Vishal Thakkar, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor School Medical School Department Psychiatry Graduate Programs Clinical Psychology Biography Download Curriculum Vitae Dr. Vishal Thakkar completed his undergraduate education in Neuroscience with minors in Health Care Ethics and Medical Humanities at Saint Louis University. He then moved to Fort Worth, TX, to complete his MS and PhD in Experimental Psychology at Texas Christian University. He joined the Department of Psychiatry faculty in 2022 and is currently an Assistant Professor. In addition, he is the Biostatistician and Research Data Manager for the Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium. Within the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program, Dr. Thakkar teaches a Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Behavior course and a Research Design and Multivariate Statistics course to graduate students and sits on dissertation committees. Within education, he also collaborates within the General Psychiatry Residency Program on journal club didactics and curriculum development. As a researcher, Dr. Thakkar works as a biostatistician in the Department of Psychiatry on numerous observational, interventional, and clinical trials. He works with clinicians and other researchers in generating databases, data entry, cleaning, and analysis, and preparing analyses for posters and publication. Dr. Thakkar has a wide variety of interests and research experiences with cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and pedagogy, including: non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation, reading and language, psychosis, curriculum planning, and trainee education. To stay actively involved in these areas of work, he is an active member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (American Psychological Association Division 2), Quantitative and Qualitative Methods(American Psychological Association Division 5), and the American Statistical Association. Additional information can be found at his personal website. Education Undergraduate Saint Louis University (2016), Neuroscience Graduate School Texas Christian University (2019), Experimental Psychology Graduate School Texas Christian University (2021), Experimental Psychology Research Interest Effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on cognition Psychiatry and psychology trainee education Reading, language, dyslexia Scholarship of teaching and learning in research and statistics Publications Featured Publications Comparing the neurocognitive effects of right unilateral ultra-brief pulse electroconvulsive therapy and magnetic seizure therapy for the treatment of major depressive episode McClintock, S. M. Deng, Z-D. Husain, M. M. Thakkar, V. J. Bernhardt, E. Weiner, R. D. Luber, B. Lisanby S. H. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging 2025 2 10 175-185 Skills acquisition and engagement with the use of a structured journal club Thakkar VJ, Toups M, dela Cruz AM Academic Psychiatry 2025 2 49 147-151 Auditory category learning in children with dyslexia Roark, C. L. Thakkar, V. J. Chandrasekaran, B., Centanni, T. M. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 2024 3 67 974-988 IQ in high school as a predictor of midlife alcohol drinking patterns Druffner, N., Egan, D., Ramamurthy, S., O'Brien, J., Folsom Davis, A., Jack, J., Symester, D., Thomas, K., Palka, J. M., Thakkar, V. J., Brown, E. S. Alcohol and Alcoholism 2024 4 59 agae035 Parameter optimization of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation for second language learning in typically developing young adults Thakkar, V. J. Crupper, J. E. Engelhart, A. S., Centanni, T. M. Journal of Neurolinguistics 2024 73 101225 A critical review of noninvasive brain stimulation technologies in Alzheimer’s dementia and primary progressive aphasia LoBue, C., McClintock, S. M., Chiang, H-S., Helphrey, J., Thakkar, V. J., Hart, J. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 2024 100 3 743-760 The effect of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation on memory recall in reading: A pilot study Thakkar, V. J., Richardson, Z. A., Dang, A., & Centanni, T. M. Behavioural Brain Research 2023 438 114164 How does expecting to teach impact students' self-regulated learning? Tauber, S. K., Thakkar, V. J., & Pleshek, M. A. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 2022 11 1 106-119 Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation enhances learning of novel letter-sound relationships in adults Thakkar, V. J., Engelhart, A. S., Khodaparast, N., Abadzi, H., & Centanni, T. M. Brain Stimulation 2020 13 6 1813-1820 Effects of resilience strength training on constructs associated with moral injury among veterans Barth, T. M., Lord, C. G., Thakkar, V. J., & Brock, R. N. Journal of Veterans Studies 2020 6 2 101-113 Results 1-10 of 10 1 Honors & Awards Outstanding Teacher AwardDivision of Psychology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (2023-2023) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Statistical Association (2023) Dallas-Fort Worth Neuropsychological Association (2023) Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (2015) Quantitative and Qualitative Methods (APA Division 5) (2024) Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2) (2021)
