Translational And Clinical Epidemiology (TrACE)
The Translational And Clinical Epidemiology (TrACE) group uses epidemiological, clinical, and biological methods to study mental health disorders in various populations. As part of this research, they design better clinical assessments, including both biological tests and psychological measures. They apply new insights emerging from this work to development of new psychosocial treatments.
PIGMENT is a new research study at Stony Brook University. The goal of our study is to learn more about adolescent brain development and mental health. We aim to enroll up to 300 adolescents and their parent or legal guardian over the next couple years. Join us in this exciting research and contribute to the advancement of adolescent psychology. Contact us now to learn more and participate!
The Daily Diary Study of Well-Being (PTSD-STOP): We are currently working on a project called PTSD-STOP, otherwise known as the Daily Diary Study of Well-Being, which measures fluctuations in mood and daily stressors of 9/11 responders, as well as other individuals who have experienced a significantly stressful event. To do this, we utilize a face mapping software which identifies facial expressions and estimates what mood is being displayed. With this data, we can track mood levels over time, develop different tools that can help clinicians predict these fluctuations based on a video recording, and identify behavioral markers of mental health symptoms.
The Suffolk County Mental Health Project: The Suffolk County Mental Health Project (SCMHP) is a longitudinal study that began in 1989 of people who were admitted for their first hospitalization for psychosis. At this baseline wave, 628 participants were enrolled. More than half were diagnosed with schizophrenia and 35% with depression or bipolar disorder, with the remainder having a mix of other psychotic disorders. The project was the first of its kind in the U.S. to involve all 12 existing inpatient programs in this county-wide endeavor. At the 20-year follow up, a neighborhood comparison group was introduced. Throughout the years, there have been many follow-ups, and the study is currently conducting its 35-year follow-up.
The Negative Valence Systems (NVS) Lab: The primary focus of this lab is to develop an empirically vetted continuum of psychopathology classification that relies more on the degree of symptomatology under a broad array of diagnoses in the form of the HiTOP (Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology). The HiTOP system identifies comorbid symptoms under one general construct to better understand how to appropriately categorize them and avoid overlapping diagnoses further promoting effective treatment methods and clinical research. An extensive interview (or iHiTOP) is used to assess several constructs and sub-constructs that exist in multiple classical diagnostic methods such as the DSM-5 or ICD-11.
Jonas Lab: The Jonas Lab studies the genetic basis of psychopathology, and psychosis specifically. The Lab investigates how different symptoms may have shared or unique genetic risks. The lab also studies how those genetic risk factors manifest over the life course.