G
Arpana Gupta, PhD
Co-Director, Neuroimaging and Bioinformatics Core, G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience; Assistant Professor, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Arpana Gupta is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Neuroimaging Core at the UCLA G. Oppenheimer Center of Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience (CNSR); where she specializes in research that investigates the interactions between environmental and biological factors in shaping neurobiological phenotypes associated with stress-based diseases such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. Her current program of research, broadly defined, is based on developing a model that aims to understand the bidirectional interaction of the brain with those in the periphery (immune cells, gut microbiota-related metabolites), and the modification of these interactions by vulnerability or protective factors (adverse life events, sex, race, socioeconomic status [SES], resilience, diet) related to obesity and ingestive behaviors.…More
K
Lisa Kilpatrick, PhD
Assistant Researcher, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress
Lisa Kilpatrick’s research has focused on brain signatures related to brain-body dysregulation in stress-sensitive disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, she has a long-standing interest in the influence of sex on these signatures, and she regularly attends and contributes to the annual meeting of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences. The exploration of sex differences in the mechanisms of treatment response is an important step towards optimizing cost-effective treatments for both men and women.…More
M
Emeran A. Mayer, MD
Director, UCLA G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience; Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Emeran Mayer is the director of the G Oppenheimer Center for the Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience (CNSR) at UCLA and co-director of the P30 funded CURE Digestive Diseases Research Center at UCLA. The CNSR is a NIH-funded, interdisciplinary and translational research center focused on brain gut microbiome interactions in 4 areas: Functional GI Disorders, Inflammatory Bowel Disorders, Ingestive Behavior/Eating Disorders, Chronic Visceral Pain Disorders.…More
P
Joseph Pisegna, MD
Professor, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
Dr. Joseph Pisegna is Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Dr. Pisegna is interested in the molecular pharmacology of hormones and receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, especially the diagnosis and management of islet cell tumors of the pancreas, including the Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome.…More
S
Jean Stains, RN
Nurse Coordinator, G Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Jean has been with OCNSR for 20 years and has extensive experience in research, as well as many other areas of nursing. She has managed numerous human physiology studies for the Center. Her current focus is in brain imaging, looking for biomarkers in chronic pain syndromes such as IBS, extensive phenotyping of persons with chronic pain syndromes and studying the effects of behavioral therapies, such as MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction training) to improve quality of life in these individuals.More