I obtained a bachelor's of psychology from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus, where I started to examine the effects of the 2003 Iraq war on children’s resiliency and on their academic performance.

Following my B.A., I participated in the Summer Program for Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and afterward the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. This led to an Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to continue my research training. At both post-baccalaureate programs I explored the biology of anxiety in primates.

Seeking to expand my understanding of anxiety in humans and further develop my skills as a researcher, I pursued a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the NIMH-UCL Graduate Partnership Program, mentored by Drs. Christian Grillon and Daniel Pine at the NIMH, and Professor Neil Burgess at University College London (UCL). In my research, I explored neural activity involved in environmental discrimination learning using basic task-based fMRI methods. I created and validated a novel VR paradigm to study discrimination learning in healthy adults.

To further expand my previous research efforts to clinically relevant research in the field of PTSD, I was awarded a T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award (NRSA) postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, under the mentorship of Dr. Yuval Neria. Afterwards, I was awarded a K01 grant and promoted to Assistant Professor at the Psychiatry Department. During this time, I acquired knowledge in the assessment and treatment of pathological anxiety and PTSD to understand the neural signatures of PTSD, using my VR tasks.

These experiences and projects have solidified my commitment to understanding the neural mechanisms of environmental discrimination learning in individuals with anxiety and trauma-related disorders. I am dedicated to supporting these communities through my research because of (1) my personal background, (2) the recent disproportional increases in PTSD and anxiety disorder diagnoses, particularly in the military population, and (3) how understudied and underserved these populations remain.

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Neuroscience (SMD)

Associate Professor - Center for Visual Science A&S (RC) - Joint

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Supervisor: Dr. Yuval Neria.

Experience: Studied the neural bases of location-specific contextual fear in patients with PTSD. Investigated neural signatures of PTSD using MRI. 2016 - 2018

Education

PhD | UK-University College London. Neuroscience. 2016

BA | Univ of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. Psychology. 2009

Awards

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion award. 2022

Competitive Renewal ACNP 2022 Annual Meeting Travel Award Recipient. 2022

Furth Funds Award. 2021

NIH-National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Utah NRMN Grant-Writing Coaching Groups. 2021

Competitive Renewal ACNP 2021 Annual Meeting Travel Award Recipient. 2021

National Institutes of Health Early Career Reviewer program at the Center for Scientific Review. 2021

Outstanding science poster at the Second Annual Columbia Psychiatry Science Celebration. 2020

Competitive Renewal ACNP 2020 Annual Meeting Travel Award Recipient. 2020

Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience (BRAINS) Fellow. 2019

American College of Neuropsychopharmachology (ACNP) 2019 Annual Meeting Travel Award Recipient. 2019

Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority Fellowship of the 2019 Amygdala Function in Emotion, Cognition and Disease Gordon. 2019

Outstanding Graduate Research Recognition at NIH. 2018

T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award (NRSA) recipient at Columbia University. 2016

Research

My research program aims to use virtual reality (VR), multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and machine learning to elucidate the psychological and neural signatures of PTSD and anxiety disorders. Particularly, to delineate the contextual aspects of threat and reward learning, discrimination, and monitoring. I am specifically interested in cases where an area within a larger environment becomes associated with threat, such as the area of a neighborhood where an assault or assaults took place, or the location on a battlefield where explosions occurred. Patients with PTSD and anxiety disorders often show an overgeneralization or an exaggerated response to threat in larger contexts, even in environments predicting safety. With this research, I plan to identify new brain measures to develop sensitive, personalized, and precise diagnostic and treatment tools for psychopathology.

Publications

Journal Articles

Examining the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and disruptions in cortical networks identified using data-driven methods.

Yang J, Huggins AA, Sun D, Baird CL, Haswell CC, Frijling JL, Olff M, van Zuiden M, Koch SBJ, Nawijn L, Veltman DJ, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zhu X, Neria Y, Hudson AR, Mueller SC, Baker JT, Lebois LAM, Kaufman ML, Qi R, Lu GM, ?íha P, Rektor I, Dennis EL, Ching CRK, Thomopoulos SI, Salminen LE, Jahanshad N, Thompson PM, Stein DJ, Koopowitz SM, Ipser JC, Seedat S, du Plessis S, van den Heuvel LL, Wang L, Zhu Y, Li G, Sierk A, Manthey A, Walter H, Daniels JK, Schmahl C, Herzog JI, Liberzon I, King A, Angstadt M, Davenport ND, Sponheim SR, Disner SG, Straube T, Hofmann D, Grupe DW, Nitschke JB, Davidson RJ, Larson CL, deRoon-Cassini TA, Blackford JU, Olatunji BO, Gordon EM, May G, Nelson SM, Abdallah CG, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I, Krystal JH, Morey RA, Sotiras A

Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.. 2023 November 28 Epub 11/28/2023.

