Lucinda M. Sisk, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Researcher | University of Pennsylvania

Hi!

I am a developmental neuroscientist studying how the childhood environment, and adverse experiences in particular, shape brain development and mental health. I’m particularly interested in how the state of the developing brain (i.e., age of exposure) affects youths’ susceptibility to and resilience against adversity exposure, and the role of experience-dependent plasticity in sculpting individual differences over time. My program of research spans computational, developmental, and neuroimaging fields, seeking to unite advances in theoretical models of adversity with quantitative rigor. My research is conducted with the long-term aim of enhancing mechanistic understanding of the effects of adversity that may one day be leveraged to improve treatment and intervention options for youth exposed to adversity.

I am a postdoctoral researcher working with Dr. Ted Satterthwaite in the Lifespan, Informatics, and Neuroimaging Center at the University of Pennsylvania. I completed my Ph.D. at Yale University under the mentorship of Dr. Dylan Gee in the Clinical Affective Neuroscience & Development Lab. Before coming to Yale, I worked with Dr. Ian Gotlib in the Stanford Neurodevelopment, Affect, & Psychopathology Laboratory as a research coordinator and lab manager. Prior to that, I received my B.A. in Biology from Whitman College.