Ruth Asch, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

Dr. Asch's research is to uncover the mechanistic underpinnings of how stress and trauma affect brain function, with a particular emphasis on how these experiences shape mental health outcomes. By gaining a deeper understanding of these processes, Dr. Asch aims to contribute to the development of novel interventions designed to mitigate the harmful effects of stress and trauma, foster resilience, and ultimately improve overall health and well-being.

Research Interest

Molecular Psychiatry
Positron Emission Tomography
Stress and Trauma
Translational Neuroimaging

Publications

Featured Publications

Neural Signatures of Bipolar Disorder and Psychotropic Medication Effects: A Multimodal PET-MRI Study.: Asch RH, Fan S, Cool R, Boster S, DellaGioia N, Naganawa M, Nabulsi N, Lacadie C, Pietrzak RH, Esterlis I, Biol Psychiatry 2025 Nov
In Vivo PET Imaging of Preynaptic Density Reveals Stress-Associated Synaptic Deficits Related to Behavioral and Molecular Alterations in Rats.: Asch RH, Hernandez Martin N, Garcia-Milian R, Fowles K, DiLeone RJ, Cai Z, Liston CM, Esterlis I, Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging 2025 Sep
Challenges and rewards of in vivo synaptic density imaging, and its application to the study of depression.: Asch RH, Abdallah CG, Carson RE, Esterlis I, Neuropsychopharmacology 2024 Nov 50 1 153-163
The metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 as a biomarker for psychiatric disorders.: Asch RH, Hillmer AT, Baldassarri SR, Esterlis I, Int Rev Neurobiol 2023 168 265-310
Medication status modulates metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 availability in bipolar disorder and its associations with attention, anhedonia, and cognition.: Moisieienko K, Asch RH, Davis MT, DellaGioia N, Boster S, Pietrzak RH, Esterlis I, J Affect Disord 2026 Apr 121888
In vivo evidence for metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 dysregulation in chronic pain.: Davis MT, Weiss ER, DellaGioia N, Boster S, Asch RH, Moisieienko K, Esterlis I, Neuropsychopharmacology 2025 Dec
Exploring the influence of synaptic density and anxiety on pain perception: evidence from a [11C]UCB-J positron emission tomography imaging study.: Moisieienko K, Asch RH, Davis MT, Pietrzak RH, Esterlis I, Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2025 Jul 28 7
An In Vivo Examination of the Relationship Between Metabotropic Glutamate 5 Receptor and Suicide Attempts in People With Borderline Personality Disorder.: Davis MT, Asch RH, Weiss ER, Wagner A, Fineberg SK, Nabulsi N, Matuskey D, Carson RE, Esterlis I, Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging 2025 Mar 10 3 324-332
Venous blood sampling for less invasive in vivo quantification of synaptic density with constant infusion of [¹⁸F]SynVesT-1 and PET.: Asch RH, Naganawa M, Moisieienko K, Weed M, Kapinos M, Zheng MQ, Hillmer AT, Carson RE, Pietrzak RH, Esterlis I, EJNMMI Res 2025 Feb 15 1 8
Evaluation of radio-thin-layer chromatography as an alternative to radio-HPLC for [¹⁸F]SynVesT-1 metabolism analysis in rats.: Balayeva T, Asch RH, Tan PW, Mennie W, Tong J, Chen B, Zhuang Z, Zheng C, Zheng M, Toyonaga T, Cai Z, Nucl Med Biol 2025 146-147 109029