The MVM CoRE along with the Data and Statistical Core (DASC) at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC are seeking a PhD Biostatistician with specialty in microbiome bioinformatics. View hiring flyer to learn more. To apply or ask questions about the position, please email Jeri.Forster@va.gov and Andrew.Hoisington@va.gov.

Lisa A. Brenner, PhD (she/her/hers)
Clinical Research Psychologist
Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional VAMC
Aurora, CO

Phone: 720-723-6488
Email: Lisa.Brenner@va.gov

Twitter: @LisaABrenner

Publications: PUBMED | Google Scholar

Lisa A. Brenner, Ph.D., is a Board-Certified Rehabilitation Psychologist, a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Psychiatry, and Neurology at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. She is also Vice Chair of Research for the Department of PM&R. She has over 20 years of experience working with Veterans and has championed numerous national efforts to prevent suicide among Veterans. Her primary area of research interest is traumatic brain injury, co-morbid psychiatric disorders, and negative psychiatric outcomes including suicide.

Christopher A. Lowry, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO

Email: Christopher.Lowry@colorado.edu

Twitter: @CALowryPhD

Publications: PUBMED | Google Scholar

Dr. Lowry’s main focus is the neural mechanisms underlying stress-related physiology and emotional behavior with a focus on the role of serotonergic systems. Current projects address these main topics: (1) Mechanisms of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and CRF-related neuropeptides underlying control of acute and chronic anxiety states; (2) Effects on serotonergic systems, physiology, and emotional behavior by glucocorticoid hormones, thermal signals and peripheral immune activation (with a focus on the microbiome-gut-brain axis).

Lt. Col. Andrew Hoisington, PhD, PE, M.SAME, USAF

MVM-CoRE Associate Director & Wet Lab Director, Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention
Department of Veterans Affairs, Aurora, CO

Twitter: @andyhois

Publications: PUBMED | Google Scholar

Lt. Col. Hoisington is the MVM-CoRE Associate Director and Wet Lab Director for Rocky Mountain MIRECC. He previously served as Execution Division Chief for Tyndall PMO responsible for hurricane rebuild efforts. He also served as Adjunct Associate Professor at AFIT Graduate Management program, where he worked collaboratively within DoD and externally with multiple top tier universities and federal agencies. His teaching interests include basic core engineering, introduction to environmental engineering, water treatment, wastewater treatment, air quality, and asset management. His research interests includes indoor air and microbial relationships, connections between microbiome of the built environment and mental health and associations between the built environment and mental health outcomes. Dr. Hoisington is a founding member and principal investigator for Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education.

Teodor T. Postolache, MD

Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Baltimore MIRECC and Rocky Mountain MIRECC
Department of Veterans Affairs

Email: TPostola@som.umaryland.edu

Twitter: @TeoPostolacheMD

Publications: PUBMED | Google Scholar

Dr. Postolache is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and a VA Research Investigator with the VA Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide prevention in Denver, Colorado and VISN 5 MIRECC in Baltimore, Maryland . He graduated medical school in Romania, with postgraduate studies in Vienna Austria and Paris France , residency training in psychiatry at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, NY and fellowship in psychobiology at the Section of Biological Rhythms of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. In his clinical practice in Washington DC he treats patients with mood and anxiety disorders, as well as disturbances in biological rhythms. He is a clinical expert in seasonal changes in mood, appetite, weight, sleepiness, sleep duration, and sexuality, included in the syndrome of Seasonal Affective Disorder. In addition to psychopharmacology and counselling, he uses nonpharmacological approaches including light treatment, light avoidance and exposure, cold and heat exposure, food and activity modification. Trained in circadian and seasonal rhythms at the Intramural NIMH, and certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Dr. Postolache uses integrative approaches to treat jet leg, shift work, and optimizing wake-activity for health and performance. He took part in consulting elite athletes (including World Champions, Olympic medalists, and MLB pitchers) on reciprocally optimizing the alignment of internal rhythms in relationship to timing of training and competition. He is a psychiatrist focused on change, with a head-to-toes approach to the individual patient, with a strong consideration of the physical , chemical and biological environment of the patient and his social networks. He is recognized as a Top Doctor 2017 by the Washingtonian Magazine.

Dr. Postolache has been the teacher of many young trainees, some of them who became independent investigators, and many of them good clinicians and critical readers of scientific literature. He received several Teaching Awards for postgraduate and physician education.

Dr. Postolache's most important contributions to research include a) associations between seasonal allergen exposure, depression and suicidal behavior b) the role of the nasal cavity in mental health (smell function, environment-brain communication- molecules translating air pollution, allergens, brain molecular, and behavioral changes c) seasonal affective disorder in African American, African immigrants, and the Amish d) immune changes in the brain e) Associations between Toxoplasma gondii, depression, and suicidal behavior f) Obesity, neuroinflammation, and mental health g) Pregnancy, neuroinflammation, mood changes, and suicide risk.

His active research collaborations and collaborators are geographically diverse, from the Old Order Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, University of South Florida in Tampa, to South Africa, Sweden, Germany and Denmark. His research has been supported by NIMH, NIDDK, NHLB, FDA, NARSAD, and the VA (eg. currently PI on an ongoing multicenter VA Merit Award on Toxoplasma gondii, inflammation, kynurenines, and suicidal behavior). He is a Senior Investigator on the Military and Veteran Microbiome consortium for Research and Education (Denver, CO, and a recipient of a Distinguished Investigator Award of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Diana P. Brostow, PhD, MPH, RDN (she/her/hers)
Research Nutritionist, Rocky Mountain MIRECC
Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional VAMC
Aurora, CO

Email: Diana.Brostow@va.gov

Twitter: @DPBrostowPhD

Publications: PUBMED

Dr. Brostow is a Research Nutritionist at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC, and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. She has five years’ experience working with Veterans, particularly populations struggling with food insecurity and mental health disorders. Her primary research interest is nutrition in relation to traumatic brain injury and mental health.

Christopher Stamper, PhD
Health Science Specialist, Rocky Mountain MIRECC
Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional VAMC
Aurora, CO

Email: Christopher.Stamper@va.gov

Twitter: @Christo04468556

Publications: PUBMED | Google Scholar

Dr. Stamper is a researcher exploring the interface of the microbiome and mental health.

Kelly A. Stearns-Yoder, MS (she/her/hers)
Laboratory and Research Program Director, Rocky Mountain MIRECC
Department of Veterans Affairs, Rocky Mountain Regional VAMC
Aurora, CO

Email: Kelly.Stearns@va.gov

Twitter: @kstearnsyoder

Publications: PUBMED

Ms. Kelly Stearns-Yoder is the Laboratory and Research Program Director for the Brenner Lab (Lisa A. Brenner, PI) at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Research Psychology. Specific areas of research include programmatic outcomes and evaluation at the patient and organizational levels.