Current Rappaport Fellows at McLean

Dr. Hartman is an assistant neuroscientist in the McLean Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory led by Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, McLean’s Chief Scientific Officer. As a Rappaport Mental Health Research Scholar, he will investigate how the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region that plays an important role in the stress response and emotional and social behaviors, may be affected in mood and anxiety disorders. This work holds the potential to identify novel therapeutics targets that would aid in the development of new pharmaceutical inventions for people with psychiatric illnesses.

Dr. Kolosowaka is a research fellow in the McLean Neuroscience Lab led by Sabina Beretta, MD. Support from a Rappaport Mental Health Research Scholar Award will allow her to study microglial cells in their involvement in psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and Huntington Disease. Ultimately, her research promises to improve our understanding of the molecular pathophysiological mechanisms associated with psychiatric disorders helping to improve prevention and treatment efforts.

Dr. Ren is an assistant biostatistician in the McLean Lab for Psychiatric Biostatistics. Receiving a Rappaport Mental Health Scholar will enable him to develop flexible Bayesian models for characterization of longitudinal outcomes in older adults with mood disorders. He hopes his work will produce novel insights on the evolution of cognitive function in older adults with mood disorders, helping to inform data driven, personalized medical decision making for this population.