The Team

Principal Investigator

Bruno Biaganti, MD

Bruno Biagianti received his MD with honors from the University of Milan. After 4 years of internship in the Department of Psychiatry at San Paolo Hospital in Milan, during which he focused on the psychopharmacological and psychological treatment for psychotic and mood disorders, he moved to San Francisco in 2012. Dr. Biagianti splits his time between Posit Science and the University of California, San Francisco. His research interests include neurocognitive and neurophysiological impairments in individuals with psychosis. At UCSF, he coordinates neuroimaging experiments (MEG/fMRI) on the effects of cognitive training and oxytocin on neural activation patterns. At Posit Science, his work focuses on assessment and training of sensory processing abnormalities. When not at work, he chases views, space, noise, and, most importantly, pyrrhic victories.

 


 

Mentors

Sophia Vinogradov, MD

Sophia Vinogradov, M.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry in Residence; Interim Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health, Associate Chief for Education and Research, Mental Health Service, at the San Francisco VA Medical Center; and Research Co-Director of the Prodrome Assessment, Research, and Treatment program at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, University of California, San Francisco. She received her M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine, obtained her psychiatry residency training at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she served as Chief Resident, and completed a Psychiatric Neurosciences Research Fellowship at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center and Stanford University.

http://vinogradovlab.com/

 

Joshua D. Woolley, MD/PhD

Joshua D. Woolley received his MD and PhD in neuroscience from the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Woolley's work has involved studying the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric illnesses. Dr. Woolley is currently a psychiatrist and Assistant Professor at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr. Woolley's research interests involve examining the role of oxytocin as a potential biomarker for psychosis, its ability to affect dyadic family interactions, and its effectiveness in treating social cognitive deficits in adults and adolescents with neuropsychiatric disease.

http://woolleylab.ucsf.edu/

 


 

Collaborators

Danielle Schlosser, PhD

Dr. Danielle Schlosser is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF. The focus of her research is on harnessing digital health strategies and the latest behavioral neuroscience of motivation to improve the lives of young people living with schizophrenia. Dr. Schlosser is the PI of an NIMH, Career Development Award, which is focused on developing an intervention strategy to robustly improve psychosocial and health functioning in recently diagnosed schizophrenia patients. The DRIVES lab also received two, UCSF CTSI grants and an NIH R34 grant to fund the development and feasibility testing of a mobile app called PRIME (Personalized, Real-time Intervention for Motivational Enhancement). The focus of PRIME is on harnessing the intact desire young people with schizophrenia have to improve their lives by giving them the necessary support and reinforcement to be successful. And while Daniellle is a researcher by day (and often nights!), she also enjoys spending as much time as possible in the outdoors, hiking, fishing, you name it.

http://drive.ucsf.edu/

 

Mor Nahum, PhD

Dr. Nahum is a senior scientist and Director of R&D at Posit Science. Her work centers on web-based interventions designed to improve social cognition in people with schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorders. She also studies the use of mobile technology to assess and change cognitive-emotional status. Dr. Nahum is a co-organizer of the Entertainment Software and Neurotherapeutics (ESCoNS) Conferences, bringing together neuroscientists and game developers to discuss ways in which we can harness game industry developments for neural and clinical therapeutics. She earned her PhD in Neural Computation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.

 


 

Study Coordinator

Jennifer Arjona, MA

Jennifer K. Arjona received her M.A. in Psychology from the University of Sevilla, Spain and worked with the CESPYD (Coalition for the Study of Health, Power and Diversity) research team for 2 years before returning to California. She now works on various studies investigating the effects cognitive training exercises have on improving cognitive functioning in adolescents and young adults with high risk symptoms of psychosis, and individuals with recent-onset and chronic schizophrenia. Outside of work she enjoys traveling, running, reading and exploring the outdoors.

 


 

Research Assistants and Volunteers

Katie Chen

Katie Chen is currently a student at the University of California, Berkeley pursuing a BA in Cognitive Science with a focus in Linguistics. She was a research assistant in the UC Berkeley Language and Cognition Lab where she ran linguistic spatial category experiments on native-Mandarin speakers. She was also involved in a developmental study in the Gopnik Cognitive Developmental Lab. She enjoys traveling and playing guitar.

 

Patrick O'Melveny

Patrick graduated from Sonoma State University with a B.A. in Music Composition and Cello Performance. He accidentally stumbled into the world of research and has been enjoying it greatly ever sense. He now works at Posit Science as a coordinator for multiple studies investigating the effects of cognitive training on clinical populations, and occasionally conducts diagnostic interviews and clinical assessments for CLIMB. He still finds some time to play the cello.

 

Sophia Quraishi

Sophia Quraishi is a sophomore pre-med student and intends to major in Neuroscience with a minor in Political Science. As an executive board member of Design for America and leader of the project Re-Inventing Sexual Education – which aims to encourage condom use amongst teenagers in Harlem – Sophia is passionate about encouraging sustainable solutions to community problems. Furthermore, her summer internship in clinical research at Oslo University and involvement in the Extended Barnard Reach Out Program has inspired her to continue to help people in diverse and meaningful ways as she pursues her career. Her plan is to combine medicine and socially conscious entrepreneurship in an impactful and lasting approach.

 

Sabrina Espinoza

Sabrina L. Espinoza, M.A. is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. She is currently a Psychology Trainee at the SFVAMC where she administers clinical and psychodiagnostic assessments within the BAND Lab. Her clinical and research interests include the psychological impact of long-term incarceration, the transition from prison to the community among inmates with severe mental illness, and providing individual therapy to people with a psychosis diagnosis, and to adults in the correctional system. Outside of work she enjoys spending time hiking, and being with family and friends.

 


 

Alumni

Elena Gasparini, Former Study Coordinator

 


 

Our Partners