Anoushka D. Shahane
ABOUT ME
I am a PhD student at Rice University studying Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience and proud alum of Tufts University '15.
I currently work with Dr. Bryan Denny in the BioScience Research Collaborative (Rice).
Previously, I worked with Drs. Mahzarin Banaji (Harvard), Jason Mitchell (Harvard), Diana Tamir (Princeton), and Heather Urry (Tufts).
I also was an Associate Consultant at Putnam Associates (ranked as a top boutique consulting firm in North America by Vault) and the bioinformatics and computational chemistry intern at Cubist Pharmaceuticals.
I am a recipient of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (National Institute of Health) Fellowship (F31) and the Rice University 2020 Vaughn Fellowship. I study neurobiological and immunological mechanisms of affective processes and how they relate to cardiovascular disease among highly-stressed populations.
When I'm not doing research or classwork, you can probably find me in the ballet studio, playing piano, or drinking sugar with a side of coffee.
Affiliations: Tufts University, Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine
AWARDS, HONORS, PUBLICATIONS, & PRESENTATIONS
FELLOWSHIPS
Ruth L. Kirschstein NIH National Research Service Award Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (F31) | 2019-22
National Institute of Health
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
CDFA: Cardiovascular Diseases Research
Lodieska Stockbridge Vaughn Fellowship | 2020-21
Rice University (Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies)
Awarded to a limited number of Rice graduate students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and promise
AWARDS & HONORS
The Social & Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS) Conference Poster Award | 2020
Awarded to posters with top ratings by SANS Program Committee at the annual SANS conference; $200 prize
Rice University Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Award Winner | 2020
Awarded to an outstanding grant proposal based on innovation and significance; $5,000
UTHealth Neuroscience Research Symposium 1st Place Poster Award | 2019
Awarded to the best research poster at the Neuroscience Research Center Annual Conference; $1,000 prize
2019 SPSP Convention Diversity Graduate Travel Award Winner | 2019
Awarded based on excellence of scholarly record; $500
Junior Scientist Fellowship Award Winner (APAGS/Psi Chi) | 2018
Awarded to outstanding research-oriented students in the United States; $1,000
Rice University Pre-Dissertation Grant Award Winner | 2018
Awarded to an outstanding grant proposal based on innovation and significance; $2,000
The Thomas Harrison & Emily Leonard Carmichael Prize Scholarship | 2015
Awarded to the academically able student who has demonstrated ability in general physiology
Tufts University Cum Laude Society | 2015
Awarded to students with at least five A’s in concentration requirements and a GPA above 3.5
High Thesis Honors in Senior Honors Thesis | 2015
Awarded high thesis honors distinction for senior honors thesis in neuroscience
Wendell Phillips Memorial Scholarship Nominee | 2015
Nominated to speak at Baccalaureate ceremony for demonstrating marked speaking ability and high sense of public responsibility
Psi Chi International Honors Society Scholar | 2014
Inducted based on achievement: major GPA of at least 3.50; overall GPA in top 35% of class
Dean’s List at Tufts University | 2012-2015
Awarded for having a GPA above 3.5
The Antara Biswas Academic Excellence Award and Class Valedictorian | 2011
Awarded to the student who excelled in every subject in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
The Academic Achievement Award | 2010
Awarded to the student with the highest International Baccalaureate Score and GPA
The American Fine Arts Festival Finalist | 2008
Finalist in the American Fine Arts Festival for piano performance (New York, NY)
PUBLICATIONS
Shahane, A. D., LeRoy, A. S., Denny, B. T., Fagundes, C. P. (2020). Connecting cognition, cardiology, and chromosomes: Cognitive reappraisal impacts the relationship between heart rate variability and telomere length in CD8+CD28– cells. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 112, 104517.
Brown, R. L., Shahane, A. D., Chen, M. A., & Fagundes, C. P. (2020). Cognitive reappraisal and nasal cytokine production following experimental rhinovirus infection. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 1, 10012.
Shahane, A. D. & Denny, B. T. (forthcoming). Emotion regulation and writing. In G. Lenor Schiewer, J. Altarriba, B. Chin Ng (Eds.), The Handbook on Language and Emotion. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Shahane, A. D. & Denny, B. T. (2019). Predicting emotional health indicators from linguistic evidence of psychological distancing. Stress & Health.
Shahane, A. D., Lopez, R. B., Denny, B. T. (2019). Implicit reappraisal as an emotional buffer: Reappraisal-related neural activity moderates the relationship between inattention and perceived stress during exposure to negative stimuli. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience. 19(2), 355-365.
Shahane, A. D., Fagundes, C. P., & Denny, B. T. (2018). Mending the heart and mind during times of loss: a review of interventions to improve emotional well-being during spousal bereavement. Bereavement Care, 37(2), 44–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/02682621.2018.1493640
Fagundes, C. P., Brown, R. L., Chen, M. A., Murdock, K. W., Saucedo, L., LeRoy, A. S., Wu, L., Garcini, L. M., Shahane, A. D., Baameur, F., Heijnen, C. (2019). Grief, depressive symptoms, and inflammation in the spousally bereaved. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 100, 190-197.
