Dr. Julia Cohen-Gilbert employs cognitive and behavioral measures in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the role of brain development in cognitive and emotional regulation during adolescence. She is particularly interested in dynamic prefrontal-limbic interactions that contribute to impulsive or risky behavior in this age group.

Dr. Cohen-Gilbert is currently conducting a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)-funded study examining neural and cognitive factors predicting adverse outcomes in college drinkers. She is also collaborating with McLean’s Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment (ART) Program to study cognitive-emotional regulation and early treatment outcomes in dually diagnosed adolescents and is working with Dr. Marisa Silveri on a longitudinal study of adolescent alcohol use.