People

John Kelsoe, M.D. is the Director of the Fellowship. Dr. Kelsoe's longstanding research focus has been the genetics of psychiatric illness, bipolar disorder in particular. Dr. Kelsoe has spent his career conducting translational cellular and human studies directed at identifying the fundamental biological basis of bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders.

As an MD, he is especially attuned to the challenges of guiding MD's or MD PhD's into a successful research career. Dr. Kelsoe supervises many of the research track residents in the clinical care of bipolar patients, and he has had the opportunity to discuss the issues in having a clinical and laboratory research career. Dr. Kelsoe has mentored many MD's and other trainees to successful careers.

Betty Shih, M.P.M., Ph.D. is the Co-Director of the Fellowship and Director of Didactic Training. Dr. Shih received her Ph.D. in genetic epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed postdoctoral training at the UC San Diego Department of Medicine and Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Shih's research encompasses a synthesis of epidemiology and molecular genetic studies in both clinical and population-based samples. Her expertise is in the genetics and translational science of complex disorders and phenotype such as eating disorders, metabolic syndrome, aging, and psychiatric comorbidities. Dr. Shih has served the Fellowship as a training faculty since 2012.

Dr. Miranda Francoeur received her Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in 2019 where she studied the role of thalamus in cognitive behaviors and identified its contributions to prefrontal cortex. She is currently completing her postdoctoral training under the supervision of Dr. Dhakshin Ramanathan at UC San Diego as a first-year fellow in the T32 Fellowship in Biopsychiatry and Neuroscience program. Miranda's current research aims to elucidate how neurons communicate information underlying cognitive processes across networks and examine their disruption in neuropsychiatric disorders and brain injury. She serves as a voting member on the Chancellor's Advisory Committee for the Status of Women. Outside of lab she enjoys being with her dog, hiking with her husband, drinking craft beer and painting.

Dr. Breanna Holloway received her Ph.D. in Clinical/Behavioral Medicine Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She completed the APA-accredited clinical internship training at the VASDHS/UCSD Psychology Internship Program. She is currently a first-year fellow in the T32 Fellowship in Biopsychiatry and Neuroscience. Breanna’s current research project focuses on the relationships between the endocannabinoid system, sleep, and cannabis use among people with Bipolar Disorder. In her free time, she enjoys reading, being outdoors with her dog, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Kayla Rohr received her Ph.D. from Marquette University where she studied neuropeptide regulation of the master circadian clock. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the T32 Fellowship in Biological Psychiatry program at UC San Diego. Kayla works with Dr. Michael McCarthy studying the underlying circadian mechanisms involved in psychiatric disorders using induced pluripotent stem cell models.