Veronica B. Perez, PhD is core faculty at Alliant International University - San Diego.
Her expertise is focused on the improvement of diagnostic assessment and treatment for severe mental illness (SMI), specifically schizophrenia spectrum illnesses, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Dr. Perez is the PI of the Treatment and Assessment of Cognitive Effectiveness (TRACE) lab. The aim of Dr. Perez’s research is 1) to trace the neurocognitive deficits that occur in SMI, 2) to understand how these deficits may predict the clinical presentation in individuals with co-morbid illnesses, 3) to improve the efficacy of interventions that reduce stigma against individuals with mental illnesses, and 4) to repair the neurocognitive domains that most deleteriously pervade the lives of those suffering with mental illness. Dr. Perez has a translational research program that can only come to fruition with direct contact with patients to generate research questions, and then the application of those research outcomes in the clinic.
Dr. Perez completed her postdoctoral training at University of California, San Francisco and through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Center of Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center. She completed a predoctoral internship through UC San Diego School of Medicine/VA San Diego Healthcare System's psychology internship program. Dr. Perez earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in cognitive electrophysiology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR.
- Neurocognitive impairments in psychosis and schizophrenia
- Biomarkers of severe psychopathology
- Pathophysiology of cognition in patients with psychosis or at high-risk for psychosis
- Neurophysiological response to cognitive interventions
- Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences, Ithaca, NY - Degree: B.A. in Psychology, May 1998
- Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Symptoms and Course of Schizophrenia. This grant will examine the basic and clinical mechanisms of psychotic illnesses to gain an understanding of neurocognitive and perceptual impairment. PI: Judith M. Ford, Ph.D. Role: Postdoctoral Fellow
- San Diego State University, San Diego, CA - Degree: M.A. in Psychology, May 2003
- University of Oregon, Eugene, OR - Degree: Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, May 2008
- Schizophrenia Psychosocial CBT Intern
- University of California, San Diego/VA San Diego Healthcare System - APA-Accredited Internship, Clinical Psychology, July 2008 - June 2009
Honors
- 2013 Clinical & Translational Research Institute, UC San Diego Health Sciences Pilot Grant
This grant will support the establishment of an academic-community partnership to apply cognitive neuroscience methodology in a community setting. Data examining targeted cognitive training (TCT) interventions in the initial stages of neuroplasticity-based skills acquisition will be collected at a mental health and transitional care facility. Role: PI - 2013 MIRECC Veterans' Administration (VA) Pilot Grant
This grant will support collection of pilot data examining targeted cognitive training (TCT) interventions in the initial stages of neuroplasticity-based skills acquisition. Role: PI - 2012 Veterans' Administration (VA) Institutional Training Grant
This institutional training grant will train a new generation of neuroscientists to improve the long-term functional outcome of patients with chronic psychotic mental disorders, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and psychotic mood disorders. Role: Research Fellow - 2007 This grant will support the planning and development of a summer workshop to teach issues of diversity within the Department of Psychology at University of Oregon.
Role: Committee Member - 2009 Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR)
- Psychopathology
- Neurophysiology
- Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior
- Neuropsychology