Chrystal Vergara-Lopez, PhD

Jul 26

Dr. Vergara-Lopez is a research scientist at the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital and an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her program of research investigates neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to psychopathology and substance use. She examines the role of various determinants such as cognition (e.g., cognitive control, cognitive biases, repetitive negative thinking), stress (e.g., subjective and physiological), trauma (e.g., childhood adversity) and other contextual factors (e.g. prenatal environments, parental influences), and sex/gender differences (e.g. sex hormones, menstrual cycle). Dr. Vergara-Lopez aims to identify markers of risk and resilience for mental health problems (including addiction) to help deter the drastic increase in rates of psychopathology and substance involvement observed during key developmental life phases (e.g., adolescence, young adulthood). Dr. Vergara-Lopez has received funding from the Brain and Behavior Foundation, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Dr. Vergara-Lopez’s research is informed by her clinical work as a licensed staff psychologist at the Women’s Medicine Collaborative providing evidence-based psychological treatment. She specializes in the mental health treatment of women, adolescent/young adults, and the Latina/x/e/o community. Additionally, she serves as a supervisor for the Brown Clinical Psychology Internship and Post-Doctoral Program.

Brown Health Profile | Brown Faculty Profile | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Twitter