Hilary Marusak, Ph.D.
Position Title
Assistant Professor
Office Address
Tolan Park
3901 Chrysler Drive
Suite 2B
Detroit, 48201
Office Phone
313-993-1365
Biography
Dr. Marusak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine in Detroit Michigan. Dr. Marusak received her PhD in Translational Neuroscience from WSU and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Dr. Christine Rabinak's Translational Neuropsychopharmacology lab in the WSU Department of Pharmacy Practice.
Dr. Marusak directs the WSU THINK Lab, which focuses on pediatric anxiety, understanding the impact of childhood trauma/adversity on neural development, and using that knowledge to improve interventions that can enhance mental health in pediatric populations. Her predoctoral training was in pediatric neuroimaging, childhood adversity/trauma, and developmental neuroscience, and her postdoctoral training was focused on the neurobiology of fear, the endocannabinoid system, and anxiety disorders/posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Dr. Marusak received postdoctoral fellowships from the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Cancer Society, and is currently funded by a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Marusak is also a Science Advisor for the nonprofit organization Kids Kicking Cancer, and is a Scientific Member of the Karmanos Cancer Institute.
Education Training
- B.A. Biology & Psychology, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI, 2011
- Ph.D. Translational Neuroscience, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2016
Postgraduate Training
- Postdoctoral fellowship, Affective Psychiatry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 2019
Clinical/Research Interests
- Pediatric anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Childhood adversity/trauma, including medical-related adversity (e.g., pediatric cancer)
- Developmental neuroscience
- Affective neuroscience