ADAA is proud to showcase the cutting-edge research conducted by our members. If you are interested in featuring your research lab, please download this flyer for more information or contact Vickie Spielman, ADAA Associate Director of Membership/Marketing.



Meet the July 2019 Featured Research Lab

Neurobiology of Fear and PTSD Lab - McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts

The Neurobiology of Fear and PTSD Lab was founded by ADAA member, Dr. Kerry Ressler at Emory (Atlanta) in 2001 and moved to McLean (Boston) in 2015.

Mission

The Ressler Lab investigates the molecular, genetic, epigenetic, and neural circuit mechanisms underlying fear processes through an integration of animal models of fear learning and human genetic research. Our lab uses well-established mouse models to examine different aspects of fear learning (e.g., acquisition, consolidation and extinction). These models allow us to investigate the role of different brain regions, in particular the amygdala, as well as neural cell populations, and the underlying gene regulation in these cells in fear processing. Furthermore, we examine how these mechanisms may be involved in the development of fear-based disorders in humans, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, phobic disorders and panic disorder. We also utilize data collected from human clinical populations to identify genetic traits and neural processes that may contribute to the development of these illnesses and provide us with novel targets for research using animal models. Our hope is that gaining a more mechanistic understanding of how fear works in the mammalian brain will contribute to the development of novel treatments, and possibly even prevention, of fear based psychiatric illnesses.

ADAA Members Involved

  • Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD

Lab Members

  • Kimberly Cramer, Senior Administrative Manager, Biobank Coordinator
  • Nikolaos P. Daskalakis, MD, PhD, Associate Neuroscientist
  • Robert J. Fenster, MD, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Jakob Hartmann, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Hunter Howie , Biobank Coordinator
  • Chris King, Research Data Analyst
  • Claudia Klengel, MD, Research Assistant
  • Torsten Klengel, MD, PhD, Associate Neuroscientist
  • Lauren A.M. Lebois, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Stephanie A. Maddox, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Marissa E. Maheu, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Guia Guffanti Masetti, PhD, Associate Neuroscientist
  • Kenneth M. McCullough, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Teniel S. Ramikie, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Chuda Rijal, Biobank Coordinator
  • Rachel A. Ross, MD, PhD, Assistant Neuroscientist
  • Antonia V. Seligowski, PhD, Research Fellow
  • Sumeet Sharma, Graduate Student
  • Junghyup Suh, PhD, Assistant Neuroscientist
  • Jonathan Wolff, Clinical Research Assistant
     

Collaborators 

  • Elisabeth B. Binder, MD, PhD, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
  • Vadim Bolshakov, PhD, McLean Hospital
  • Bekh Bradley, PhD, Emory University
  • Bill Carlezon, PhD, McLean Hospital
  • Christopher W. Cowan, PhD, Integrative Neurobiology Laboratory
  • Brian G. Dias, PhD, Emory University
  • Tanja Jovanovic, PhD, Emory University
  • Milissa Kaufman, MD, PhD, McLean Hospital
  • Karestan Koenen, PhD, Harvard School of Public Health
  • Charles Marmar, MD, New York University
  • Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami
  • Donald Rainnie, PhD, Emory University
  • Barbara Rothbaum, PhD, Emory University
  • Mar Sanchez, PhD, Emory University
  • Murray Stein, MD, MPH, UCSD, San Diego VA
  • Douglas E. Williamson, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center

For more information about this lab, please contact Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD.