Chrystal Vergara-Lopez, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine and the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence for Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) at The Miriam Hospital. She also serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Vergara-Lopez provides supervision and mentorship to clinical and research trainees, fostering the next generation of behavioral health researchers and practitioners.
Her research employs experimental and longitudinal methods to examine cognitive, biological, and contextual mechanisms underlying mental health and substance use. Her work focuses on cognitive control, repetitive negative thinking, adversity, stress physiology, and hormonal influences during key developmental periods, including adolescence and young adulthood. The Brain and Behavior Foundation, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse have supported her research.
Dr. Vergara-Lopez is a licensed psychologist with clinical expertise across the lifespan. She provides integrated behavioral health services, individual therapy, well-being interventions, and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. She is committed to culturally responsive care for Spanish-preference individuals from Latine communities.
She earned a BA in Psychology from New York University, an MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University at Buffalo, completed a clinical residency at Rutgers University, and a NIDA-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
