to publish a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the field of psychiatry and continue to be leaders in this area. The aim of the Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics is to follow-up on large sample human genetic studies, such as GWAS, and test specific genes in an animal model.

Through a combination of molecular biology and neuroscience techniques, the research group examines endophenotypes on a number of levels including mRNA expression in brain tissue, acute brain slice physiology, and animal behavior. The expression of gene transcripts are manipulated through gene knockdown methods that allow for either acute or long-term modulation of gene products. The effects of these manipulations are then tested in animals using a variety of behavioral tasks, including the 5-choice serial reaction task, novel object recognition, open-field test, associative fear conditioning, and radial arm maze. These tasks allow for the examination of basic neurological function, anxiety, attention, speed of processing, and working memory. Individuals with schizophrenia frequently have impairments in several of these behavioral and cognitive domains. Following behavioral testing, synaptic physiology is assayed with in vitro recordings from acute brain slices. By recording synaptic responses from neurons following genetic manipulations, changes in basal synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity can be detected. These neurophysiological changes can provide insight into the activity of single neurons, or across a network of neurons, within the brains of individuals with schizophrenia.

The ultimate objective in combining these genetic and neurobiological approaches is to identify causal associations between genomic variation and the endophenotypes of schizophrenia. This will allow for the identification of specific synaptic and molecular targets in model organisms, which in turn will aid in the selection and/or design of novel pharmaceutical compounds directed at those targets.

Toni Chandon-Shay
Research Assistant
Phone: 516-562-1466
E-mail: tchandon@nshs.edu

Burke Medical Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, White Plains, NY
Degree: Postdoctoral
2010
Field of Study: Neurophysiology of Disease Models

New York University (NYU), New York, NY
Degree: PhD
2005
Field of Study: Neural Science

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA
Degree: BS
1999
Field of Study: Neuroscience

1999 Departmental Honors in Neuroscience, UCLA
1999 Vice Provost’s Award for Undergraduate Research, UCLA
2004 Dean’s Student Travel Grant, NYU
2005 Glenn Foundation, AFAR Scholarship for Research in the Biology of Aging
2008 Goldsmith Foundation Research Fellowship
2012 Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) Travel Award

1. Chang, E.H., Frattini, S.A., Robbiati, S., Huerta P.T. (2013) “Construction of microdrive arrays for chronic neuronal recordings in awake behaving mice.” J. Vis. Exp. e50470, doi:10.3791/50470.

2. Chang, E.H., Huerta P.T. (2012) “Neurophysiological correlates of object recognition in the dorsal subiculum.” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 6: 46. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2012.00046.

3. Faust, T.W., Chang, E.H., Kowal, C.K., Berlin, R., Gazaryan, I.G., Bertini, E., Zhang, J., Sanchez-Guerrero, J., Fragoso-Loyo H., Volpe, B.T., Diamond, B., Huerta, P.T. (2010) “Neurotoxic lupus antibodies alter brain function through two distinct mechanisms.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 107(43): 18569-18574.

4. Chang, E.H., Rigotti, A., Huerta, P.T. (2009) “Age-related influence of the HDL receptor SR-BI on synaptic plasticity and cognition.” Neurobiology of Aging 30(3): 407-19.

5. Chang, E.H., Savage, M.J., Flood, D.G., Thomas, J.M., Levy, R.B., Mahadomrongkul, W., Shirao, R., Aoki, C. and Huerta, P.T. (2006) “AMPA receptor downscaling at the onset of Alzheimer’s pathology in double knock-in mice.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 103(9), 3410-3415.

6. Chang, E.H.,  Kotak, .V.C., and Sanes, D.H.  (2003). “Long-term depression of synaptic inhibition is expressed postsynaptically in the developing auditory system.” Journal of Neurophysiology. 90: 1479-1488.

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Dr. Goldberg obtained her Medical Degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. She received her PhD in Molecular Biology from the same university in 1994. Her thesis work on the amino acid taurine in the CNS at  the “Ramon y Cajal” Hospital of Madrid, was  awarded “cum laudem” with outstanding achievement from the Complutense University of Madrid.

Dr Goldberg went on to a postdoctoral fellowship of five years at the National Institute of Mental Health at the lab of Dr. Bill Freed, a leader in neural transplants. There Dr. Goldberg engineered an immortalized cell line to produce GAD67, a critical enzyme in the production of GABA.

Dr. Goldberg worked as Scientist at the Stanley Brain Research Laboratory during 1999-2005, where she was involved in schizophrenia research and began her first work on microarrays on brain post-mortem human tissue. In 2005, she joined the Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer’s Disease where she continued work on human post-mortem tissue from individuals who died having Alzheimer’s disease and/or individuals who carried the risk allele APOE4.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, affecting over 25 million people worldwide. Classical studies focused on the description and characterization of the pathological hallmarks found in AD patients, including neurofibrillary tangles and the amyloid plaques. Our strategies focus on the etiology of these hallmarks and the different mechanisms contributing to neurodegeneration.

We are examining every RNA found in the brain using a method based on cutting edge microarray technology. We are studying abnormal expression of RNA in tissue from people at high risk for AD and people with AD. We hope to identify novel brain chemicals that are involved in the pathological processes that result in neurodegenerative disease like AD, and also importantly, protective factors. This will help us identify brain chemicals that can become treatment targets for new drugs.

Our current work involves gene expression profiling approaches to Alzheimer’s disease and cellular models of neurodegeneration.  We have a collaboration with Terry Goldberg, PhD, also at the Center, on the study of post-mortem brain samples to examine regional differences in brain transcripts (i.e. brain chemicals) of people with genes that put them at risk for Alzheimer’s (namely APOE4 allele carriers) and other tissue from people who have no known major genetic risk factors (non APOE4 allele carriers). Differences in transcription may help explain why people with the APOE4 variant are at risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s. Critically, the post-mortem samples are from people who died of other causes, not Alzheimer’s, so we can isolate early causative changes in brain that drive the disease. We will follow up also these changes in AD brains so we can better understand the disease process itself.

