EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
SIG CHAIR
Angela Fang, Ph.D.
The Neurocognitive Therapies and Translational Research SIG is leading the front in developing novel therapies and improving the CBT of the future. Our core mission is to bridge the link between basic and applied science in neuroscience and psychology, and my passion for this kind of scientific integration has made the SIG my professional home within ABCT since 2012. Being born in Taiwan and growing up in a Chinese American immigrant family, I was not accustomed to discussing mental health issues at the dinner table, much less brain contributions to mental illness. It has been through my graduate and postgraduate studies, clinical training, and interactions with SIG members, that I have learned how empowering it can be for patients and clinicians alike to understand how behavior can influence biology and vice versa, and also how these interactions can inform treatment decisions. I am currently Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and Director of the Center of Neuroscience, Neuroendocrinology, and Clinical Translation (CoNNeCT Lab), and have focused my multidisciplinary research on understanding the neural and endocrine correlates of social cognitive mechanisms underlying anxiety and obsessive compulsive related disorders. In these populations, I have tested the effects of intranasal oxytocin on social cognitive outcomes, examined endogenous levels of oxytocin, and identified neural correlates of maladaptive self-focused attention as a transdiagnostic predictor of treatment response to CBT. As clinician scientists, I believe we offer a unique vantage point to study the advancement of psychological treatments for mental disorders because we can bring first-hand knowledge of disorder heterogeneity and heterogeneity in treatment mechanisms to generate nuanced hypotheses about key treatment targets. As SIG chair, my goal is to work toward creating a stronger neuroscience presence at ABCT by building up membership especially among trainees and junior investigators, as well as developing high-impact programming that will inspire interest in neurocognitive therapies across ABCT as a whole.
MEMBERSHIP/TREASURY CHAIR
Andrew Peckham, Ph.D.
Andrew Peckham is the Treasurer and Membership Chair of the NTTR SIG. He is an Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital’s Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction. Dr. Peckham conducts research on transdiagnostic cognitive mechanisms of impulsivity and craving, with a focus on translational treatment development. Currently, he is PI of a NIDA-funded clinical trial of a smartphone-based working memory for craving in adults with opioid use disorder. Dr. Peckham previously completed his PhD in Clinical Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and he has previously served as the SIG’s website manager and graduate student representative.
REPRESENTATIVE-AT-LARGE
Ryan Jane Jacoby, Ph.D.
I am currently a staff psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. My clinical and research interests are broadly focused on the nature and treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders, including specific interests in psychological mechanisms of change in exposure-based therapies (e.g., inhibitory learning approaches) as well as treatment augmentation strategies that capitalize on these mechanisms. I am also interested in improving the understanding and behavioral/psychophysiological measurement of transdiagnostic psychological processes (e.g., intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive/attentional control) utilizing multi-method approaches (e.g., attentional disengagement eye-tracking tasks, behavioral economic decision-making paradigms, biometric indices of autonomic arousal). Accordingly, I am strongly committed to the NTTR SIG’s mission of integrating cognitive and affective neuroscience to enhance the efficacy of psychological interventions. I have been attending the ABCT convention since 2010, and several of the methods I now use in my research I have learned from participating in this SIG (including from the 2016 pre-conference institute). Thus, as Representative-at-Large, I aim to bring my experience and passion for transdiagnostic and translational research to advance the SIG’s mission and to interface with the broader ABCT community.
SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE CHAIR
Greg Siegle, Ph.D.
Dr. Siegle directs the Program in Cognitive Affective Neuroscience (PICAN) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he is a Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Translational Sciences. His research program examines neural substrates of emotional and cognitive information processing in mood, anxiety, and trauma disorders. His group integrates self-report, psychophysiology, and neuroimaging assessments with computational modeling to answer questions of how information processing can be used to predict response to validated treatments and to guide novel mechanistically targeted treatment development. The ultimate goal of this work is routinely using insights and methods from cognitive neuroscience in the psychiatry clinic.
SIG FOUNDER
Jan Mohlman, Ph.D.
Dr. Mohlman conducts research that seeks to explain how processes of aging (e.g., hearing loss, progressive brain disease, deficits in cognitive skills) impact the presentation and treatment of anxiety in later life. This line of inquiry places particular importance on the executive system (e.g., complex cognitive skills such as reasoning, dividing attention, and metacognition) because these skills decline in later life, and are known to be involved in the management and regulation of emotion, anxiety in particular. Dr. Mohlman’s work also extends to treatment outcome research, applying methodology from affective and cognitive neuroscience to inform studies of 1) cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and 2) the presentation of anxiety and related clinical problems. Recent research interests also include emotional contrast and technophobia in older adults. Dr. Mohlman along with Drs. Thilo Deckersbach and Adam Weissman, was the editor of the SIG’s recent book entitled, From Symptom to Synapse: A Neurocognitive Perspective on Clinical Psychology published by Routledge.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Maria Kryza-Lacombe, M.S.
I am currently working toward my PhD in clinical psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology at the SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology. My research lies at the intersection of affective, cognitive, and clinical neuroscience. I am interested in assessing the interplay between cognitive processes and positive and negative emotions that generate and/or diminish resilience and well-being. My long-term goal is to pursue independent research in a multidisciplinary academic setting where I hope to contribute to mechanism-based prevention and intervention development efforts that leverage individual differences in cognitive and affective processes. As such, I am strongly committed to the SIG’s mission to use cognitive and affective neuroscience to improve the conceptualization and effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. I also have a special interest in neuroscience-informed psychoeducation as a way to enrich clinical practice. Since I joined the NTTR SIG in 2017, I have been inspired by its members, their research, and their enthusiasm for the NTTR SIG’s mission. As the SIG's Student Representative I hope to help the SIG grow by connecting more students to our community.
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Greg Siegle, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to the Chair
Thilo Deckersbach, Ph.D., Past-President
Rudi De Raedt, Ph.D.
GOVERNANCE ARCHIVES:
Former SIG Officers
Jan Mohlman, SIG Founder and Former Chair
Thilo Deckersbach, Former Chair, Former Membership/Treasury Chair
Adam Weissman, Former Chair, Former Membership/Treasury Chair
Rebecca Price, Former Chair
Kristen K. Ellard, Former Chair
Jonathan Stange, Former Student Representative
Andrew Peckham, Former Student Representative, Former Website Manager
Elissa Hamlat, Former Student Representative
Peter Hitchcock, Former Social Media Manager
Berda Gilmore, Former Newsletter Designer