Neuroimaging-Based Classification of PTSD Using Data-Driven Computational Approaches: A Multisite Big Data Study from the ENIGMA-PGC PTSD Consortium.

Zhu X, Kim Y, Ravid O, He X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zilcha-Mano S, Lazarov A, Lee S, Abdallah CG, Angstadt M, Averill CL, Baird CL, Baugh LA, Blackford JU, Bomyea J, Bruce SE, Bryant RA, Cao Z, Choi K, Cisler J, Cotton AS, Daniels JK, Davenport ND, Davidson RJ, DeBellis MD, Dennis EL, Densmore M, deRoon-Cassini T, Disner SG, Hage WE, Etkin A, Fani N, Fercho KA, Fitzgerald J, Forster GL, Frijling JL, Geuze E, Gonenc A, Gordon EM, Gruber S, Grupe DW, Guenette JP, Haswell CC, Herringa RJ, Herzog J, Hofmann DB, Hosseini B, Hudson AR, Huggins AA, Ipser JC, Jahanshad N, Jia-Richards M, Jovanovic T, Kaufman ML, Kennis M, King A, Kinzel P, Koch SBJ, Koerte IK, Koopowitz SM, Korgaonkar MS, Krystal JH, Lanius R, Larson CL, Lebois LAM, Li G, Liberzon I, Lu GM, Luo Y, Magnotta VA, Manthey A, Maron-Katz A, May G, McLaughlin K, Mueller SC, Nawijn L, Nelson SM, Neufeld RWJ, Nitschke JB, O'Leary EM, Olatunji BO, Olff M, Peverill M, Phan KL, Qi R, Quidé Y, Rektor I, Ressler K, Riha P, Ross M, Rosso IM, Salminen LE, Sambrook K, Schmahl C, Shenton ME, Sheridan M, Shih C, Sicorello M, Sierk A, Simmons AN, Simons RM, Simons JS, Sponheim SR, Stein MB, Stein DJ, Stevens JS, Straube T, Sun D, Théberge J, Thompson PM, Thomopoulos SI, van der Wee NJA, van der Werff SJA, van Erp TGM, van Rooij SJH, van Zuiden M, Varkevisser T, Veltman DJ, Vermeiren RRJM, Walter H, Wang L, Wang X, Weis C, Winternitz S, Xie H, Zhu Y, Wall M, Neria Y, Morey RA

NeuroImage.. 2023 October 17 :120412. Epub 10/17/2023.

Eye-tracking indices of attention allocation and attention bias variability are differently related to trauma exposure and PTSD.

Alon Y, Bar-Haim Y, Dykan CDG, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zhu X, Neria Y, Lazarov A

Journal of anxiety disorders.. 2023 April 2596 :102715. Epub 04/25/2023.

Sequential fear generalization and network connectivity in trauma exposed humans with and without psychopathology.

Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Such S, Marohasy C, Small SS, Wager TD, Lindquist MA, Lissek S, Neria Y

Communications biology.. 2022 November 215 (1):1275. Epub 11/21/2022.

Elucidating behavioral and functional connectivity markers of aberrant threat discrimination in PTSD.

Keefe JR, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zhu X, Lazarov A, Durosky A, Such S, Marohasy C, Lissek S, Neria Y

Depression and anxiety.. 2022 November 6 Epub 11/06/2022.

A Comparison of Methods to Harmonize Cortical Thickness Measurements Across Scanners and Sites.

Sun D, Rakesh G, Haswell CC, Logue M, Baird CL, O'Leary EN, Cotton AS, Xie H, Tamburrino M, Chen T, Dennis EL, Jahanshad N, Salminen LE, Thomopoulos SI, Rashid F, Ching CRK, Koch SBJ, Frijling JL, Nawijn L, van Zuiden M, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Sierk A, Walter H, Manthey A, Stevens JS, Fani N, van Rooij SJH, Stein M, Bomyea J, Koerte IK, Choi K, van der Werff SJA, Vermeiren RRJM, Herzog J, Lebois LAM, Baker JT, Olson EA, Straube T, Korgaonkar MS, Andrew E, Zhu Y, Li G, Ipser J, Hudson AR, Peverill M, Sambrook K, Gordon E, Baugh L, Forster G, Simons RM, Simons JS, Magnotta V, Maron-Katz A, du Plessis S, Disner SG, Davenport N, Grupe DW, Nitschke JB, deRoon-Cassini TA, Fitzgerald JM, Krystal JH, Levy I, Olff M, Veltman DJ, Wang L, Neria Y, De Bellis MD, Jovanovic T, Daniels JK, Shenton M, van de Wee NJA, Schmahl C, Kaufman ML, Rosso IM, Sponheim SR, Hofmann DB, Bryant RA, Fercho KA, Stein DJ, Mueller SC, Hosseini B, Phan KL, McLaughlin KA, Davidson RJ, Larson CL, May G, Nelson SM, Abdallah CG, Gomaa H, Etkin A, Seedat S, Harpaz-Rotem I, Liberzon I, van Erp TGM, Quidé Y, Wang X, Thompson PM, Morey RA

