USC.edu

Carol Prescott

Professor Emerita of Psychology
Pronouns She / Her / Hers Email cprescot@usc.edu Office SGM 826 Office Phone (213) 740-2203

Research & Practice Areas

Cognition,
Behavior Genetics,
Psychiatric Epidemiology,
Substance Use Disorders,
Psychopathology,
Longitudinal Data Analysis, Research Methodology

Biography

Carol Prescott earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in Experimental Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in clinical research and quantitative methods from the University of Virginia. Her clinical internship at the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) focused on geropsychology. She then had post-doctoral training in psychiatric genetics and epidemiology at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she then joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry. In 2005 she moved to the Department of Psychology at USC, where she is affiliated with the Quantitative Methods area and the Clinical Science doctoral program. She also has a joint appointment in USC’s Davis School of Gerontology.

Dr. Prescott’s research has been funded by grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (including the Institute on Aging, Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, Mental Health, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse), as well as the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Dr. Prescott has received several awards in recognition of her research, including the Fulker Award from the Behavior Genetics Association and the Theodore Reich Prize from the International Society for Psychiatric Genetics.

Education

  • Ph.D. Psychology (Clinical Research), University of Virginia, 1991
  • M.A. Experimental Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, 1985
  • B.A. Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, 1984

  • Tenure Track Appointments

    • Professor, University of Southern California, 2005 –
    • Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2000 – 2005
    • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1995 – 2000

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    The primary goal of my research is to understand the genetic and environmental sources of individual differences in cognition and cognitive aging. Approaches to this include using twin and family studies and molecular genetic methods, as well as studies of sex differences. Other research interests include the etiology of substance use disorders and psychopathology.

    Research Specialties

    Cognition,
    Behavior Genetics,
    Psychiatric Epidemiology,
    Substance Use Disorders,
    Psychopathology,
    Longitudinal Data Analysis, Research Methodology

  • Contracts and Grants Awarded

    • SES health gradients in late life: Testing models of gene-environment interplay in IGEMS, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Nancy Pedersen, B. Finch, M. Gatz, $461,000, 09/01/2018 – 05/31/2023
    • Clarifying risk and protective factors for dementia in the IGEMS consortium, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Margaret Gatz, Nancy Pedersen, $610,000, 09/01/2018 – 03/03/2023
    • Project Talent Aging Study – Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Carol Prescott, $3,800,000, 09/15/2017 – 04/30/2021
    • Diversity Supplement to Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Decline in Project Talent, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Carol Prescott, Catalina Zavala, $368,000, 10/01/2018 – 10/31/2020
    • Assessing and Improving Measures of Cognition in the HRS, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Carol Prescott, John McArdle (Former PI), $5,732,533, 05/01/2011 – 06/30/2020
    • Evaluation of Dementia & DNA Collection in Underrepresented Minority Twins and Sibs in PTAS, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Carol Prescott, $252,000, 11/01/2018 – 04/30/2019
    • DNA Collection for Genetic Studies of AD, Dementia and Cognitive Aging in Project Talent Aging Study, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Carol Prescott, $100,000, 09/15/2017 – 04/30/2019
    • PTAS: Adolescent Antecedents of Dementia in Underrepresented Minority Participants, (National Institute on Aging / NIH), Carol Prescott, $100,000, 09/15/2017 – 04/30/2019
    • President, Behavior Genetics Association, 06/2013 – 06/2014
    • Fulker Award, Behavior Genetics Association, 2007
    • Theodore Reich Young Investigator Award, International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, 2004
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