The Green Lab

From left: (Back Row L-R) Poorang Nori, Bob Kern, Ian Mathis, Bill Horan, Jonathan Wynn, Julio Iglesias, Mike Davis (Middle Row L-R) Trinh Luu, Heidi Kuppinger, Genevieve Kaunitz, Amanda Bender, Crystal Gibson, Katie Weiner, Angelika Clarke, Amber Tidwell, Kellie Smith, Michael Green (Front Row L-R) Carol Jahshan, Junghee Lee, Michelle Dolinsky, Cory Tripp, Ana Ceci Myers, Mark McGee (not pictured: Jim Dupree, Lilian Medina, Kimmy Kee, and Mark Sergi)

Lab Chief :: Faculty :: Staff

Lab Chief

Michael F. Green, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, Lab Chief

Michael Foster Green, Ph.D. is a Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  He is Director of the Treatment Unit of the Department of Veteran Affairs VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC).  Dr. Green obtained his B.A. in psychobiology at Oberlin College, his doctorate in neuropsychology at Cornell University, and his postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at UCLA.  He is on the editorial boards of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Schizophrenia Bulletin, and Schizophrenia Research, and has authored over 220 journal articles.  He has received numerous grants from NIMH, the Veterans Administration, and private foundations.  His research activities have been devoted to understanding the nature and implications of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, including cognitive indicators of genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia and neural mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction.  His laboratory has explored the relationship between cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and activities of daily living.  Ongoing studies are evaluating cognitive retraining and novel pharmacological interventions to improve cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.  He has written two books: Schizophrenia from a Neurocognitive Perspective: Probing the Impenetrable Darkness, published in 1998, and Schizophrenia Revealed: From Neurons to Social Interactions, published in 2001.  Dr. Green was the Co-PI of the MATRICS Initiative from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and PI of the MATRICS-Psychometric and Standardization Study.  He is a Fellow in the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and past-president of the Society for Research in Psychopathology.

Contact Dr. Green at mgreen@ucla.edu

Faculty

William Horan, Ph.D.
Associate Research Professor

William P. Horan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Research Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA.  Dr. Horan received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of New Mexico, completed a clinical internship at the Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic in Pittsburgh, PA, and completed a post-doctoral clinical research fellowship at UCLA.  His research investigates emotional, social cognitive, and neurocognitive processes in schizophrenia, and how disturbances in these areas impact functional outcome.  This research aims to identify treatment targets for psychosocial interventions that enhance social functioning in people with schizophrenia.

Contact Dr. Horan at horan@ucla.edu

Carol Jahshan, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow

Carol Jahshan, Ph.D. joined the Green Lab in September 2010 with the support of the VA's Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the Lebanese University, completed her Master's degree at California State University, Northridge, and received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (with a specialization in Neuropsychology) from the San Diego State University / University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program, after completing a clinical internship at the West LA VA Medical Center. Her graduate research focused on understanding the neural substrates and functional implications of cognitive deficits in prodromal and first-episode schizophrenia. Since joining the Green Lab, Dr. Jahshan has been using EEG techniques and behavioral measures to characterize the cognitive and perceptual abnormalities in Veterans with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Her work has been published in Schizophrenia Research, Neuropsychology, Psychological Medicine, Bipolar Disorders, and the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Dr. Jahshan is a licensed psychologist in the state of California and a member of the Society for Research in Psychopathology.

Contact Dr. Jahchan at carol.jahchan@va.gov

Kimmy Kee-Rose, Ph.D.
Associate Research Psychologist

Kimmy S. Kee, Ph.D. is an Assistant Research Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and is also an Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University, Channel Islands.  Dr. Kee earned her B.A. in Psychology from Wooster College in Ohio and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.  Subsequently, she pursued her post-doctoral training in schizophrenia research at UCLA.  Her primary area of interest within schizophrenia has involved studying neurocognitive and social cognitive processes.  She has systematically explored the nature, determinants, and treatments for deficits in emotion processing through a series of projects funded through grants from the NIMH, Veterans Administration, Stanley Foundation, and Janssen Research Foundation.  For her work in this area, Dr. Kee received the Young Investigator Award from the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research and the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill in 1999.  Her studies have been published in a variety of professional journals and presented at national and international scientific conferences. 

