Seminar „Cognitive and Personality Risk Factors in Addictions – From Biological Markers to New Targets for Prevention and Intervention“
Hall 217, Building 1
Organisator:
Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology
Lecturer:
Professor Jasmin Vassileva, Ph.D.
Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, USA
Fulbright Scholar at the Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, New Bulgarian University
Moderator:
Prof. Elena Psederska, Ph.D.
Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology, New Bulgarian University
Participants:
Faculty, students, and alumni of the Department of Cognitive Science and Psychology
Prof. Jasmin Vassileva will deliver a lecture titled “Cognitive and Personality Risk Factors in Addictions – From Biological Markers to New Targets for Prevention and Intervention.” She will present data from her research in Bulgaria, which serve as a foundation for developing new neuroscience-based programs for the prevention of and intervention in addictions.
Professor Jasmin Vassileva is a tenured professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond, USA. She earned her degree in psychology in 1995 from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, after which she specialized in neuropsychology and obtained her doctoral degree from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago, IL.
Her research program focuses on risk factors for addiction and the consequences of chronic substance use. A central theme of her work is the heterogeneity of addictions, where she examines similarities and differences among various types of substance use disorders based on the specific substance involved (opiates, stimulants, alcohol, cannabis), patterns of use (mono-dependence vs. poly-dependence), and co-occurring externalizing and internalizing psychiatric disorders.
Her multidisciplinary research integrates neurocognitive, neuroimaging, personality, genomic, and computational approaches. In recent years, she has also been developing innovative neuroscience-based prevention and intervention programs aimed at improving mental health and preventing psychiatric disorders.
Professor Vassileva is the author of more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and has delivered over 250 presentations at national and international conferences and scientific forums. She has served as principal investigator on numerous research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Since 2003, she has been conducting research in Bulgaria, and in 2008 she established the first laboratory for neurocognitive studies of addictionin the country. She is a co-founder of the Foundation Institute for Brain Health and a member of the expert scientific board of the Center for Humane Policy Foundation. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholar award for international cultural and scientific exchange.