Psychotic disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and related conditions cause symptoms that can make it difficult to tell what’s real from what’s not. Psychotic disorders can reduce a person’s ability to process information and perceive the world, and 3 percent of all people are affected by these conditions. To date, diagnosis is based on the description of behaviors and there is no objective test available. Neuroimaging techniques provide an opportunity to bring objective brain-based measures to psychotic disorders, to meet the need for a deeper understanding of these conditions and the development of new treatments.

I am a neuroimaging biophysicist who specializes in the technical development and application of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy for the central nervous system. My recent research interests and expertise are in bioenergetics and neurotransmitter metabolism in psychotic disorders, and how these factors affect cognitive functions. My group has been working on a series of studies exploring how inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters modulate the brain default mode network in in health vs. conditions of psychosis.

Though originally thought of as a waste product, lactate is increasingly being studied as a supplemental fuel and signaling molecule. Lactate measurement using magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been difficult because of its low signal and the overlapping of others. I recently developed a new technique termed HOPE (Half-intensity with macrOmolecule-suPprEssion) to reliably measure lactate on 3T MRI scanners, and my group is using it to study lactate dynamics during cognitive tasks.