NeuroImage.. 2022 July 30 :119509. Epub 07/30/2022.

Structural brain features signaling trauma, PTSD, or resilience? A systematic exploration.

Zilcha-Mano S, Zhu X, Lazarov A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Helpman L, Kim Y, Maitlin C, Neria Y, Rutherford BR

Depression and anxiety.. 2022 June 16 Epub 06/16/2022.

Attention allocation to negatively-valenced stimuli in PTSD is associated with reward-related neural pathways.

Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Zhu X, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y, Neria Y

Psychological medicine.. 2022 June 2 :1-9. Epub 06/02/2022.

Remodeling of the Cortical Structural Connectome in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Results from the ENIGMA-PGC PTSD Consortium.

Sun D, Rakesh G, Clarke-Rubright EK, Haswell CC, Logue M, O'Leary EN, Cotton AS, Xie H, Dennis EL, Jahanshad N, Salminen LE, Thomopoulos SI, Rashid F, Ching CRK, Koch SBJ, Frijling JL, Nawijn L, van Zuiden M, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Sierk A, Walter H, Manthey A, Stevens JS, Fani N, van Rooij SJH, Stein M, Bomyea J, Koerte I, Choi K, van de Werff SJA, Vermeiren RRJM, Herzog J, Lebois LAM, Baker JT, Ressler KJ, Olson EA, Straube T, Korgaonkar MS, Andrew E, Zhu Y, Li G, Ipser J, Hudson A, Peverill M, Sambrook K, Gordon E, Baugh L, Forster G, Simons R, Simons J, Magnotta V, Maron-Katz A, du Plessis S, Disner S, Davenport N, Grupe D, Nitschke J, deRoon-Cassini TA, Fitzgerald J, Krystal JH, Levy I, Olff M, Veltman DJ, Wang L, Neria Y, De Bellis MD, Jovanovic T, Daniels JK, Shenton M, van de Wee NJA, Schmahl C, Kaufman ML, Rosso IM, Sponheim SR, Hofmann DB, Bryant RA, Fercho KA, Stein DJ, Mueller SC, Phan L, McLaughlin KA, Davidson RJ, Larson C, May G, Nelson SM, Abdallah CG, Gomaa H, Etkin A, Seedat S, Harpaz-Rotem I, Liberzon I, Wang X, Thompson PM, Morey RA

Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging.. 2022 March 15 Epub 03/15/2022.

Location-dependent threat and associated neural abnormalities in clinical anxiety.

Suarez-Jimenez B, Balderston NL, Bisby JA, Leshin J, Hsiung A, King JA, Pine DS, Burgess N, Grillon C, Ernst M

Communications biology.. 2021 November 44 (1):1263. Epub 11/04/2021.

Reversed patterns of resting state functional connectivity for females vs. males in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Helpman L, Zhu X, Zilcha-Mano S, Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Rutherford B, Neria Y

Neurobiology of stress.. 2021 November 15 :100389. Epub 09/01/2021.

Treatment dropout among veterans and their families: Quantitative and qualitative findings.

Amsalem D, Lopez-Yianilos A, Lowell A, Pickover AM, Arnon S, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Ryba M, Bergman M, Such S, Zalman H, Sanchez-Lacay A, Lazarov A, Markowitz JC, Neria Y

Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy.. 2021 September 16 Epub 09/16/2021.

Equine-Assisted Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Military Veterans: An Open Trial.

Fisher PW, Lazarov A, Lowell A, Arnon S, Turner JB, Bergman M, Ryba M, Such S, Marohasy C, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Markowitz JC, Neria Y

The Journal of clinical psychiatry.. 2021 August 3182 (5)Epub 08/31/2021.

Attention allocation in posttraumatic stress disorder: an eye-tracking study.

Lazarov A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zhu X, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y, Neria Y

Psychological medicine.. 2021 February 26 :1-10. Epub 02/26/2021.

Neural changes following equine-assisted therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: A longitudinal multimodal imaging study.

Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Zilcha-Mano S, Lazarov A, Arnon S, Lowell AL, Bergman M, Ryba M, Hamilton AJ, Hamilton JF, Turner JB, Markowitz JC, Fisher PW, Neria Y

Human brain mapping.. 2021 February 5 Epub 02/05/2021.

Cortical volume abnormalities in posttraumatic stress disorder: an ENIGMA-psychiatric genomics consortium PTSD workgroup mega-analysis.

Wang X, Xie H, Chen T, Cotton AS, Salminen LE, Logue MW, Clarke-Rubright EK, Wall J, Dennis EL, O'Leary BM, Abdallah CG, Andrew E, Baugh LA, Bomyea J, Bruce SE, Bryant R, Choi K, Daniels JK, Davenport ND, Davidson RJ, DeBellis M, deRoon-Cassini T, Disner SG, Fani N, Fercho KA, Fitzgerald J, Forster GL, Frijling JL, Geuze E, Gomaa H, Gordon EM, Grupe D, Harpaz-Rotem I, Haswell CC, Herzog JI, Hofmann D, Hollifield M, Hosseini B, Hudson AR, Ipser J, Jahanshad N, Jovanovic T, Kaufman ML, King AP, Koch SBJ, Koerte IK, Korgaonkar MS, Krystal JH, Larson C, Lebois LAM, Levy I, Li G, Magnotta VA, Manthey A, May G, McLaughlin KA, Mueller SC, Nawijn L, Nelson SM, Neria Y, Nitschke JB, Olff M, Olson EA, Peverill M, Luan Phan K, Rashid FM, Ressler K, Rosso IM, Sambrook K, Schmahl C, Shenton ME, Sierk A, Simons JS, Simons RM, Sponheim SR, Stein MB, Stein DJ, Stevens JS, Straube T, Suarez-Jimenez B, Tamburrino M, Thomopoulos SI, van der Wee NJA, van der Werff SJA, van Erp TGM, van Rooij SJH, van Zuiden M, Varkevisser T, Veltman DJ, Vermeiren RRJM, Walter H, Wang L, Zhu Y, Zhu X, Thompson PM, Morey RA, Liberzon I

Molecular psychiatry.. 2020 December 7 Epub 12/07/2020.

On the validity of the centrality hypothesis in cross-sectional between-subject networks of psychopathology.

Spiller TR, Levi O, Neria Y, Suarez-Jimenez B, Bar-Haim Y, Lazarov A

BMC medicine.. 2020 October 1218 (1):297. Epub 10/12/2020.

Symptom structure of PTSD and co-morbid depressive symptoms - a network analysis of combat veteran patients.

Lazarov A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Levi O, Coppersmith DDL, Lubin G, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y, Abend R, Neria Y

Psychological medicine.. 2020 October 50 (13):2154-2170. Epub 08/27/2019.

Symptom structure of PTSD and co-morbid depressive symptoms - a network analysis of combat veteran patients - CORRIGENDUM.

Lazarov A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Levi O, Coppersmith DDL, Lubin G, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y, Abend R, Neria Y

Psychological medicine.. 2020 October 50 (13):2171. Epub 04/13/2020.

Neural signatures of conditioning, extinction learning, and extinction recall in posttraumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies.

Suarez-Jimenez B, Albajes-Eizagirre A, Lazarov A, Zhu X, Harrison BJ, Radua J, Neria Y, Fullana MA

Psychological medicine.. 2020 July 50 (9):1442-1451. Epub 07/01/2019.

Diagnostic and Predictive Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Zilcha-Mano S, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Pickover A, Tal S, Such S, Marohasy C, Chrisanthopoulos M, Salzman C, Lazarov A, Neria Y, Rutherford BR

Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging.. 2020 July 5 (7):688-696. Epub 04/11/2020.

Anterior hippocampal volume predicts affect-focused psychotherapy outcome.

Suarez-Jimenez B, Zhu X, Lazarov A, Mann JJ, Schneier F, Gerber A, Barber JP, Chambless DL, Neria Y, Milrod B, Markowitz JC

Psychological medicine.. 2020 February 50 (3):396-402. Epub 02/18/2019.

Altered white matter microstructural organization in posttraumatic stress disorder across 3047 adults: results from the PGC-ENIGMA PTSD consortium.

