Hannah Adams joined the Providence VA Medical Center in June, 2023. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Studio Arts from Trinity College (Hartford, CT). During her time at Trinity College, she was a Health Fellow and a research assistant on multiple projects. In association with the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, she studied risk behaviors in a cohort of urban students. Additionally, she studied the effects of predation on cell proliferation in the brains of weakly electric fish. Her interest in research began after high school where she studied ticks and Lyme disease as a research intern at the Ginsberg Entomology lab at the University of Rhode Island. Prior to joining the CfNN team, she worked with patients at Lifespan and Brown Physicians Inc.

Emily Aiken joined the Providence VA Medical Center in August 2016. Prior to joining PVAMC, she received both her BS, and MA, with honors in Neuroscience from Trinity College (Hartford, CT), where she was a Health Fellow and a member of the National Honor Society in Neuroscience (Nu Rho Psi). Additionally, Emily conducted research at Trinity College in the Cognitive Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Laboratory, where she primarily focused on designing individualized cognitive rehabilitation therapies for acquired brain injury. Her background includes years of clinical research experience in prospective memory, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and pediatric neurology. During her CfNN tenure, she has served in a variety of coordinator roles for Focus Area 2 (FA2) leader, Noah S. Philip, MD. Emily is a member of the Society for Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA), is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP), and a 2020 graduate of the PVAMC Leadership Effectiveness, Accountability, and Development (LEAD) program. Emily’s research interests include:

– the use of non-invasive neuromodulation therapies for treating comorbid psychiatric disorders, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depression
– the development of qualitative metrics/approaches for symptom evaluation and subsequent treatment selection
– improving quality of life through implementation of novel non-invasive, non-pharmacological, approaches for treating complex mental health disorders
– collaborating with clinical services to facilitate and integrate research into clinical care/practices (bench to bedside)

Matthew Borgia is a Biostatistician with a decade of experience at the Providence VAMC. His professional background includes community integration, amputation, prosthetic rehabilitation, national VA databases, psychometrics, and nonparametric statistics. His current protocols focus on upper limb amputees and prosthesis users. Matthew graduated with a masters degree in Biostatistics from Brown University in 2011.

Sarah Cavanagh received her B.S. in Integrative Neuroscience with honors from Fordham University. There she examined population-level differences in cortical visual representations correlated with aging and cognitive decline. Sarah joined the BrainGate team in the fall of 2019 and is currently a graduate research assistant at Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Providence VAMC. Her master’s thesis research involves (1) understanding the neural correlates of upper-extremity movement in healthy adults to inform the creation of a rehabilitative EEG-BCI for stroke patients with paresis and (2) analyzing the connection between upper-extremity kinematic metrics and longitudinal motor recovery in stroke patients with paresis.

Ms. Cilli graduated Cum Laude from the University of Vermont in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and minors in Chemistry and Religion. As a Research Coordinator, she conducts all study procedures for Understanding Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (PI: Noah S. Philip, MD), a NIMH R01-funded project that investigates the efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Veterans through magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological evaluations. Before CfNN, Ms. Cilli served as an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Ballif Lab at the University of Vermont investigating mechanisms of retina development.  She also interned at Rhode Island Hospital’s Partial Hospitalization Program in 2019 and served as CfNN’s Focus Area 2 (FA2) intern from 2020-2021.

Krista Tocco joined the Providence VA Medical Center in October 2014 and currently works as a Research Coordinator with the CfNN. Prior to joining the PVAMC, she received her BA with honors in Biology with a Concentration in Neuroscience and Behavior and minor in Psychology at Assumption College (Worcester, MA). Her background includes clinical research experience in studying psychosocial treatments aimed at suicide prevention, PTSD, anger management, traumatic brain injuries, and seizure disorders. She also has worked on a multi-site study with Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University aimed at studying neuroimaging biomarkers in those with seizures disorders to predict treatment outcomes for nonpharmacologic treatment. Krista’s current interest include psychosocial treatments that address psychiatric disorders and the use of neuroimaging to aid in individualizing treatment.

John Davey joined the CfNN as a Senior Research Assistant in November 2019. Prior to coming on board, he received his BS in Neuroscience at the University of New Hampshire in 2015 and worked as a Clinical Research Assistant in the Emergency Departments at both Rhode Island Hospital and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His research interests include Prosthetics and emerging technologies within the industry.