We also focus our studies on a protein called tau that is found normally in neurons. However, when the tau protein aggregates into neurofibrillary tangles, it disrupts the integrity of the cells. We are using microarray studies to look at expression of the tau protein and secondary effects due to its different isoforms. In molecular experiments in living cells, we are examining the effects of abnormal tau on different cellular functions, and how different drugs may impact tau protein.

Shufen Chen, MD
Research Assistant
Research: Studies of Neuroprotection of APOE2 allele in Alzheimer’s Disease
E-mail: schen3@nshs.edu

Key Collaborators

Peter Davies, PhD
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
E-mail: pdavies@nshs.edu

Terry Goldberg, PhD
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
E-mail: tgoldber@nshs.edu

Thomas Hyde, MD., PhD
Lieber Institute
E-mail: thomas.hyde@libd.org

Joel Kleinman, MD., PhD, NIMH
E-mail: kleinmaj@intra.nimh.nih.gov

Mary Herman, MD, NIMH
E-mail: maryherman@mail.nih.gov

Complutense University, Madrid, Spain
Degree: MD
1989
Field of Study: Medicine & Surgery

Complutense University, Madrid, Spain
Degree: PhD
1994
Field of Study: Molecular Biology

Hospital “Ramon y Cajal”, Madrid, Spain
1994
Field of Study: Neuroscience

Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow, NIMH, St Elizabeths, Washington D.C.
Degree: Fellow
1997
Field of Study: Neuroscience

Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow, NIMH, Baltimore, Maryland
Degree: Fellow
1999
Field of Study: Neuroscience

1989 Scholarship holder of the I.F.M.S.A. (International Federation of Medical Students Association) in the Internal Medicine Department, Polyclinic of Bari, Italy
1990 Specialty – “Psychosomatic Pathology”. Complutense University of Madrid
1991 Scholarship holder of the Spanish Society of Neuroscience for the attendance at the lV Congress of the S.E.N., Alicante
1991 Fellowship holder of the “Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria de la Seguridad Social” (F.I.S.S.), at the “Ramón y Cajal” Hospital, Madrid
1992 Scholarship for attendance at the “II National Course of Neuroscience” at the Hispanoamerican University of La Rábida, Huelva
1992 Scholarship for the attendance at the “II Advance Course of Receptors for Neurotransmitters” at the Baleares Islands University, Palma de Mallorca
1994 Outstanding Achievement for Ph.D. in Basic Research, Complutense University, Madrid
2013 Souzan Hanna Research Faculty Career Development Award, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

1. Conejero-Goldberg, C., Davies, P. and Ulloa, L. “Alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor: a Link Between Inflammation and Neurodegeneration.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 32:693-706, 2008.

2. Conejero-Goldberg, C., Townsend, K., and Davies, P.  ”Effects of  Cell Cycle Inhibitor Drugs on Tau Phosphorylation in N2aTau3R cells.” Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, 35:143-150, 2008.

3. Goldberg TE, Koppel J, Keehlisen L, Christen E, Dreses-Werringloer U, Conejero-Goldberg C, Gordon ML. and Davies P. “Performance-based measures of everyday function in Mild Cognitive Impairment.” American Journal of Psychiatry, 2010 Jul;167(7):845-53.

4. Chen S., Townsend, K., Goldberg, TE., Davies, P., and Conejero-Goldberg, C  “MAPT Isoforms: Differential Transcriptional Profiles Related to 3R and 4R Splice Variants.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2010; 22 (4): 1313-29.

5. Conejero-Goldberg, C., Hyde, T.M., Chen, S., Dreses-Werringloer, U., Herman, M.M., Kleinman, J.E., Davies, P. and Goldberg T.E. “Molecular Signatures in Post-mortem Brain Tissue of Young Individuals at High Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease as based on APOE genotype.” Mol Psychiatry, 2011 Aug; 16(8): 836-47.

6. Conejero-Goldberg, C., and Terry E. Goldberg. “Very New Developments in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: Why should a Psychiatrist care?.” Rev Psiquiatr Salud Ment  2011; 04:72-4- vol.04 num 02.

7. Gomar, J.,  Bobes-Bascaran, MT., Conejero-Goldberg, C., Davies, P. and Terry E. Goldberg. “Utility of Combinations of Biomarkers, Cognitive Markers, and Risk Factors to Predict Conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease in Patients in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.” Archives of General Psychiatry, 2011; 68(9):961-969.

8. Schlatterer, SD., Suh, HS., Conejero-Goldberg, C., Chen, S., Acker, CM., Lee SC. and Davies, P. “Neuronal c-Abl Activation Leads to Induction of Cell Cycle and Interferon Signaling Pathways.” Journal of Neuroinflammation 2012 Aug 31;9:208.

9. Kirchberg, BC., Cohen, JR, Adelsky, MB., Buthorn, JJ., Gomar, JJ., Gordon, M., Koppel, J., Christen, E., Conejero-Goldberg, C., Davies, P., and Goldberg, TE. “Semantic Distance Abnormalities in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Their Nature and Relationship to Function.” American Journal of Psychiatry 2012 Dec 1;169(12):1275-83.

10. Gomar JJ, Gordon ML, Kingsley P, Ulug A, Koppel J, Christen E, Conejero-Goldberg C, Davies P, Goldberg TE. “Apoe Genotype Modulates Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Metabolites in the Aging Brain.” Biological Psychiatry. In press.

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