Team

Dr. Zald, received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota (1997). After completing an internship in clinical neuropsychology and post-doctoral fellowship in neuroimaging, he joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University.  At Vanderbilt, he directed the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program for Undergraduates and served as an associate director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. He was recruited to Rutgers to start a new neuroimaging facility on the Busch campus.

Dr. Zald uses functional neuroimaging and neuropsychological techniques to examine and map the cognitive, affective and sensory functions of the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and the mesolimbic dopamine system. This work particularly focuses on understanding the manner in which individual differences in the functioning of these systems contributes to personality and risk for psychopathology. In recent years this work has examined the interaction of emotion and attention, the neural substrates of economic decision making, and the behavioral correlates of individual differences in dopamine. This work includes studies of impulsivity, motivation, the willingness to expend effort for rewards, and changes in dopamine with aging. A major thread of his recent work examines the neural substrates of dimensions of psychopathology, specifically factors of psychopathology that cross the boundaries of different psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Purcell received a PhD in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience from Indiana University in 2022 following completion of clinical internship at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. His research characterizes the imbalance between cognitive processes underlying the perception of risk/uncertainty and positive valence systems subserving reward-seeking in psychosis-spectrum and affective disorders. His work has characterized this deficit across behavioral risk-taking tasks and identified aberrations in associated networks of brain regions (e.g., nucleus accumbens, insula, anterior cingulate cortex) using functional imaging in clinical and non-clinical samples.

Within CANL, his research examines the neural circuits subserving reward anticipation and pre-emptive loss-aversion (i.e., insurance) within non-clinical samples. He is also investigating the attentional processes undergirding information gathering prior to decision-making, and the effectiveness of cognitive strategies to ameliorate disadvantageous decision-making and upregulate adaptive reward-related brain activation in psychosis. Dr. Purcell additionally provides psychological assessments for those with 3q29 microdeletion syndrome, and their families, through the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.

Sara is the current lab manager for the CANL. She works on the ongoing General Factor of Psychopathology in Psychosis and Severe Mental Illness and Dimensional Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 studies. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from Vanderbilt University in 2021.

Pariya is the current project coordinator for the Schizophrenia and Risk Decision Making study. She received a B.A. in Psychological Science and a minor in Art from Colgate University in 2024.

Shakur is a research teaching specialist with a focus on the Temptation Resistance: Transdiagnostic Features and Etiological Influences study. He graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Women & Gender Studies from the University of Virginia in 2024.

Hi, my name is Jessica Ellice Chidambaranathan. I am an undergraduate student majoring in Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers University. I am part of the 3Q29 gene project, which focuses on the deletion of genes in the 3Q29 region on chromosome 3, which can cause many neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. In my free time, I love to volunteer at the NICU, play the piano, and bake. 

 

Hi, I’m Tisha Jasani, an undergraduate majoring in Biological sciences at Rutgers University. I’m on the pre-med track and hope to pursue psychiatry in the future. I am currently working on the 3q29 study and aspire to continue contributing to ongoing research. Some of my hobbies include working out, getting coffee, and playing pickleball.

I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in Biological Sciences with a minor in Cognitive Science. I am on the Pre-Dental track and hope to pursue more research relating to the brain and its different cognitive possibilities. I am mainly working on the editing of MRI scans using FreeView to help identify Brain Mask in images more clearly.

Diya Patel graduated in August 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and double minors in Biology and Public Health from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. She is a member of Psi Chi Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. During her senior year at Rutgers, Diya served as the Co-President of the Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program Club. She has gained valuable experience in the fields of medicine, psychology, and public health through roles such as Mental Health Intern, Autism Field Worker, and Charity Support Intern. To understand healthcare practices across different cultures, Diya completed three study-abroad programs in Thailand, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom throughout her undergraduate career. She is deeply committed to raising awareness about mental health issues and supporting those who are struggling with them.

Sam is a first-year medical student at RWJMS. He graduated from University of Maryland in 2023 with a B.S. in bioengineering and has been involved in fMRI-based research on reading and aging for over 4 years. Sam is interested in psychiatry and using fMRI to help further our understanding of how psychiatric disorders affect the brain. 

Hey there! I’m Krushti, an undergraduate majoring in Psychology and Cognitive Science at Rutgers University. I’m passionate about clinical psychology and hope to contribute to healthcare through medical research. In my free time, I like to practice bird and astrophotography, play the guitar, and explore cafes/restaurants.

 

Hi, my name is Victoria Ababio, and I am majoring in Cognitive Science with a concentration in Neuroscience at Rutgers University. I am passionate about advancing research and medicine and hope to continue expanding my expertise in these fields to make meaningful contributions to healthcare and science.

I am a Junior majoring in Cognitive Science on the Neuroscience track and a Biological Sciences minor. I am on the pre-medical track and hope to pursue further in a healthcare neuroscience-related field. I am currently working on the UBO detector project in the lab. 

Hi, my name is Yesenia Rijo-Morales, and I am a recent graduate of Columbia University’s Master’s in Clinical Psychology. I am joining James Madison’s Clinical and School Psychology Psy.D program in the fall of 2025! I am currently working on research focused on brain activity during decision-making in individuals with and without a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. In my freetime, I love to read, crochet, and work-out!

I am a current undergraduate student at Rutgers University pursuing a double major in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology with a minor in health and society. I mainly contribute to the central putamen research project and the multi source interference task (MSIT) project. I am also on the swim team at Rutgers University! In my free time I love to get coffee with friends or watch a new docuseries!