2018 Newsletter
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Student Driven Publication: 2018 Indianapolis 2018 Essie Asan, Mclean Hospital Jaisal Merchant, McLean Hospital Erin Bondy, Washington University Allison Moreau, Washington University Cheyanne Busso, Stonybrook Juhyun Park, SUNY Buffalo Riley Capizzi, University of Minnesota Kimberly Rowghani, Northwestern University Talia Cohen, McLean Hospital Cody Schulte, Veterans Affairs Hospital Alejandro Corona, Notre Dame Parnkika Telagi, University of Illinois Chicago Samantha Fradkin, Rutgers University Kate Valerio, Stonybrook Briana Galindo, Rush University Medical Center Shirley Wang, Harvard University Maria Leis, McGill University Madeline Wick, Florida State University Lilian Li, University of Illinois Chicago Alexander Williams, Northwestern University Newsletter Coordinators: Randy P. Auerbach, Kristin Gainey, and Vijay Mittal Raymond Knight Brandeis University Zubin Award Winner Cheyenne Busso, Stony Brook University Briana Galindo, Rush University Lilian Li, University of California, Irvine Kimberly Rowghani, Northwestern University r. Raymond Psychopathology and Knight, the 2018 the Association for D Zubin Award Treatment of Sexual winner, has dedicated Abusers. He has also most of his professional served for many years career to his pioneering on the executive research in the field of boards for the sexual aggression. He Massachusetts has also made major Association for the contributions to the Treatment of Sexual fields of schizophrenia Offenders and the and psychosis, psychopathy, and Society for the Scientific Study of bullying, with over 110 peer reviewed Psychopathy. In addition to his journal publications in these areas. Of professional achievements, Dr. Knight particular note, he developed the has been recognized with multiple Multidimensional Inventory of awards for his teaching and mentorship. Developmental, Aggression and Sex After receiving his bachelor's (MIDSA), a contingency-based, from Cathedral College of Immaculate computerized assessment tool that Conception, Dr. Knight pursued a Ph.D. measures domains relevant to the in clinical psychology from the identification and treatment of sexual University of Minnesota. He started his aggression. The MIDSA has been widely career with a trainingship at the adopted in the field and is used as both Veterans Association in Minnesota, with a research and a clinical assessment William Schofield as his early mentor. tool. Dr. Knight has been a highly He also was influenced by Paul Meehl, dedicated member of the whom Dr. Knight describes as one of his psychopathology research community, “great heros” who “profoundly affected serving in the past as the president of my thinking.” Norman Garmezy opened the Society for Research in his perspective to the vast possibilities of research in psychopathology, pasts, including in many cases the supervised his doctoral dissertation, and actual documents of their childhood set the course of his early research in history and imprisonment. Contrary to schizophrenia. At the University of his previous worry, Dr. Knight received Minnesota, Dr. Knight was also able to tenure at Brandeis, and soon after he develop his clinical skills from day one, was awarded an NIH grant to study when he had his first clinical interview sexual aggression, armed with the data with a schizophrenia patient. His clinical he had accessed at the Massachusetts experience there “set [him] on the Treatment Center. trajectory of studying schizophrenia.” Dr. Knight continued to combine research on schizophrenia and sexual aggression until a second transitional event. In 1999 Dr. Knight was considered for the position of Clinical Director at New York University. There, his job would be to “turn a psychoanalytical program into an experimental psychopathology program,” which would also entail focusing his research solely on schizophrenia, rather than from going For seven years in his early further into sexual aggression research. career, schizophrenia remained his sole Ultimately, after taking a backpacking focus, until he hit a turning point in trip to afford him some clarity, he made 1976, when he stumbled across the the decision to turn down the offer from opportunity to conduct research on NYU. Reasoning that while there were sexual aggression. In his first few years dozens of great researchers pushing the as a faculty member at Brandeis field of schizophrenia forward, he was University, Dr. Knight conducted both “standing alone as the sole person who cognitive and longitudinal research on was interested” in studying the core schizophrenia, but he soon realized that psychological mechanisms leading to his department didn’t view this work as the development of sexual aggression. particularly important. Keeping his