Jaisal Merchant is in her final year of the clinical science program, and has developed a program focused on understanding the psychological and neural mechanisms contributing to disruptions in pleasure and motivation in serious mental illness, with a particular focus on social factors. She has taken a multimethod approach to addressing her research questions.  

Jaisal has developed a compelling set of studies on how social interest and motivation are--and are not--disrupted among individuals with schizophrenia. She has published multiple first- author papers using a range of data types, including behavioral tasks that measure response to rewards (both monetary and social), brain imaging using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and ecological momentary assessment, a method that assesses people’s daily experiences in their everyday lives. 

She has just completed a dissertation project testing the impact of social influences on motivation among individuals with schizophrenia. Specifically, she is asking the question of whether people with schizophrenia are more likely to be willing to exert higher effort to achieve monetary awards is greater when they know that other people are also willing to exert higher effort. She is examining whether a positive influence of social information on the willingness to exert effort relates to people’s social engagement in their everyday lives or to how effortful they find various activities in their everyday lives. 

Jaisal has also been a strong mentor of undergraduates and research assistants and has helped them achieve their goals, including attending graduate or medical school. Jaisal also has a multilayered understanding of cultural diversity and has taken outstanding leadership roles in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the field. As the co-founder of “Dismantling Systemic Shortcomings in Education and Clinical Training" (DiSSECT), Jaisal has shown leadership well beyond the typical graduate student. This initiative has taken hold nationwide and has received funding from multiple sources.  

Jaisal will be completing her predoctoral internship in clinical science next year, and just placed at her top-choice internship at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Corness Medical Center.