Clare Shaffer
Tagline:PhD Candidate at Northeastern University
Boston, MA, USA
About Me
I am graduate student researcher and Ph.D. student in the Center for Cognition and Brain Health & the Interdisciplinary Affective Sciences Lab at Northeastern University. I currently hold a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Biology and Neuroscience from Elon University. I am incredibly passionate about my research and current work, which involves identifying system-wide metabolic phenotypes of mood disorders and psychosis, and their implications for affect and behavior.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
from: 2020, until: presentField of study:NeurobiologySchool:Northeastern University College of Science
DescriptionSkills: Statistics · Neuroimaging · Signal Processing· Precision Medicine
Master's degree
from: 2020, until: 2022Field of study:Cognitive ScienceSchool:Northeastern University College of Science
DescriptionSkills: Data Science
Bachelor's degree
from: 2014, until: 2018Field of study:PsychologySchool:Elon University
DescriptionSkills: Data Science
Research Interests
- Metabolic Psychiatry
- Health Informatics
- Neuroimaging
- Precision Psychiatry
- Drug Development
Publications
The theory of constructed emotion: More than a feeling
Journal ArticlePublisher:Perspectives on Psychological ScienceDate:2025Authors:Lisa Feldman BarrettShir AtzilEliza Bliss-MoreauLorena ChanesMaria GendronKatie HoemannYuta KatsumiIan R KlecknerKristen A LindquistKaren S QuigleyothersSemantic Clustering during Verbal Episodic Memory Encoding and Retrieval in Older Adults: One Cognitive Mechanism of Superaging
Journal ArticlePublisher:Brain SciencesDate:2024Authors:Clare ShafferJoseph M AndreanoAlexandra TouroutoglouLisa Feldman BarrettBradford C DickersonBonnie WongSignal processing in the vagus nerve: Hypotheses based on new genetic and anatomical evidence
Journal ArticlePublisher:Biological psychologyDate:2023Authors:Clare ShafferLisa Feldman BarrettKaren S QuigleyA functional account of stimulation-based aerobic glycolysis and its role in interpreting BOLD signal intensity increases in neuroimaging experiments
Journal ArticlePublisher:Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsDate:2023Authors:Jordan E TheriaultClare ShafferGerald A DienelChristin Y SanderJacob M HookerBradford C DickersonLisa Feldman BarrettKaren S QuigleyAllostasis, action, and affect in depression: insights from the theory of constructed emotion
Journal ArticlePublisher:Annual review of clinical psychologyDate:2022Authors:Clare ShafferChristiana WestlinKaren S QuigleySusan Whitfield-GabrieliLisa Feldman Barrett
Work Experiences
Atai Life Sciences Fellow
from: 2022, until: 2025Organization:Atai Life SciencesLocation:New York, NY
Description:Awardee of the Atai Life Sciences/Massachusetts General Hospital Fellowship, providing full funding for PhD salary for three years. As a part of this fellowhship, I collaborated with both Atai Life Sciences and researchers at MGH to perform neuroimaging analysis for a clinical trial involving esketamine infusion in patients with Treatment Resistant Depression.
Consulting Neuroimaging Analyst
from: 2021, until: 2021Organization:Sunovion Pharmaceuticals (now Sumitomo Pharma America)Location:Boston, MA
Description:Performed fMRI imaging analysis for Sunovion Pharmaceutical’s clinical trial of an atypical antipsychotic in 80 patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder.
Graduate Student Researcher
from: 2020, until: presentOrganization:Center for Cognition and Brain HealthLocation:Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Research Technician
from: 2018, until: 2020Organization:Interdisciplinary Affective Sciences LabLocation:Northeastern University
Research Assistant
from: 2016, until: 2018Organization:Elon University
Description:Head research assistant in charge of creating, designing, and implementing an experimental research design pertaining to a number of topics, including brain plasticity, social phobias, risk factors for mental illness, and attentional bias. Oversaw the IRB submission, recruitment of participants, and the running of experimental protocol, with analysis and manuscripts to be commenced after completion of the study.
Mental Health Court Intern
from: 2016, until: 2016Organization:Mental Health Court of BaltimoreLocation:Baltimore, Maryland
Description:Sat in on morning meetings with consultations from psychiatrists, lawyers, judges and clinical social workers, helped organize paperwork and intake evaluations, sat in on open court cases.
Skills
- Statistics
- Neuroimaging
- Data Science
- Data Analysis
- E-Prime
- JavaScript
- Experimental Design
- Matlab
- EEG
- Computational Neuroscience
- Qualtrics
- SPSS
- R (Programming)
- Python
- Statistical Modeling
- Data Collection
- Analytical Skills
- Laboratory Skills
- Clinical Trials
- fMRI
- Machine Learning