Consequently, after turning down the options open, he was offered the NYU offer, he turned his attention position of research coordinator at the exclusively to research on sexual Massachusetts Treatment Center, and aggression. Looking back, Dr. Knight upon visiting the center, he found regards this as “a wise decision,” noting “incredibly rich files” on patients that that what he has accomplished in contained detailed histories of their studying sexual aggression is “more than what [he] could have contributed in objectively, and this way, they are able the field of schizophrenia.” to make great strides in moving the Later in his career, Dr. Knight had field forward. Dr. Knight expressed the opportunity to serve on the much gratitude for his students over the Governor's Sex Offender Recidivism years, whose empathy has created a Commission of Massachusetts. He “lab that’s always been very worked to reform the way the criminal supportive.” justice system treats juvenile sex When asked for advice in offenders, advocating for offenders to pursuing a research career, Dr. Knight be treated as patients in need of maintained that you’ve got to find what treatment rather than simply as you’re most passionate about and stick criminals and for evidence-based with it, despite what others may want treatment and dispositional decision- you to do. To that end, he gives his making for those convicted of sexual students the space to really explore and aggression. This experience proved to develop questions on their own, so that be frustrating, as the Commission they might find the research that speaks ultimately did not decide to change the to them. He praises SRP as a system in ways that were supported by community that allows you to “branch research. Although disappointing, this out and see what’s going on in multiple experience was enlightening in different fields.” He advises students to revealing just how much work is left to be observant of which way the field is be done, even after the research has going (for example, towards an RDoC been completed. framework of understanding mental Dr. Knight is currently a professor disorders). He predicted that in the emeritus at Brandeis University, where near future, there will be some “major he continues to refine the MIDSA and to transdiagnostic findings that will not mentor many students. When asked only [help us] understand the about the difficult nature of his research, mechanisms [of psychological disorders] Dr. Knight notes that it is definitely not but also [their] treatment.” With this in for everyone, and that some students mind, he recommended that students, struggle with the often horrific content of sexual aggressions research. Though “Pick an RDoC area, but also be some degree of desensitization is open to everything that’s going needed, Dr. Knight said that the on,” and maintained that “SRP research still “affects you in all sorts of is really the organization to other ways.” Despite this, being able to talk about these difficult topics together have you do that...and to get in a team helps researchers and those kind of dialogues.” students to quantify the data and view it As an emeritus professor, Dr. Knight continues to positively impact the psychopathology research community by running his lab, writing new grants, and bringing in new students at Brandeis. His desire to engage with students and his dedication to advocating for them and their ideas is something that distinguishes Dr. Knight from his peers. He ended our talk by saying, “I can’t conceive when I will stop doing that, because it’s like going to see my family...we’re working on something together, but really, we’re friends, and the people who are in my lab are friends for life.” Anthony J. Rosellini, Ph.D. Boston University Alejandro Corona, University of Notre Dame Allison Moreau, Washington University in St. Louis Cody Schulte, Minneapolis VA Medical Center Parnika Telagi, University of Illinois Chicago r. Rosellini is an comforting to hear that up-and-coming Dr. Rosellini did not leader in the decide on his major Dfields of psychiatric until the last week of assessment, his sophomore year. classification, and After deciding to predictive modeling. We pursue psychology, he had the opportunity to began working as an talk with him about how undergraduate he has been able to be research assistant to successful early in his become more familiar career and his advice for with the research students starting out in the field. Dr. process, which solidified his focus on a Rosellini received his Ph.D. in clinical career as a psychopathology researcher. psychology from Boston University (BU), Upon graduating from college, Dr. after completing his pre-doctoral Rosellini worked for a year in the lab of internship training at the University of Dr. Tim Brown