Adviser(s):
Deanna Barch, Aris Sotiras
Program track:
Psychological & Brain Sciences
Bio:
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Colorado Denver and worked as a neuroimaging analyst for the next three years. In my role as an analyst, I managed to publish manuscripts while building my skills in programming, neuroimaging and statistics. I plan to continue building these skills throughout my PhD journey in this program. I am thankful to have participated in multiple diversity programs (MARC, PennPREP, Leadership Alliance) that have helped me to get to this point in my career.
https://sites.google.com/view/robertjirsaraie
Research interests and current project:
My research interest includes mapping developmental trajectories of psychopathology to better understand biomarkers and predict risk. My first doctoral project aims to determine how generalizable existing brain age models are to capturing within-subject changes in brain development and mental health. Towards this end, I am actively building my skills in machine learning, longitudinal analysis, and multimodal brain imaging.
Why did you decide to pursue your PhD at WashU?
Washington University in St. Louis was my top choice because there are many opportunities to be a part of its diverse and collaborative research environment. This was one of the only data science program that has designated tracks for students with social science backgrounds. Personally, I joined this program to continue working with my amazing research advisors and to have access to many of the largest longitudinal neuroimaging studies.