Clinical Evaluation Center

Research Center

Lab Members

The Clinical Evaluation Center (CEC) is a core institutional resource which supports a wide range of scientific research and is available to all NKI scientists. The CEC is committed to advancing treatment and understanding of brain-based disorders including clinical trials and studies of neurobiology in schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, tic disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorders.

In parallel, the CEC team has advanced understanding of typical development through over a decade of efforts in a large community-collaborative initiative, the NKI-Rockland Sample. Data from over 1,500 NKI-Rockland Sample research participants are accessed by hundreds of scientific investigators, teams, and labs around the world.

Our research program often collaborates with investigators for implementation and advisement of clinical research studies. Team proficiencies include refined symptom characterization and diagnostic assessment, medical evaluation and monitoring, and consultation on study pragmatics.

Our team includes psychiatrists, psychologists, scientists, clinical evaluators, and data scientists. Staff have demonstrated proficiency in research diagnostic assessment.

Staff maintain certification in administration of all protocol assessments including KSADS, SCID, MINI and ADOS. Staff are proficient in medical nursing procedures including medical monitoring, phlebotomy, and electrocardiography.

Medical staff are certified in Basic Life Support and Advance Cardiac Life Support.

Our space includes seven clinical interview rooms, a medical examination suite, group waiting area with television and WiFi, eating area, private bathrooms, temperature monitored medication storage, cardiovascular fitness testing suite, standard refrigerated storage, and -80 degree Celsius freezer.

To facilitate rapid study startup and participant enrollment, the CEC maintains strong effort in clinically- targeted participant recruitment through the Volunteer Recruitment Pool (VRP), with a current active census of over 2,500 participants. The VRP is a core, shared institutional resource, available to all NKI investigators with an IRB approved protocol. Investigators can submit their protocol through the MyNKI website to the VRP staff and obtain participants that pre-match their basic study inclusion/exclusion criteria. The VRP maximizes research efficiency through consolidation of recruitment efforts between lab groups, provides a single point of reference for individuals engaged in research participation, and expands research opportunities for those who are interested in participating.

Selected Publications

  • Tobe RH, Tu L, Roberts M, Kiar G, Breland MM, Tian Y, Kang M, Ross R, Ryan MM, Valenza M, Alexander L, Franco AR, Milham MP. Rates and Significance of Incidental Findings and Motion Artifact in Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Across the Lifespan. JAMA Network Open (in press).
  • Tobe RH, Tu L, Keefe JR, Breland MM, Ely BA, Sital M, Richard JT, Tural U, Iosifescu DV, Gabbay V. Personality characteristics, not clinical symptoms, are associated with anhedonia in a community sample: A preliminary investigation. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Dec;168:221-229. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.10.044. Epub 2023 Oct 27. PMID: 37922596.
  • Tobe RH, MacKay-Brandt A, Lim R, Kramer M, Breland MM, Tu L, Tian Y, Trautman KD, Hu C, Sangoi R, Alexander L, Gabbay V, Castellanos FX, Leventhal BL, Craddock RC, Colcombe SJ, Franco AR, Milham MP. A longitudinal resource for studying connectome development and its psychiatric associations during childhood. Sci Data. 2022 Jun 14;9(1):300. doi: 10.1038/s41597-022-01329-y. PMID: 35701428; PMCID: PMC9197863.
  • Lempert KM, Lackovic SF, Tobe RH, Glimcher PW, Phelps EA. Propranolol reduces reference-dependence in intertemporal choice. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017 Sep 1;12(9):1394-1401. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsx081. PMID: 28992268; PMCID: PMC5737445.
  • McDonald AR, Muraskin J, Dam NTV, Froehlich C, Puccio B, Pellman J, Bauer CCC, Akeyson A, Breland MM, Calhoun VD, Carter S, Chang TP, Gessner C, Gianonne A, Giavasis S, Glass J, Homann S, King M, Kramer M, Landis D, Lieval A, Lisinski J, Mackay-Brandt A, Miller B, Panek L, Reed H, Santiago C, Schoell E, Sinnig R, Sital M, Taverna E, Tobe R, Trautman K, Varghese B, Walden L, Wang R, Waters AB, Wood DC, Castellanos FX, Leventhal B, Colcombe SJ, LaConte S, Milham MP, Craddock RC. The real-time fMRI neurofeedback based stratification of Default Network Regulation Neuroimaging data repository. Neuroimage. 2017 Feb 1;146:157-170. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.10.048. Epub 2016 Nov 9. PMID: 27836708; PMCID: PMC5322045.
  • Smith RC, Boules S, Mattiuz S, Youssef M, Tobe RH, Sershen H, Lajtha A, Nolan K, Amiaz R, Davis JM. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on cognition, symptoms, and smoking in schizophrenia: A randomized controlled study. Schizophr Res. 2015 Oct;168(1-2):260-6. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.06.011. Epub 2015 Jul 17. PMID: 26190299.
  • Sokol-Hessner P, Lackovic SF, Tobe RH, Camerer CF, Leventhal BL, Phelps EA. Determinants of Propranolol’s Selective Effect on Loss Aversion. Psychol Sci. 2015 Jul;26(7):1123-30. doi: 10.1177/0956797615582026. Epub 2015 Jun 10. PMID: 26063441; PMCID: PMC4504802.
  • Nooner KB, Colcombe SJ, Tobe RH, Mennes M, Benedict MM, Moreno AL, Panek LJ, Brown S, Zavitz ST, Li Q, Sikka S, Gutman D, Bangaru S, Schlachter RT, Kamiel SM, Anwar AR, Hinz CM, Kaplan MS, Rachlin AB, Adelsberg S, Cheung B, Khanuja R, Yan C, Craddock CC, Calhoun V, Courtney W, King M, Wood D, Cox CL, Kelly AM, Di Martino A, Petkova E, Reiss PT, Duan N, Thomsen D, Biswal B, Coffey B, Hoptman MJ, Javitt DC, Pomara N, Sidtis JJ, Koplewicz HS, Castellanos FX, Leventhal BL, Milham MP. The NKI-Rockland Sample: A Model for Accelerating the Pace of Discovery Science in Psychiatry. Front Neurosci. 2012 Oct 16;6:152. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00152. PMID: 23087608; PMCID: PMC3472598.
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