Rita Goldstein

PROFESSOR | Psychiatry, PROFESSOR | Neuroscience

Dr. Goldstein is a Professor of Psychiatry with a secondary appointment in the Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine in NY. Dr. Goldstein is chief of the Brain Imaging Core (BIC) at ISMMS; she also directs the NARC (Neuropsychoimaging of Addiction and Related Conditions) research group that uses multimodality functional neuroimaging methods to explore the neurobiological basis of impaired cognitive and emotional functioning in human drug addiction and other disorders of self-control. An important application of this research is to facilitate the development of intervention modalities that would improve treatment outcome in drug addiction and other chronically relapsing disorders of self-regulation. Nationally and internationally known for her neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies in drug addiction, Dr. Goldstein formulated a theoretical model known as Impaired Response Inhibition and Salience Attribution (iRISA). The model uses multiple neuroimaging modalities—including MRI, EEG/ERP, PET and neuropsychological tests—to explore the neurobiological underpinnings of iRISA in drug addiction and related conditions. Her work has contributed to the development of relevant machine-learning algorithms for innovative analyses applied to this multidimensional data set. Dr. Goldstein’s interests also include pharmacological fMRI, including administering oral methylphenidate to cocaine addicted individuals to improve self-control, neurofeedback such as Brain Computer Interface, and brain stimulation with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. She has also been exploring the contribution of individual differences, including polymorphisms in monoaminergic genes, to addiction and aggression, with a focus on the neural mechanisms underlying reinforcement learning and extinction, choice and decision-making, and self-awareness and insight into severity of illness. Dr. Goldstein received her B.A. degree (double major in Psychology and French), cum laude, from Tel Aviv University, Israel, in 1992. She received her Ph.D. degree in Health Clinical Psychology, with award of academic merit, from the University of Miami, FL, in 1999, after completing a yearlong internship in clinical neuropsychology at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, NY. She then completed her post-doctorate training on a fellowship on Brain Imaging and Alcohol Abuse from the National Institutes of Health, under the mentorship of Nora D. Volkow (director of NIDA). Dr. Goldstein received her license in clinical psychology in 2002. Dr. Goldstein became Assistant Scientist at the medical research department at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2002, advancing to the Associate position in 2004, and to a Scientist position in 2006; tenure was awarded in 2008. Dr. Goldstein moved to the Icahn School of Medicine in January 2013. Dr. Goldstein is also an affiliate in the departments of psychology and biomedical engineering at State University of New York at Stony Brook. She has authored or co-authored numerous well-cited peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters, focusing on the role of the prefrontal cortex in addiction. She became member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) in January 2010, receiving the prestigious Joel Elkes Research Award in 2012 and the Jacob P. Waletzky Award in 2013. Goldstein’s research has been independently funded by several federal and private agencies (including NIDA, NIMH, and National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression). Multi-Disciplinary Training Areas Clinical Research Education Program [CLR], Neuroscience [NEU], Public Health [PH] Education BA, Tel Aviv University Internship, Long Island Jewish Medical Center PhD, University of Miami Post-doc fellow, Brookhaven National Laboratory