Deanna Barch

Deanna Barch is the Vice Dean of Research and Professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. She also holds professorial appointments in Radiology and Psychiatry, reflecting her interdisciplinary research in cognitive and clinical neuroscience. Her work bridges psychological science, neuroimaging, and psychiatric disorders.

Her research focuses on the cognitive, emotional, and neural mechanisms underlying schizophrenia and depression. She investigates how early adversity, such as poverty and stress, impacts brain development and increases risk for mental health disorders. Using fMRI and cognitive neuroscience methods, she explores disturbances in cognitive control and emotional processing in both clinical and at-risk populations.

The recent publications highlight a strong focus on developmental psychopathology, transdiagnostic approaches, and neuroimaging. Key themes include early childhood depression, emotion regulation, brain connectivity, and the neural basis of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Her work often integrates behavioral, pharmacological, and neuroimaging data across diverse populations.

Dr. Barch has received significant recognition in her field, though specific awards are not listed in the provided text.

She mentors students through advanced coursework such as the Cognitive, Computational, and Systems Neuroscience Project Building, where students develop NIH-style grant proposals. Her lab conducts interdisciplinary research, integrating expertise from psychology, psychiatry, and radiology to advance understanding of mental illness. She is actively involved in training the next generation of researchers in rigorous, transdiagnostic science.

Her lab focuses on integrating cognitive neuroscience with clinical populations, particularly in understanding risk and resilience in psychiatric disorders. The team employs multimodal approaches including functional and structural MRI, behavioral assessments, and ecological momentary assessment techniques.