The Green Lab
BACK ROW (from left): Rhona Madrid, Christen Waldon, Kimmy Kee, Peter Nguyen, Ayala Ofek, Lisa Mancini, Mark Sergi, Jon Wynn, Amber Tidwell, Bob Kern, Michael DeGroot, Jim Dupree and Michael Green.
FRONT ROW (from left): Bill Horan, Shelly Crosby, Karina Shokat-Fadai, Joe Geffen, Tasha Nienow, Junghee Lee and Mark McGee.
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 170 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
Kimmy Kee-Rose, Ph.D.
Assistant 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 50 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
Yuri Rassovsky, Ph.D.
Assistant 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
Mark Sergi, Ph.D.
Assistant 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.
Assistant 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
Shelly Crosby, M.A.
Clinical Interviewer
Shelly received her Master's of Arts degree from Pepperdine University in June, 2008. She has served in many roles since joining the lab in 2004 including study tester for COGS, lab recruiter, and project coordinator for EVP. Shelly is currently working as a clinical interviewer for the CANSAS project while pursuing her Psy.D. degree at Pepperdine University.
James Dupree
Neuropsych Tester
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.
Lisa Mancini, B.A.
Neuropsych Tester
Lisa began working with the Green Lab as a student of Psychology at California University at Channel Island in early 2007. Upon graduating Summa Cum Laude in the first graduating class of the new university, she began working as the primary tester for the IBASC project in May of '07.
Mark McGee, B.S.
Lab Supervisor
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 EVP project and it's numerous adjunct studies, as well as the lab supervisor. Additional activities include diagnostic assessment, student training, and personnel staffing.
Poorang Nori, B.A.
Neuropsych Tester
Poorang graduated from Cal State Northridge with his Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2001. He began working with the lab as a student volunteer in 2000, and served as a neuropsych tester on several projects for 3 years. He is currently the lead tester for the EVP project.
Ayala Ofek, M.A.
Clinical Interviewer
Ayala received her Bachelor's of Arts degree from UCLA in 1993. She began working with the Green lab as a student volunteer in 2002, and has been a neuropsych tester on various projects since. More recently she played an integral part on the various phases of the MATRICS project and has assumed the role of study coordinator for the TURNS phase of this project. Ayala earned her Master's of Arts degree from Pepperdine University in May 2009, and will begin work on her Psy.D. in the Fall.
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.A.
Group Facilitator
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. She currently co-leads the psychosocial intervention groups for the IBASC study.
Christen Waldon, M.S.W.
Recruiter
Christen graduated from University of California Berkeley with a double major in Psychology and Social Welfare in 2001. After which, she began working in the San Francisco County Jail as a mental health worker for Jail Psychiatric Services. In 2005, Christen received her Master's degree in Social Welfare from UCLA. In addition to her work in the jails, she also has experience in medical social work and school based counseling. Christen is currently the primary recruiter for all studies in the Green Lab, working closely with V.A. clinics, local board & care facilities, and nation-wide family organizations.