Alicia Y Che

Dr. Alicia Y Che is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University's School of Medicine, affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry and the Center for Brain & Mind Health. She joined Yale in 2021 after postdoctoral training at Weill Cornell Medical College and NYU. Her research focuses on neural circuits underlying social behavior and psychiatric disorders like PTSD. She holds a PhD in Physiology and Neurobiology from the University of Connecticut (2014) and a BS in Biology, Physics, and Physical Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University (2009).

Her key research projects explore oxytocin's role in social touch development and circuit dysfunction in PTSD. She investigates how sensory experiences shape cortical circuits using advanced techniques like in vivo calcium imaging and genetic manipulation. Dr. Che leads the Che Lab, which integrates molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches to study neural circuitry.

• Awards: NARSAD Young Investigator Award (2020), K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2019).
• Labs/Teams: Director of Graduate Admissions for the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, member of the Janeway Society and Wu Tsai Institute.

Her work bridges developmental neurobiology and translational psychiatry, emphasizing circuit-level mechanisms in mental health disorders.