Liberty Hamilton

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information	liberty [at] this domain DOT com
Research Interests	Neurobiology of music, musical processing, and effects of music on the brain. Neurobiology of language, cognitive mechanisms that account for and influence second language development. Neuroimaging and anatomical correlates of brain pathologies. Neural mechanisms of memory formation and retrieval.
Education	University of California, Berkeley, (2008-present). Ph.D. Program, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. Scripps College, Claremont, California (2002-2006). B.A. in Neuroscience, cum laude. Additional concentrations in Spanish and Music. Courses with laboratory: Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Neurobiology, Mathematical Physiology, Cell Biology, Memory and Language. Additional courses: Neuropharmacology, Comparative Endocrinology, Statistics. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pontífica Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina (Spring 2005). Coursework in Argentinean music, literature, and documentary film.
Publications	Narr KL, Szeszko PR, Lencz T, Woods RP, Hamilton LS, Phillips O, Robinson D, Burdick KE, DeRosse P, Kucherlapati R, Thompson PM, Toga AW, Malhotra AK, Bilder RM. DTNBP1 is associated with imaging phenotypes in schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009 Nov;30(11):3783-94. Hamilton LS, Altshuler LL, Townsend J, Bookheimer SY, Phillips OR, Fischer J, Woods RP, Mazziotta JC, Toga AW, Nuechterlein KH, Narr KL. Alterations in functional activation in euthymic bipolar disorder and schizophrenia during a working memory task. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009 Dec;30(12):3958-69. Lüders E, Sanchez FJ, Gaser C, Toga AW, Narr KL, Hamilton LS, Vilain E. Regional gray matter variation in male-to-female transsexualism. Neuroimage. 2009 Jul 15;46(4):904-7. Narr KL, Hageman N, Woods RP, Hamilton LS, Clark K, Phillips O, Shattuck DW, ASarnow RF, Toga AW, Nuechterlein KH (2007). Mean diffusivity: A biomarker for CSF-related disease and genetic liability effects in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging. 2009 Jan 30;171(1):20-32. Phillips OR, Nuechterlein KH, Clark KA, Hamilton LS, Asarnow RF, Hageman NS, Toga AW, Narr KL. Fiber tractography reveals disruption of temporal lobe white matter tracts in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2009 Jan: 107(1):30-8. Lüders E, Narr KL, Hamilton LS, Phillips OR, Thompson PM, Valle JS, Del'Homme M, Strickland T, McCracken JT, Toga AW, Levitt JG. Decreased callosal thickness in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biol psychiatry. 2009 Jan 1; 65(1):84-8. Hamilton LS, Levitt JG, O'Neill J, Alger JR, Lüders E, Phillips OR, Caplan R, Toga AW, McCracken J, Narr KL. Reduced white matter integrity in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuroreport. 2008 Nov 19;19(17):1705-8. Coscia DM, Narr KL, Robinson DG, Hamilton LS, Sevy S, Burdick KE, Gunduz-Bruce H, McCormack J, Bilder RM, Szeszko PR. Volumetric and shape analysis of the thalamus in first-episode schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009 Apr;30(4):1236-45. Lüders E, Narr KL, Bilder RM, Szeszko PR, Gurbani MN, Hamilton L, Toga AW, Gaser C (2007). Mapping the Relationship between Cortical Convolution and Intelligence: Effects of Gender. Cereb Cortex. 2007 Dec 17 Ballmaier M, Narr KL, Toga AW, Elderkin-Thompson V, Thompson PM, Hamilton L, Haroon E, Pham D, Heinz A, Kumar A (2007). Hippocampal Morphology and Distinguishing Late-Onset From Early-Onset Elderly Depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Nov. 6 Hamilton LS, Narr KL, Lüders E, Szeszko PR, Thompson PM, Bilder RM, Toga AW (2007). Asymmetries of cortical thickness: effects of handedness, sex, and schizophrenia. Neuroreport. 18(14):1427-1431. Lüders E, Narr KL, Bilder RM, Thompson PM, Szeszko PR, Hamilton L, Toga AW (2007). Positive correlations between corpus callosum thickness and intelligence. Neuroimage. Jul 12.
Abstracts	Elliott T, Hamilton L, Theunissen F. Spectrotemporal Modulations Underlying Speech and Timbre Perception. Spectrotemporal Modulations Underlying Speech and Timbre Perception. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 2009. Conference Abstract: Computational and systems neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.06.2009.03.234 Hamilton L, Bao S. Top-Down Influences on Intensity Coding in Primary Auditory Cortex. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 2010. Conference Abstract: Computational and systems neuroscience. (accepted)
Work Experience	Staff Research Associate, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at UCLA (LONI), Los Angeles, California (July 2006-August 2009) Preprocessing and analysis of structural MRI, functional MRI, and DTI data. Delineation of neuroanatomical structures, registration of brain images, and maintenance of computer file records. Creation of shell scripts in support of LONI activities, e.g. brain registration, statistical analyses. Preparation of figures for scientific papers and presentations. Training collaborators on LONI software and interacting with other laboratory assistants on common projects. fMRI and DTI analysis in FSL, SPM5, MNI tools, and using in-house software (Automated Image Registration, etc.) MRI scanning in Allegra 3.0T and Sonata 1.5T Siemens scanners. Created website detailing protocols used in our lab (see http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~narr/protocols.php). Music Library Assistant, Scripps College, Claremont, California (Spring 2006) Cataloguing and database management Stage manager and usher for student recitals Peer Mentor, Scripps College, Claremont, California (2003-2004 school year, Spring 2006) Selected by Scripps College to mentor first year students and transfer students coming to the college. Spanish teacher, Chaparral Elementary School, Claremont, California (Spring 2004) Taught fifth graders Spanish in an immersive environment (Spanish only) through games as well as spoken and written exercises. Student Assistant, UNAVCO, Inc., Boulder, Colorado (April 2001-June 2006) Perl script development in support of GPS Archive activities--scripts to inject GPS data into the UNAVCO database, scripts to generate web pages based on PI-submitted GPS data, various scripts for extracting information from data files and GPS logs. JavaScript development of SiteViewer application--web-based mapping tool showing geographical location along with measured data for UNAVCO GPS campaigns across the globe. Data entry of GPS logsheets. Web site design and maintenance for web sites produced to present GPS data and information about campaigns with related photos and publications.
Honors and Awards	National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2009 James E. Scripps Scholarship (August 2002-May 2006) Scripps College National Merit Scholarship (August 2002-May 2006) Scripps College Dean's List (Fall 2002, Fall 2003, Spring 2004, Fall 2005, Spring 2006) AP Scholar with Distinction (Spring 2001, Spring 2002) National Council of Teachers of English Writing Award (Spring 2002)
Skills	HTML, JavaScript, Perl, LaTeX, some csh, mySQL, and PHP. Experienced user of Mac OS X, Unix, Windows XP Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel SPSS statistical software, R statistical software FSL fMRI analysis DTI analysis in SPM5, learning tractography in MedINRIA MRI safety-certified: have experience operating Siemens Sonata 1.5T and Allegra 3.0T scanners. Fluent spoken/written English and Spanish; fair Italian and French. 1 year of Swedish.
Other Interests	Dance: ballet (7 years), tango, modern, jazz, hip hop, salsa. Piano (14 years)--performed in various piano festivals, including Five on Five concerts (five grand pianos simulataneously playing five different parts of an arranged orchestral piece).