General Psychiatry Residency Program

Dr. Kulak joined the residency and Research Training Program from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where she worked with Robert Clark, MD, to study the relationship between the innate immune system, the gut microbiome, and the development and pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis. Her medical school research was published in Journal of Neuroinflammation (2019 Jul 27;16(1):158). As a resident, she has worked with Audrey Tyrka, MD, PhD on a NIMH-funded study examining the epigenetic regulation of endocrine and immune pathways in early life stress (ELS) (R01MH101107). Dr. Kulak is examining the role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in the metabolic effects of early life stress among healthy young adults, as well as the relationship between ELS, mitochondrial DNA deletions, and risk for metabolic syndrome. Dr. Kulak has presented her work at the Brown Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Mind Brain Research Day (2023) and has one manuscript under review, a second in process, and a third planned to be submitted in 2024.