DESCRIPTION OF WORK / BIOSKETCH

I have been trained as psychologist and applied neuroscientist, and am currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow under supervision of Dr. Gary Strangman in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Neural systems Group and Harvard Medical School. To date, I conducted several research studies on healthy and clinical populations, including an award-winning investigation of neurosensory integration and cognitive / motor performance in Parkinson disease. I have also collaborated on three international research projects investigating the effects of serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms on psychological traits in genetically isolated populations. More recently, I served as the principal investigator on a research project investigating functional cortical responses (using near-infrared neuroimaging, NIN) to perturbed motor / cognitive performance. During my doctoral studies, I conducted research within two NASA grants that investigated neurosensory and cardiovascular adaptation to spaceflight during which he assessed efficacy of vibrotactile sensory augmentation as countermeasure for post-flight vestibular deconditioning and developed a computer algorithm for in-flight calculation of ventilatory thresholds. ;My doctoral research focused on the effects of vibrotactile sensory cueing for modulation of neuromotor and cognitive performance in Parkinson disease. I co-mentored research activities of 9 undergraduate students, and served as a neuromotor/biomechanics laboratory manager.