Sarah Shizuko Morimoto,
PsyD
Languages Spoken: English
Dr. Morimoto comes to the U from Weill Cornell Medical College and brings her expertise in innovative, evidenced-based treatments for cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders and disorders of aging. A member of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry faculty since 2012, Dr. Morimoto served as the co-director of a Cornell-Yale collaborative cognitive remediation development laboratory which designed targeted neuroscience based computerized cognitive remediation interventions for: Geriatric depression, ADHD, Autism, Schizophrenia, OCD and cognitive decline due to aging.
Her research encompasses the full range of CR intervention development, from identifying targeted, and clinically relevant cognitive deficits, and the underlying neural circuit dysfunction, to developing computerized paradigms, conducting clinical trials, to CR method development.. Her intervention for geriatric depression was recently published in Nature Communications, and featured on the Huffington Post, and LiveScience. She will continue her intervention development and clinical trials work at the U with collaborations with functional and structural imaging, the Center for Medical Innovation, Department of Social Work, and the University of Utah Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research (CACIR).
Dr. Morimoto directs a new clinical service which addresses a wide range of cognitive and emotional deficits comorbid with psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. This service provides precision personalized medicine, and includes holistic and fine-grained evaluation of each patient’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and an individualized, multidisciplinary treatment plan tailored to each patients’ unique profile, follow up testing and relapse prevention.
With her expertise, Dr. Morimoto aims to raise awareness about the importance of brain health at every age, and provide an evidence-based service where patients can learn how to optimize their cognitive and emotional function.
Clinical Locations
801-587-1288
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Population Health Sciences
-
Associate Professor |
| Academic Divisions | Health System Innovation and Research |
Dr. Morimoto comes to the U from Weill Cornell Medical College and brings her expertise in innovative, evidenced-based treatments for cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders and disorders of aging. A member of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry faculty since 2012, Dr. Morimoto served as the co-director of a Cornell-Yale collaborative cognitive remediation development laboratory which designed targeted neuroscience based computerized cognitive remediation interventions for: Geriatric depression, ADHD, Autism, Schizophrenia, OCD and cognitive decline due to aging.
Her research encompasses the full range of CR intervention development, from identifying targeted, and clinically relevant cognitive deficits, and the underlying neural circuit dysfunction, to developing computerized paradigms, conducting clinical trials, to CR method development.. Her intervention for geriatric depression was recently published in Nature Communications, and featured on the Huffington Post, and LiveScience. She will continue her intervention development and clinical trials work at the U with collaborations with functional and structural imaging, the Center for Medical Innovation, Department of Social Work, and the University of Utah Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research (CACIR).
Dr. Morimoto directs a new clinical service which addresses a wide range of cognitive and emotional deficits comorbid with psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. This service provides precision personalized medicine, and includes holistic and fine-grained evaluation of each patient’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and an individualized, multidisciplinary treatment plan tailored to each patients’ unique profile, follow up testing and relapse prevention.
With her expertise, Dr. Morimoto aims to raise awareness about the importance of brain health at every age, and provide an evidence-based service where patients can learn how to optimize their cognitive and emotional function.
Academic Locations
University Neuropsychiatric Institute
801-587-1288
Research Statement
Dr. Morimoto comes to the U from Weill Cornell Medical College and brings her expertise in innovative, evidenced-based treatments for cognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders and disorders of aging. A member of the Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry faculty since 2012, Dr. Morimoto served as the co-director of a Cornell-Yale collaborative cognitive remediation development laboratory which designed targeted neuroscience based computerized cognitive remediation interventions for: Geriatric depression, ADHD, Autism, Schizophrenia, OCD and cognitive decline due to aging.
Her research encompasses the full range of CR intervention development, from identifying targeted, and clinically relevant cognitive deficits, and the underlying neural circuit dysfunction, to developing computerized paradigms, conducting clinical trials, to CR method development.. Her intervention for geriatric depression was recently published in Nature, and featured on the Huffington Post, and LiveScience. She will continue her intervention development and clinical trials work at the U with collaborations with functional and structural imaging, the Center for Medical Innovation, Department of Social Work, and the University of Utah Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research (CACIR).
Dr. Morimoto will direct a clinical service at UNI to address a wide range of cognitive and emotional deficits comorbid with psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. This service provides individualized medicine, and includes holistic and fine-grained evaluation of each patient’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses, an individualized, multidisciplinary treatment plan tailored to each patients’ unique profile, follow up testing and relapse prevention.
With her expertise, Dr. Morimoto aims to raise awareness about the importance of brain health at every age, and provide an evidence-based service where patients can learn how to optimize their cognitive, emotional function.
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Population Health Sciences
-
Associate Professor |
| Academic Divisions | Health System Innovation and Research |
Research Interests
- Targeted and Evidence-Based Interventions for Cognitive Deficits
- Neuroplasticity-Based Computerized Cognitive Remediation
- Cognitive Deficits in Psychiatric Disorders
- Cognitive decline in normal aging
- Neurobiology of Depression in the Elderly
- Computerized Cognitive Remediation Method Development
Education History
| Research Fellow | Weill Cornell Medical School Neurobiology of geriatric mood disorders Research Fellow |
| Postdoctoral Fellowship | New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellow |
| Fellowship | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School Psychology Clinical Fellow |
| Doctoral Training | Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Stanford University School of Medicine Clinical Psychology Psy.D. |
| Graduate Training | Pacific Graduate School of Psychology/Stanford University School of Medicine Clinical Psychology M.S. |
| Undergraduate | University of California, Berkeley Psychology B.A. |
Selected Publications - Journal Articles
Journal Article
- Morimoto SS, Altizer RA, Gunning FM, Hu W, Liu J, Cote SE, Nitis J, Alexopoulos GS (2020). Targeting Cognitive Control Deficits With Neuroplasticity-Based Computerized Cognitive Remediation in Patients With Geriatric Major Depression: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, 28(9), 971-980.
- Bessette KL, Karstens AJ, Crane NA, Peters AT, Stange JP, Elverman KH, Morimoto SS, Weisenbach SL, Langenecker SA (2020). A Lifespan Model of Interference Resolution and Inhibitory Control: Risk for Depression and Changes with Illness Progression. (Epub ahead of print) Neuropsychol Rev.
- Victoria LW, Alexopoulos GS, Ilieva I, Stein AT, Hoptman MJ, Chowdhury N, Respino M, Morimoto SS, Kanellopoulos D, Avari JN, Gunning FM (2018). White matter abnormalities predict residual negative self-referential thinking following treatment of late-life depression with escitalopram: A preliminary study. J Affect Disord, 243, 62-69.
- Duff K, Anderson JS, Mallik AK, Suhrie KR, Atkinson TJ, Dalley BCA, Morimoto SS, Hoffman JM (2018). Short-term repeat cognitive testing and its relationship to hippocampal volumes in older adults. J Clin Neurosci, 57, 121-125.
Global Impact
Service
| 05/01/2018 | Program Committee Member | Scientific Advisory Committee | Global |