Rachel Bernier, PhD

Whether seeing a person for a neuropsychological assessment or to provide therapy to develop cognitive strategies, my goal is to provide neuropsychological services that are grounded in empirical support while also individualizing my assessment and intervention approach to your needs.

I’m a neuropsychologist and licensed clinical psychologist. A New England native, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross. I then earned my PhD in Clinical Psychology, with a focus in Neuropsychology, from the Pennsylvania State University. During graduate school, I also completed specialized neuropsychology training with emphasis on neurodegenerative/memory disorders at Rhode Island Hospital/Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

After graduate school, I moved to the West Coast to complete my predoctoral internship at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)/ Veterans Administration (VA) San Diego with specialization in neuropsychology and my postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology in the Department of Neurosciences at UCSD. I have trained in academic medical centers, community mental health clinics, and VA hospitals in both inpatient and outpatient settings. I also served on the executive committee as the postdoctoral liaison for the Alzheimer’s Association Alliance of Women Alzheimer's Researchers (AWARE) Professional Interest Area from 2020-2022. I draw on my research background in the use of neuroimaging and behavioral methods to understand neurodevelopment changes as we age or recover from injury.

Select publications:

Bernier, R. A., Banks, S. J., Panizzon, M. S., Andrews, M. J., Jacobs, E. G., Galasko, D. R., ... & Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2022). The neuroinflammatory marker sTNFR2 relates to worse cognition and tau in women across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 14(1), e12284.

Bernier, R. A., Venkatesan, U. M., Soto, J. A., Rabinowitz, A. R., Hong, J. S., & Hillary, F. G. (2021). Perceived discrimination and blood pressure in individuals aging with traumatic brain injury. Rehabilitation psychology, 66(2), 148.

Bernier, R. A., Roy, A., Venkatesan, U. M., Grossner, E. C., Brenner, E. K., & Hillary, F. G. (2017). Dedifferentiation does not account for hyperconnectivity after traumatic brain injury. Frontiers in neurology, 8, 297.