Contact Dr. Kee at kee@ucla.edu

Robert S. Kern, Ph.D.
Research Professor

Robert S. Kern, Ph.D. is a Research Psychologist at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and the Department of Veterans Affairs VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC).  He serves as co-director of the MIRECC psychology postdoctoral fellowship program, and mentors for the VA psychology postdoctoral fellowship program on severe mental illness.  Dr. Kern attained his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology and then completed two 2-year post-doctoral fellowships at UCLA in neuropsychology and schizophrenia research.  He is a past recipient of the International Congress for Schizophrenia Research Young Investigator Award and the Ted van Putten Memorial Lectureship Award.  Currently, Dr. Kern is actively involved in psychopathology research with emphases in neurocognition, cognitive rehabilitation, and social cognition in persons with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders and has received extramural funding from NIMH, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Stanley Medical Research Institute.  He has authored or co-authored several seminal review papers, more than 65 other research articles and book chapters, and over 80 scientific presentations at national and international conferences.  Dr. Kern is consulting editor for the APA journal, Psychological Assessment, and Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, and is a licensed psychologist in the state of California. 

Contact Dr. Kern at rkern@ucla.edu

Junghee Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Psychologist

Dr. Junghee Lee is an assistant research psychologist in the Green lab. She joined the Green lab as a postdoctoral fellow in 2005.  She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Psychology from Seoul National University in Korea, and her Doctorate from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.  The goal of her research is to better understand cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia and other major mental illness, their biological mechanisms, and their functional implications.   To pursue these research interests, she has employed both behavioral and neuroimaging methods.  Her recent projects have focused on neurobiological mechanisms of early visual processing and various aspects of social cognition in schizophrenia. 

Contact Dr. Lee at jungheelee@ucla.edu

Amanda McCleery, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow

Amanda McCleery, Ph.D. joined the Green Lab in July 2012 with the support of a postdoctoral fellowship award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Biology from the University of Toronto. She completed her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Kent State University, and her predoctoral clinical internship at UCLA Semel Institute (Major Mental Illness track). For her graduate research, Amanda examined the relationships between social and non-social cognition and functional outcome in schizotypy and schizophrenia. Her postdoctoral project extends her previous work and involves utilizing EEG techniques in conjunction with behavioral measures to better understand the nature of the relationships between perceptual processing, non-social cognition, and social cognition in recent-onset and chronic schizophrenia. Amanda’s research has been published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, Schizophrenia Research, and Psychiatry Research.

Contact Dr. McCleery at Amccleery@mednet.ucla.edu

Yuri Rassovsky, Ph.D.
Associate Research Psychologist

Dr. Rassovsky has earned his undergraduate degrees in psychology and philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, and subsequently attained a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota. He then completed post-doctoral fellowships in neuropsychology and neuroimaging at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, funded by the NIMH Training Grant. He is a past recipient of the International Congress for Schizophrenia Research Young Investigator Award and the Society of Biological Psychiatry Eli Lilly Travel Fellowship. Dr. Rassovsky currently holds a Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression and a grant from NIMH. He is actively involved in psychopathology research focusing on neurocognition, social cognition, and functional outcome in schizophrenia. He authored or co-authored articles in journals such as The American Journal of Psychiatry, Schizophrenia Research, and Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Dr. Rassovsky has been licensed as a psychologist in the state of California since 2002 and has been providing clinical services and supervising interns and fellows in neuropsychological assessment at the UCLA Semel Institute.  Dr Rassovsky currently divides his time between UCLA and Bar Ilan University. 

Contact Dr. Rassovsky at yurir@ucla.edu

Felice Reddy, Ph.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow

Felice Reddy, Ph.D., joined the Green Lab in 2012 with the support of the VA’s Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She received her master's and doctorate degrees in psychology from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, after completing a clinical internship at the West Haven VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Her doctoral research focused on social cognitive and neurocognitive treatments for schizophrenia. Since joining the Green Lab, Dr. Reddy has been investigating motivation and neuroeconomics, as well as social cognitive interventions. She has authored papers in psychiatric journals such as Clinical Psychology Review, Journal of Clinical Psychology, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, and Psychological Services. Dr. Reddy is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Society for Research in Psychopathology.

