Our Team – Center for Psychiatric Health and Genomics

Michele T. Pato, MD
Director, Center for Genomics of Psychiatric Health & Addiction (CGPHA)

Dr. Michele Pato is the inaugural director of the new Rutgers Center for Genomics of Psychiatric Health and Addiction and is Professor of Psychiatry in both Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School, which started April 15, 2021. Dr. M Pato has co-led, with her Husband Dr. Carlos Pato, extensive population genetic studies in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for over 30 years, including the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC) and the Portuguese Island Collection Studies. The GPC has enrolled nearly 65,000 participants, including people suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, and 25,000 control participants. Many from diverse populations under-represented in research.

Dr. Michele Pato has an extensive background in research of psychiatric disorders, not just in terms of genetics but clinically as well. She has worked in numerous capacities for research training/education through academic appointments at 8 major universities, as well as APA, AAP, and AADPRT. Her publications are not just in the research science of medicine but often on how to teach and train people (medical students, residents and faculty) at all levels of training to do research.

Jessica Salvatore, PhD

Dr. Jessica E. Salvatore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry (Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School) and serves as the Director of the Genes, Environment, and Neurodevelopment in Addictions (GENA) research program in the Center. Her primary area of focus is on how substance misuse affects and is affected by social factors and close relationships across the lifespan. Within this broad theme, she takes a genetically informed perspective, with the dual goals of delineating gene-environment interplay among substance use and relationship factors and strengthening inferences in observational data.

Sally Kuo, PhD

Sally is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Genes, Environment, and Neurodevelopment in Addictions (GENA) research program. Her research focuses on the interplay between genetic and environmental factors across the lifespan in the development of alcohol and other substance use and related problems. She received her PhD in developmental psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. She subsequently completed postdoctoral fellowships at Arizona State University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Jennifer Gladys Mulle, PhD

Dr. Jennifer Gladys Mulle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University. Dr. Mulle studies rare genomic variants associated with schizophrenia with a specific focus on the 3q29 deletion. This 1.6 Mb deletion results in hemizygosity of 21 genes and confers a 40-fold increase in risk, the highest known effect size for any schizophrenia-associated locus. Dr. Mulle’s research program employs multiple modalities, including animal models, human cellular models, and clinical phenotyping studies, to understand the behavioral and biological impact of the 3q29 deletion.

Dr. Mulle loves her husband and children, her dogs, her research program, and Beyonce, in that order. She currently has three large cow-shaped dogs, which is both too many and not enough.

Stella Kim Hansen, LMHC

Stella is the associate director of clinical research operations for the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC). She is one of the clinical interviewers that enrolls participants into the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort study. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and has worked in various clinical and research settings, most recently at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. She is a PhD candidate in Counselor Education at Oregon State University.

Penelope Georgakopoulos DrPH

Penelope is the Human Subjects Research Coordinator for the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort studies. She received her DrPH in Epidemiology from SUNY Downstate. Her areas of interest include global health, disease surveillance and prevention and mental health.

Ummulkhair (Umi) Muhammed, MA, MS

Umi is a Community Engagement Specialist for the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort and was Project Administrator Officer in 2015 when it commenced at Downstate Medical Center to build community partnerships and recruit subjects. A testimonial from a participant reflects the sentiments of enrollees. “I was made comfortable with the study, and I want to help others so I am glad I participated”.

Umi has worked as an Educator for the NYC Department of Education, and she holds a MA in Urban Studies from Queens College and a MS in Education from Long Island University.

Cole Whiteman, MS
Cole manages the data operation of the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort study. He has designed, built, and supported complex information technology services in a variety of university and corporate settings, as a project manager, process architect, software developer, technical writer and illustrator.

Noelle Foster, PhD

Noelle Foster is our Principal Clinical Informatics Analyst, responsible for the development and analysis of internal and external data for use in research. Before joining the Center she worked in a variety of community-based projects specializing in secondary use of EHR data for clinical research, quality measurement, and evaluation. She holds a Master’s in Information Technology and a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies, both from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.