Caite DeCesare earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Rhode Island in 2019. After graduating, she worked at Rhode Island Hospital’s Childhood Asthma Research Program, studying the effectiveness of current education-based interventions for childhood asthma care. Caite joined the Providence VA Medical Center as a Research Assistant in June 2022.

Kristina joined CfNN as a research assistant in 2023. She received her B.A. in Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of West Florida (UWF) in 2021, and her M.S. in General Psychology from Lynn University in 2023. During her time at UWF she conducted research to develop a biomarker for early detection of Alzheimer’s dementia and presented her research findings at the UWF 2020 virtual student scholar symposium and faculty showcase. Kristina was also a research assistant at the Institution for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Fl. Her research interests include neuropsychology and human performance.

Alison Gorbatov joined the VA RR&D Center of Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology (CfNN) team in 2023 as the Regulatory Program Manager, Core C Lead.

Alison holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology from SUNY Cortland and a Juris Doctor (JD) from Massachusetts School of Law.  Alison has background in program management for organizations that serve individuals with disabilities as well as mental illnesses.  She also has professional work experience in clinical research project management and regulatory affairs at both Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as well at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.

Aaron Gregoire is a Research Assistant with an IPA appointment at PVAMC for VA related work conducted in the Borton Lab at Brown University. He received his BA summa cum laude at the University of Rhode Island. Aaron oversees the animal activity in the lab with steadfast dedication to achieve viable scientific research through positive reinforcement and environmental enrichment to ensure cooperation.

Jenny joined the Laboratory for Translational Neurorecovery (LTNr) at MGH in 2022 and received her BS in Neuroscience and Behavior from Simmons University in May 2023. She joined CfNN as a WOC research coordinator for LTNr in the summer of 2023, and is interested in learning more about the motor neuroscience behind upper extermity impairment in stroke patients.

Noelle Marcotullio is a Health Science Specialist with the CfNN. She joined the Center in January 2022. Noelle received a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrative Neuroscience and a Bachelor of Arts in Women, Gender and Sexualities Studies from Binghamton University. She was a member of the Freshman Research Immersion program, where she conducted research on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in rat models. She also served on the Executive Board of the Binghamton University chapter of Nu Rho Psi, the national honor society in neuroscience. While studying abroad in Barcelona, she worked closely with a community of sex workers on HIV prevention and sexual health education. This experience informed her interest in public health and led her to working with the Veteran population. She is currently a research assisstant on Dr. Zand Vakili’s PTSD study.

Chona McGrenery joined the Providence VA Medical Center as Program Support Assistant for CfNN in February 2020. Prior to joining CfNN, she was a Staff Assistant IV at Massachusetts General Hospital assisting the PT & OT Department leadership. Chona graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Economics from College of the Holy Spirit, Manila, Philippines. She worked at the Local Government Unit in the Philippines as a Revenue Officer before immigrating to the United States.

Eileen M. Small is a Research Program Manager with the CfNN. She joined the Center in August 2019. Eileen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Counseling from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Master of Social Work degree from Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Massachusetts. She has twenty-five years of research experience in the areas of mood disorders in children and adults; nicotine addiction and treatment; and new approaches for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Eileen began her research career in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, working on clinical trials for the treatment of major depression and bipolar disorders. She has also worked at the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at the Miriam Hospital; the Transdisciplinary Research Group and Neuroimaging Lab at Butler Hospital; and in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. At UMass Medical School, she worked with a team helping to bring a form of Open Dialogue to the United States. Since joining the CfNN, Eileen has managed multiple projects for Focus Area 3 Leader, Dr. Linda Resnik.

Mimi Sevin is a Clinical Research Coordinator with 10 years of experience at Brown University, prior to joining CfNN in July 2015. Her professional background includes post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, personality disorders, intimate partner violence, virtual reality, neuroimaging, cardiovascular health and mindful self-compassion work. She is also a licensed clinical therapist with experience in individual as well as couples counseling working clinically with Veterans at the Providence VA Medical Center since 2013.

Hannah Swearingen joined CfNN in July 2017 after receiving her B.A. in Neuroscience and German from Washington & Jefferson College, with interdisciplinary honors in Neuroscience. Her current research interests include using neuroimaging and computational approaches to investigate brain signatures of psychiatric disorders and treatment response. Hannah is also interested in leveraging scientific computing methods to develop best practices in data analysis and sharing in order to promote scientific reproducibility.