Contact Dr. Reddy at lenafelice@ucla.edu

Mark Sergi, Ph.D.
Associate Research Psychologist

Dr. Sergi is an assistant professor of psychology at California State University, Northridge.  He earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the State University of New York, Binghamton and subsequently studied neurocognition and social cognition in schizophrenia during a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles.  His research interests focus on social cognition, neurocognition, community functioning, and psychosocial rehabilitation in schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.  Dr. Sergi has twice received a Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.  He authored or co-authored articles in journals such as The American Journal of Psychiatry, Schizophrenia Research, and Schizophrenia Bulletin.  Dr. Sergi has been licensed as a psychologist in the state of California since 1999. 

Contact Dr. Sergi at mark.sergi@csun.edu

Jonathan Wynn, Ph.D.
Associate Research Psychologist

Dr. Wynn earned his Bachelors of Arts in Psychobiology from Occidental College, and Masters & Doctorate in cognitive psychology from the University of Southern California.  After receiving his Ph.D., he subsequently studied electrophysiology and social cognition in schizophrenia during a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA.  His research interests focus on electrophysiology (EEG, ERP) and psychophysiology (startle, HR) and how they relate to visual processing and social cognition in schizophrenia.  Dr. Wynn has received a Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.  He has authored articles in psychiatric journals such as The American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and Schizophrenia Research. 

Contact Dr. Wynn at jkwynn@ucla.edu

Staff

Amanda Bender, M.S.
Recruiter/Interviewer

Amanda graduated from the University of Maryland College Park earning her bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2001. In 2006, Amanda received her Master's of Science in Clinical Psychology from Vanguard University. She began working in elementary schools, high schools and colleges doing therapy as an intern. Amanda is currently a part-time faculty member at the University of Phoenix, where she teaches undergrauate psychology courses and is the recruiter/interviewer for all studies in the Green Lab, working closely with V.A. clinics, local board & care facilities, and nation-wide family organizations.

Angelika Clarke, MPH (c)
Study Coordinator

Angelika Clarke received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology from UCLA in 2007 and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health degree with a community health emphasis from California State University, Long Beach. Angelika’s research experience runs the gamut, having coordinated clinical, laboratory, and community health research studies at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and the West LA VA Healthcare Center. Angelika currently coordinates TENETS clinical trials for investigational drugs that have the potential to reduce cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.

Michelle Dolinsky, B.A.
Group Leader / Neuropsych Tester

Michelle received her Bachelor's degree in comparative literature from Haverford College in 2006. After graduating, she became a domestic violence crisis counselor at WOMAN, Inc. in San Francisco, where she provided emergency counseling and child care for women in need. Michelle later worked at Bridges to Recovery, an in-patient psychiatric facility in Santa Monica. In 2010, she worked as a research assistant on two studies at UCLA, investigating anxiety across cultures and marital conflict. She currently leads groups in social cognition training as part of the ASCI study.

James Dupree
Neuropsych Tester / Transpo. Coordinator

Jim began working in his homeland of Scotland at the age of 15.  After coming to America with his family in 1979, he landed a job in the Aerospace industry where he spent 16 years as a machinist.  In 1995, Jim switched careers and began working with the mentally ill.  Since that time, Jim has worked on many research projects as a tester and coordinator.  Jim currently supervises the neurocognitive aspects for the MIRECC clinical research lab.

Robert Hubert, B.A.
Neuropsych Tester

Robert graduated with his bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2008 from UCLA. Shortly after graduation he began working in research at the VA involving changes in motivation and confidence in smoking cessation within the veteran population. From 2009-2012 he was project coordinator for the Nicotine Dependance Research Lab. He is currently a tester for a number of the projects in the Green Lab.

Julio Iglesias, B.A.
Neuropsych Tester

Julio earned his Bachelor's degree in 1998 from Universidad Dr. Jose Matias Delgado, El Salvador. In 2004 he earned an additional Associate's degree from the University of Maryland European Division while serving in the U.S. Army, and obtained his LVN License (Psychologist Technician) from the U.S. Air Force School of Nursing in 2008. Julio began his involvment in research in 2006, working with the UCLA Division of Geriatrics. He also collected data on PTSD for the U.S. Air Force, where he continues to serve in the reserves. Julio is currently the primary tester for the VA Merit project and a back-up tester on several others.

Coreen Knowles, B.S.
Neuropsych Tester

Coreen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Salem State University in 2010. At SSU she worked under Dr. David W. Gow on a behavioral neuroimaging study investigating speech perceptions through The Massachusetts General Hospital. After graduating she worked as a mental health specialist at the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Mental Health Program, jointly run by McLean Hospital and Franciscan Hospital for Children, in Brighton, MA providing care for youth in acute psychiatric crisis. She is currently the lead neuropsych tester for the VTP project.

Mark McGee, B.S.
Lab Supervisor/Study Coordinator

Mark earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in 1995 from California Lutheran University.  He began his involvement with the Green lab as a student volunteer in 1993 working with inpatients at Camarillo State Hospital.  After graduation, he spent several years as a neuropsych tester on various projects, as well as the administrative coordinator of the Diagnostic & Psychopathology Unit.  Since 1995, Mark has worked on many studies.  He is currently the study coordinator for the COGS-2 project and numerous adjunct studies, as well as the lab supervisor.  Additional activities include diagnostic assessment, student training, and personnel staffing.

Lilian Medina, B.A.
Neuropsych Tester

Lilian received her Bachelor’s degree in biological anthropology with a minor in Spanish from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2010. She began working as a Research Assistant at the Aftercare Research Program at the UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior when she was a sophomore in college. After graduation, she continued to work full-time as a neuropsych tester for several studies. Additionally, she was assigned duties as back-up Patient Care Coordinator for the Aftercare Program outpatient clinic. She is currently the primary tester for the UCLA Translational Center for Neurocognition and Emotion in Schizophrenia and serves as back-up tester for several projects at the Green Lab.

Ana Ceci Myers, M.S.
Neuropsych Tester

Ana received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from Loyola Marymount University in 2004, and her Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from California Lutheran University (CLU) in 2007. After graduating she began working with the Integrated Substance Abuse Program (ISAP) at UCLA in November of 2007 as a data manager. She is currently the study coordinator for several projects as well as the primary coordinator of all fMRI data collection in The Green Lab.

Kellie Smith, M.A.
Study Coordinator

Kellie graduated from UCLA with a bachelor's degree in English in 1997. After working in the magazine industry, she received her Master's degree in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2007. She has experience working on studies of ethnic identity & mental well-being, ECT and memory in depression, and cognitive remediation therapy in schizophrenia. Kellie is currently the study coordinator for Dr. Kern's research on vocational outcomes for persons with severe mental illness.

Amber Tidwell, M.S.
Program Administrator

Amber received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 1999 from UCLA, and subsequently, her Master's in Clinical Psychology in 2001, at Cal State Dominguez Hills.  She came to the lab in 2000 as a clinical interviewer and study recruiter and has served many roles since.  Currently, Amber works closely with Dr. Green on all grant, budget, and IRB submissions. 

Cory Tripp, B.S.
Neuropsych Tester

Cory graduated Summa Cum Laude from California Lutheran University earning her bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2007.  Prior to joining the Green Lab, she worked at a Residential Assisted Living facility as a dorm leader.  In the past, Cory was co-leader of the psychosocial intervention groups for the IBASC study. She is currently a senior neuropsych tester for all the various projects in the Green Lab.

Rachael Viehman, Ph.D.
Clinical Interviewer

Rachael earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Amherst College and her master’s and doctorate degrees in psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. While obtaining her doctoral degree she completed clinical externships at the Staglin Music Festival Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States, UCLA Psychology Clinic, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Clinic, and the Green lab. She recently completed a pre-doctoral clinical internship at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Her graduate research examined the genetic factors that influence cognitive functioning and psychiatric symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She currently works as a clinical interviewer on various projects in the Green Lab.

Katherine Weiner, B.A.
Neuropsych Tester

Katherine received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The University of Pennsylvania in 2009. Prior to earning her degree, Katherine studied abroad and volunteered at Ramana's Garden Orphanage in northeast India. Upon her return to the United States, Katherine worked as a mental health aide for at-risk children in Wilmington, Delaware. In addition to Psychology, Katherine also studied Hindi language at Penn and was a neuropsych tester at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently a tester for a number of the projects in the Green Lab.