Dennis EL, Disner SG, Fani N, Salminen LE, Logue M, Clarke EK, Haswell CC, Averill CL, Baugh LA, Bomyea J, Bruce SE, Cha J, Choi K, Davenport ND, Densmore M, du Plessis S, Forster GL, Frijling JL, Gonenc A, Gruber S, Grupe DW, Guenette JP, Hayes J, Hofmann D, Ipser J, Jovanovic T, Kelly S, Kennis M, Kinzel P, Koch SBJ, Koerte I, Koopowitz S, Korgaonkar M, Krystal J, Lebois LAM, Li G, Magnotta VA, Manthey A, May GJ, Menefee DS, Nawijn L, Nelson SM, Neufeld RWJ, Nitschke JB, O'Doherty D, Peverill M, Ressler KJ, Roos A, Sheridan MA, Sierk A, Simmons A, Simons RM, Simons JS, Stevens J, Suarez-Jimenez B, Sullivan DR, Théberge J, Tran JK, van den Heuvel L, van der Werff SJA, van Rooij SJH, van Zuiden M, Velez C, Verfaellie M, Vermeiren RRJM, Wade BSC, Wager T, Walter H, Winternitz S, Wolff J, York G, Zhu Y, Zhu X, Abdallah CG, Bryant R, Daniels JK, Davidson RJ, Fercho KA, Franz C, Geuze E, Gordon EM, Kaufman ML, Kremen WS, Lagopoulos J, Lanius RA, Lyons MJ, McCauley SR, McGlinchey R, McLaughlin KA, Milberg W, Neria Y, Olff M, Seedat S, Shenton M, Sponheim SR, Stein DJ, Stein MB, Straube T, Tate DF, van der Wee NJA, Veltman DJ, Wang L, Wilde EA, Thompson PM, Kochunov P, Jahanshad N, Morey RA

Molecular psychiatry.. 2019 December 19 Epub 12/19/2019.

Bias-contingent attention bias modification and attention control training in treatment of PTSD: a randomized control trial.

Lazarov A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Abend R, Naim R, Shvil E, Helpman L, Zhu X, Papini S, Duroski A, Rom R, Schneier FR, Pine DS, Bar-Haim Y, Neria Y

Psychological medicine.. 2019 October 49 (14):2432-2440. Epub 11/12/2018.

Attention to threat in posttraumatic stress disorder as indexed by eye-tracking indices: a systematic review.

Lazarov A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Tamman A, Falzon L, Zhu X, Edmondson DE, Neria Y

Psychological medicine.. 2019 April 49 (5):705-726. Epub 09/04/2018.

A University-Based Mental Health Center for Veterans and Their Families: Challenges and Opportunities.

Lowell A, Lopez-Yianilos A, Ryba M, Arnon S, Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Fisher PW, Markowitz JC, Neria Y

Psychiatric services : a journal of the American Psychiatric Association.. 2019 February 170 (2):159-162. Epub 11/30/2018.

Exposure-based therapy changes amygdala and hippocampus resting-state functional connectivity in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Helpman L, Papini S, Lowell A, Durosky A, Lindquist MA, Markowitz JC, Schneier F, Wager TD, Neria Y

Depression and anxiety.. 2018 October 35 (10):974-984. Epub 09/10/2018.

Linked networks for learning and expressing location-specific threat.

Suarez-Jimenez B, Bisby JA, Horner AJ, King JA, Pine DS, Burgess N

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.. 2018 January 30115 (5):E1032-E1040. Epub 01/11/2018.

Sex Differences in Trauma-Related Psychopathology: a Critical Review of Neuroimaging Literature (2014-2017).

Helpman L, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Monk C, Neria Y

Current psychiatry reports.. 2017 November 819 (12):104. Epub 11/08/2017.

Resting-state functional connectivity of anterior and posterior hippocampus in posttraumatic stress disorder.

Lazarov A, Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Rutherford BR, Neria Y

Journal of psychiatric research.. 2017 November 94 :15-22. Epub 06/13/2017.

Testosterone modulation of anxiety in gonadally-suppressed male rhesus monkeys: a role for gonadotropins?

Suarez-Jimenez B, Gore HE, Hachey J, King HM, Lacreuse A

Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior.. 2013 March 104 :97-104. Epub 01/16/2013.

Effect of mother's dominance rank on offspring temperament in infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Suarez-Jimenez B, Hathaway A, Waters C, Vaughan K, Suomi SJ, Noble PL, Pine DS, Fox NA, Nelson EE

American journal of primatology.. 2013 January 75 (1):65-73. Epub 10/05/2012.

Developmental changes of rhesus monkeys in response to separation from the mother.

Zhang B, Suarez-Jimenez B, Hathaway A, Waters C, Vaughan K, Noble PL, Fox NA, Suomi SJ, Pine DS, Nelson EE

Developmental psychobiology.. 2012 December 54 (8):798-807. Epub 12/27/2011.