Birk, J. L., Rogers, A. H., Shahane, A. D., Urry, H. L. (2018). The heart of control: proactive cognitive control limits anxious cardiac arousal under stress. Motivation and Emotion. doi 10.1007/s11031-017-9659-x
Jones, J., Diehnelt, E., Shahane, A. D., Puri, E., Shah, D., Estuar, R…Jafaar, J. (2013). Definitions of Peace and Reconciliation in South and Southeast Asia. In K. Malley-Morrison, A. Mercurio, G. Twose (Eds.), The International Handbook of Peace and Reconciliation (pp. 107–17). New York, NY: Springer.
Murata, A., Murata, M., Shahane, A. D., Jones-Rooy, A., Mi-Sung Kim, H. (2013). Definitions of Peace and Reconciliation in South and Southeast Asia. In K. Malley-Morrison, A. Mercurio, G. Twose (Eds.), The International Handbook of Peace and Reconciliation (pp. 117–31). New York, NY: Springer.
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Shahane, A. D. & Denny, B. T. (2020). Connecting cognition, cardiology, and chromosomes: Cognitive reappraisal impacts the relationship between heart rate variability and telomere length in CD8+CD28– cells. Social & Affective Neuroscience Society Conference, Santa Barbara, CA, May 3, 2020.**Poster Award Winner
Shahane, A. D. & Denny, B. T. (2019). Training-induced changes in a whole-brain signature of cognitive reappraisal are related to reductions in grief and depressive symptoms in bereaved spouses. UTHealth Neuroscience Conference, Houston, TX, December 7, 2019.**Poster Award Winner
Shahane, A. D., Lopez, R. B., Denny, B. T. (2019). Training-induced changes in a whole-brain signature of cognitive reappraisal are related to reductions in grief and depressive symptoms in bereaved spouses. Social & Affective Neuroscience Society Conference, Miami, FL, May 2, 2019.
Shahane, A. D., Lopez, R. B., Denny, B. T. (2019). Unconscious emotion regulation is protective? Emotion regulation-related brain activity moderates the link between inattention and perceived stress during exposure to negative stimuli. SPSP, Portland, OR, February 7, 2019. **Poster Award Finalist
Shahane, A. D., Lopez, R. B., Denny, B. T. (2018). Implicit reappraisal as an emotional buffer: Reappraisal-related neural activity moderates the relationship between inattention and perceived stress during exposure to negative stimuli. UTHealth Neuroscience Conference, Houston, TX, December 1, 2018.
Shahane, A. D., Lopez, R. B., Denny, B. T. (2018). Spontaneous recruitment of cognitive control brain regions serves as a buffer between risk for depression and a neural signature of negative emotion. Social & Affective Neuroscience Society Conference, Brooklyn, NY, May 3, 2018.
Lopez, R. B., Shahane, A. D., Denny, B. T. (2018). Emotional support serves as a buffer against rejection sensitivity in negative emotional situations, particularly among those with robust neural signatures of negative appraisal. Social and Affective Neuroscience Society Conference, Brooklyn, NY, May 3, 2018.
Shahane, A. D., Chandrasekaran, V., Knight-Connoni, V., Barry, K., Schuster, B. (2014). Prioritization of Natural Product Producing Strains Based on Secondary Metabolite Biosynthetic Potential. Cubist Pharmaceuticals Research Symposium, Lexington, MA, August 14, 2014.
Shahane, A. D. & Urry, H. L. (2015). The Effect of a Cognitive Control Manipulation on Anxiety: A Longitudinal Study. Tufts University Annual Cognitive and Brain Sciences Symposium. Medford, MA, April 28, 2015.
PROFESSIONAL TALKS
Shahane, A. D. (2020). From cognition to cardiovascular disease: Investigating the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and C-reactive protein. Invited flash talk at Rice University Annual Department Research Symposium. Houston, TX, April 20, 2020
Shahane, A. D. (2020). A future career in the psychological and brain sciences. Invited lightning talk to represent all graduate students at the Rice University Department (School of Social Sciences) 40th Anniversary Commemoration. Houston, TX, April 18, 2020.
Shahane, A. D. (2019). Lexical, chromosomal, and neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal and how they relate to health indicators. Rice University Health Tea. Houston, TX, March 27, 2019.
Shahane, A. D. (2018). Linguistic evidence of distancing is related to positive health indicators: A computational approach leveraging supervised machine learning. Rice University Health Tea. Houston, TX, October 3, 2018.
Shahane, A. D. (2017). How structural properties and related functional connectivity of putative emotion regulation networks predict health relevant behavior. Rice University Health Tea. Houston, TX, October 25, 2017.
Shahane, A. D., Urry, H. L. (2015). The Effect of a Cognitive Control Manipulation on Anxiety: A Longitudinal Study. Tufts University Undergraduate Research Scholarship Symposium (URSS). Medford, MA, April 28, 2015.