Rebecca B. Price

Director 

Rebecca B. Price, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She completed undergraduate studies in cognitive science at Stanford University and a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University. She has been the recipient of several awards including an NIMH Biobehavioral Research Award for Innovative New Scientists (NIMH BRAINS) R01, the Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award from the American Psychological Assocation/Psi Chi, the Donald F. Klein Early Career Investigator Award from the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, a “Rising Star” award by the Association for Psychological Science, the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, and the Society of Biological Psychiatry A.E. Bennett Award. 

Dr. Price’s research program is broadly dedicated to pushing the field of cognitive neuroscience towards a more direct clinical impact. She hopes to specify neurocognitive mechanisms relevant to affective dysfunction, and then to target these mechanisms in patients using innovative methods optimized to promote symptom relief that is both efficient and enduring. Her research asks questions such as: Can we develop and test effective new treatments and synergistic bio-behavioral treatment combinations that are based on a growing understanding of how the brain works? Can we leverage technological advances to reach more patients with these treatments? Can we use individual differences in neurocognitive processes to match specific people to specific treatments? Dr. Price has investigated these questions primarily in the context of affective conditions such as anxiety, depression, compulsive behaviors, and suicidality. She has recently focused on developing novel synergistic treatment strategies coupling computer-based interventions with 1) intravenous ketamine or 2) non-invasive neuromodulation.

Dr. Price is particularly grateful for her three greatest gifts—her husband Andy and their two daughters.

Click here (ResearchGate) or here (PubMed) for a current list of Dr. Price’s publications.

Mary Woody

Assistant Professor

Mary Woody, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Woody received her B.S. in psychology and women & gender studies from the University of Miami and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Binghamton University (SUNY). She completed her doctoral clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic before completing an NIMH T32-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the current recipient of an NIMH Career Development Award (K23).

Dr. Woody’s long-term research goals are to contribute to the prevention and treatment of depression and other internalizing disorders by 1) identifying mechanisms underlying the development of these disorders across the lifespan and 2) translating mechanisms into treatment targets. Her research interests are cross-disciplinary, spanning the fields of clinical psychology, developmental affective neuroscience, and experimental therapeutics. Her current K23 award tests if a novel brain-based measure of affect-biased attention, as measured by steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), can be 1) used to predict future adolescent depression and 2) provide neural feedback about affect-biased attention in order to modify it and buffer mood reactivity. In addition, her past and ongoing research projects have examined 1) cognitive, physiological, and genetic markers of risk in offspring of depressed mothers, 2) multi-method assessment of the role of affect-biased attention in the development and recurrence of depression, and 3) individual differences in neural and behavioral functioning that underlie response to neurocognitive interventions.

Click here (ResearchGate) or here (PubMed) for a current list of Dr. Woody’s publications.

Manny Rengasamy

Assistant Professor

Manny Rengasamy, MD joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh after completing a T32 postdoctoral fellowship. He completed undergraduate studies at Rice University, medical school at McGovern Medical School, and child psychiatry residency/fellowship at UPMC. His research interests include studying the role of inflammation in mood disorders and utilizing neuroimaging to understand mood disorders, particularly in the pediatric population.

Shabnam Hossein

Postdoctoral Associate

Crystal Spotts

Research Operations Coordinator

Michael Lightfoot

Senior Clinician

Anna Wears

Research Project Assistant

Anna graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a research specialist in the CANlab as well as an MSW student at the University of Pittsburgh. She is interested in how underlying biological processes interact with one’s environment to affect emotion and perception throughout the lifespan. When not doing research, Anna enjoys yoga, playing golf, and making food with friends.

Ali Aslam

Research Specialist

Ali graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Psychology. His past research focused on exploring neuromodulatory treatments for anxiety disorders. He is excited to expand the scope of his interests in neuroscience and psychiatry as part of the CANLab team! Outside of the lab, he enjoys skateboarding, playing soccer, learning the culinary arts, and gardening.

Danielle Nebril

Research Project Assistant

Danielle graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in psychology. Her previous research experiences focused on decision-making, causal learning, and the preservative thought patterns found in anxiety. She is currently interested in the cognitive and affective mechanisms underlying internalizing psychopathology. Outside of the lab, Danielle enjoys thrift shopping, painting, and watching nature documentaries.

