Current Positions

• Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
• Director, Electroconvulsive Therapy Services, Psychiatry
• Director, Interventional Psychiatry Services

Education

• BA, Sociology, University of Notre Dame
• MD, University of Nebraska College of Medicine
• MS, University of Iowa
• Residency, Psychiatry, Barnes-Jewish Hospital
• Fellowship, Neuropsychiatry, Stanford Health
• Fellowship, Neuromodulation and Neuroscience, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

• Iowa Neuroscience Institute

Research Interests

The Trapp lab engages in research endeavors aimed at improving the current applications of neuromodulation, better understanding the physiologic effects of brain stimulation therapies, and exploring the potential for these therapies in new patient populations.  We are currently engaged in research focused on:

• Better understanding the physiologic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the human brain (using electrocorticography)
• Discovering biomarkers of rTMS treatment response in patients receiving clinical treatment for major depressive disorder (using heart rate variability and electroencephalography)
• Applying these therapies in clinical trials for various conditions (we are leading ongoing clinical trials with applications for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder)
• Exploring neuroimaging changes that occur following treatment courses of electroconvulsive therapy and rTMS
• Examining the clinical efficacy of vagal nerve stimulation for treatment-resistant depression
• Optimizing treatment parameters of deep brain stimulators for obsessive compulsive disorder and predictors of treatment response