Dr. Arulpragasam is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University. She received her B.S. in Neuroscience and B.A. in Linguistics from Duke University in 2012. Following graduation, she pursued research within the Division of Neurotherapeutics at the Massachusetts General Hospital on the use of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for major depressive disorder as well as on neuroimaging methods to measure neural correlates of a range of cognitive processes across psychopathology. Dr. Arulpragasam earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Emory University where she developed a neuroimaging paradigm to measure neural mechanisms underlying human cost/benefit decision-making. Through the combined use of functional neuroimaging, computational modeling, and transcranial magnetic stimulation, she identified precise computations that key regions perform during effort-based choices. Her research within CfNN with Dr. Noah Philip focuses on the use and development of low intensity focused ultrasound in patients with depression and anxiety.

Nicole is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Engineering at Brown University. She received her B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. from Texas Tech University though she originally hails from southern Louisiana. Following graduation, she served in the U.S. Air Force for 11 years, completing four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Civil Engineer and Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer. After completing her military service, Nicole returned to graduate school to pursue research in brain-computer interfaces. Her research interests include the development of novel neurotechnologies to improve functional outcomes for patients affected by neurological injury or disease, as well as, using these technologies to better understand recovery biomarkers, mechanisms, and trajectories.

Dr. Duffy is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Neurology Department at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She received her B.S. in Neuroscience at Brown University. After graduating, she pursued research in the Division of Neurotherapeutics in the Psychiatry Department at MGH on the use of deep brain stimulation as a treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as on functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity patterns in response to affective visual stimuli in individuals with bipolar disorder. She received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Brown University, where she identified early behavioral phenotypes in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontal temporal dementia using an automated continuous behavioral monitoring technique. Her research within the BrainGate team at MGH with Dr. Leigh Hochberg revolves around the restoration of communication and upper extremity mobility using an intracortical brain-computer interface for individuals who have lost these abilities.

Dr. Petrosino is a psychiatry resident at Brown University. He earned his bachelor of the arts as a double major in philosophy and psychology from Villanova University in 2012. Upon graduating he began working as a mental health counselor at Walden Behavioral Care’s residential program helping to treat patients with eating disorders. Inspired by this experience to pursue a career in psychiatry, Nick then completed a pre-medical post-baccalaureate program at Loyola University before obtaining his medical doctorate at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. During this time, he developed research interests in the use of neurostimulation interventions in mood and anxiety disorders while working in Dr. Noah Philip’s laboratory. In particular, Nick has investigated clinical outcomes and EEG/fMRI biomarkers of disease and treatment response with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in veterans with depression and PTSD. The aim of this work has been to optimize these techniques by improving protocol and elucidating biomarkers that can inform a personalized stimulation approach.