Nastasia McDonald

Research Project Assistant

Nastasia is a New York POSSE 16 Scholar and Lafayette College Alum with a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Religious Studies. Nastasia‘s long term research goal is to understand and improve the ways in which marginalized groups and minoritized identities experience health. Her previous research experience involved examining the relationship between black women and alternative/spiritual healing as well as the efficacy of using glycine to reduce epileptic seizures. She hopes to pursue research in Neuropharmacology to further understand the effects of drugs on racial and gender minorities. In her free time, you can find Nastasia traveling, exploring new restaurants, and/or watching one of her many favorite TV series (most likely produced by Mindy Kaling). 

Iya Cooper

Research Project Coordinator

Iya Cooper is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. Her past research focused on Traumatic Brain Injury recovery. She is interested in generational trauma and its effect on mood disorders as well as the etiology of schizophrenia. Other than research, she enjoys cooking, exploring new restaurants, traveling, and watching football. 

Stephanie Bisignano

Research Specialist

Stephanie graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a creative writing minor, and a public and professional writing certificate. Her past research explored emotion regulation transference in children of mothers with borderline personality disorder. Stephanie gained notable experience working in dual diagnosis community treatment and field-based addiction medicine. She is excited to translate her professional skills, expand her research interests, and develop her scientific repertoire at the CANLab. In her personal life, Stephanie spends her time listening to podcasts, reading nonfiction books, and having long, engaging conversations with her cat, Vinny.

Apphia Freeman

Research Specialist

Apphia graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a B.A. in Literary Journalism, and more recently completed UCI’s post-baccalaureate program in psychological science. While in the program, she was a research assistant in the Silver Stress and Coping Lab under Dr. Roxane Silver, wherein she worked on projects exploring the mental health effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and public trust in the scientific community. She also came to acquire a strong interest in psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, which she was able to pursue as a full-time research coordinator in the PREVENT Lab at UCI under Dr. Jason Schiffman. Apphia is more broadly interested in the treatment of severe mental illnesses and in exploring novel interventions and therapeutics for those that are treatment-resistant, and is very excited about further pursing such research in the CAN Lab. In her free time, Apphia likes to plug into a good podcast, book, or movie/documentary, and go on coffee runs. 

Karissa Miller

PhD

Karissa has now joined the faculty at California State University, Long Beach.

Logan Cummings

BS

Logan Cummings is now a doctoral student in Clinical Science/Psychology at Florida International University. 

Jamie Yang

BS

Jamie Yang graduated from Carnegie Mellon and went on to pursue her medical school training at UCLA.

Kimberly Lin

MD

Kimberly completed her medical school training at the University of Pittsburgh.

Emily Ricketts

PhD

Emily Ricketts is now an Assistant Professor at UCLA.

 Danielle Gilchrist

MPA

Danielle completed her Physician’s Assistant degree at the University of Pittsburgh and now works as a PA.

Olga Berkout

PhD

Olga Berkout is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Kevin Tang

BS

Kevin Tang graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s Degree in Neuroscience and then pursued his medical school training.

Michelle Degutis

MS

Michelle completed her graduate studies in Public Healthy Policy and Data Analytics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Simona Graur

LCSW

Simona is a licensed clinical social worker and a Senior Research Principal in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Shane Mckeon

BS

Shane is pursing graduate studies in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dana Rosen

PhD

Congratulations to Dana Rosen on recently completing her doctoral studies!

Angela Griffo

BS

Angela is now a PhD student in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Elizabeth Bell

BS

Liz now works in a research laboratory at the University of Utah.

Olivia Francis

BA

Olivia is now a Hortsmann Scholar pursuing an MPH degree at Yale University.

 Ben Panny

BS

Ben is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in Biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Andrew Baumeister

BA

Andrew is now an Evaluator Clinician at UPMC Mercy.

Becca Rohac

BS

Becca is now pursuing an MPH degree at Boston University.

Nicolas Cruz

MA, M.Ed.

Nick is now working in the neuropsychology industry.

Kevin Do-Nguyen

BS

Kevin is now pursuing an MSW degree at the University of Pittsburgh.

Rachel Vaughn-Coaxum

PhD

Rachel is now an Assistant Professor in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry.

Luna Malloy

BS

Vanessa Brown

PhD

Vanessa is now an Assistant Professor at Emory University.

 Sophia Arruda Da Costa E Silva

BS

Sophia is now working in basic neuroscience research in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry.