About Us

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.

Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of cause of disease,disability and death in the US. It also causes a huge socioeconomic burden. Tobacco contains the addictive drug nicotine. We aim to further understand the effects of smoking on the brain using PET imaging. We are also interested in the effects of e-cigarettes on the brain, which are largely unknown. Our goal is to improve our understanding of tobacco smoking addiction so that more effective treatment and preventative strategies can be developed.

Dr. Davis is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry with secondary appointment in the Department of Psychology. Her research interests center on understanding and addressing the relationship between trauma-related psychopathology and suicide risk on both behavioral and neurobiological levels. With both federal (NIMH K08, R21, R01) and private (AFSP, Patterson Foundation) support Dr. Davis utilizes molecular and functional imaging techniques to evaluate novel potential treatment targets for suicide behavior (e.g. kappa opioid receptor, mGlu5) in trauma survivors. Further, in collaboration with organizations including the National Education Alliance for BPD and Emotions Matter, Dr. Davis works to reduce stigma and promote advocacy for survivors of trauma and suicide.

Dr. Zakiniaeiz’s work broadly focuses on investigating the neural and molecular circuitry underlying several types of addictions and at-risk populations, such as alcohol use disorder, tobacco smoking, prenatally cocaine-exposed adolescents, and gambling disorder, using two neuroimaging techniques – functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Her work also emphasizes the importance of sex as a biological variable in the study of addiction.