Deanna Barch
Gregory B Couch Professor of Psychiatry
- Phone: 314-935-8729
- Email: dbarch@nospam.wustl.edu
Additional Titles & Roles
- Vice Dean of Research
- Professor of Radiology
- Co-Director of the Cognitive Control and Psychopathology Laboratory
- Director of Conte Center for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders
Research Interests
Dr. Barch’s current research is focused on understanding the interplay among cognition, emotion, and brain function to better understand the deficits in behavior and cognition found in illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. In particular, Dr. Barch is interested in determining the cognitive, emotional and neural bases of risk for the development of schizophrenia and depression, potentially as a means of developing better preventative approaches. She uses functional MRI, structural MRI, and cognitive neuroscience methods to examine neural basis of disturbances in cognitive control and emotional processing in individuals with schizophrenia and those at risk for the development of schizophrenia, as well as in individuals with mood disorders. Further, her work includes a focus on the ways in which early adversity (e.g., poverty, stress, and disparities in access to health care) shape early brain development and subsequent risk for mental health challenges.