Research Opportunities for Department of Psychiatry Residents

The research opportunities available for the trainees in the department include a new and upcoming area that combines neurobiology of psychiatric diagnoses with modeling techniques from engineering, and the neurobiology of psychotherapy research.

Psychiatric Engineering Research Initiative
A unique collaboration where clinical psychiatrists, neuroscientists, computer science, and engineering faculty work together at different levels to create mathematical/ computational models of the psychiatric diagnosis at the behavioral, circuit, and cellular/neuronal level.

Interested trainees will have the opportunity to interact with graduate students in electrical engineering and faculty in neuroscience at leading universities, to think creatively and provide the psychiatric perspective on problems to be modeled, stated in terms that the trainee and the engineers would share and model. This research does not require a math or engineering background on the part of the trainee.

In addition, the trainees will get a first-hand experience in reading and reviewing scholarly articles, writing research papers and book chapters, and the process of collaborative grant writing.

Neurobiology of Psychotherapy Research
This intriguing project looks at how neural circuitry changes with psychotherapy. Literature reports and reviews are synthesized from a variety of source and applied to enrich our understanding of the how the core processes of psychotherapy are actively mapped onto the brains of patients. It involves a collaboration with psychiatrists, psychologists, residents and graduate students not only at the Univeristy of Missouri, but also with faculty all across the country. Interested residents will have the opportunity to sharpen their writing skills, potential for publication and the possibility for presentations at national conferences.

PTSD Research at the VA Hospital
The VA recently received a 3 year grant for a study on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how veterans are affected. The study will also explore new treatment options. Trainees will be an intimate part of a team that includes a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker and clinic manager, and will study the brain's response to traumatic experiences. Opportunities available include the possibility of publication, understanding and participating in the grant process and possible presentations at national conferences.