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Irina Esterlis, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry
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Additional Titles

Director, Molecular Imaging Program, NCPTSD, VA

Director, Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Sciences Division

Contact Info

Yale University

40 Temple St, Suite 7C

New Haven, Connecticut 06510

United States

About

Titles

Professor of Psychiatry

Director, Molecular Imaging Program, NCPTSD, VA; Director, Mood, Anxiety, and Cognitive Sciences Division

Biography

Irina Esterlis is a clinical neuropsychologist and neuroreceptor imager with extensive training in the application of SPECT and PET to the study of mood, trauma, suicide, and comorbid disorders. Dr. Esterlis has developed two novel paradigms to interrogate both the acetylcholine and glutamatergic systems in vivo in human. Her lab was also the first to show ketamine-induced changes in human volunteers in vivo. She has received awards from Society of Nuclear Medicine, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Society for Biological Psychiatry, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Esterlis' current work includes the study of the metabotropic glutamatergic receptor involvement in bipolar depression and suicide, and synaptic alterations associated with depression, aging, and suicidality. The lab has expanded to add in vivo preclinical work to elucidate human findings.

Appointments

Education & Training

PhD
University of Connecticut (2005)
MA
University of Connecticut (2003)
BA
SUNY Buffalo (1999)

Research

Overview

Examination of the beta2-nAChR system in bipolar depression and relevance to the persistent tobacco smoking.

Imaging glutamatergic system in depression via PET and MRS to determine role of glutamate and mGluR5 in depression and associated cognitive difficulties.

Imaging ACh changes in the brain in living humans.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Chemicals and Drugs; Molecular Imaging; Mood Disorders; Psychiatry; Radiology; Tobacco

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Irina Esterlis's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Get In Touch

Contacts

Mailing Address

Yale University

40 Temple St, Suite 7C

New Haven, Connecticut 06510

United States