Keith M. Shafritz

Biography

Dr. Keith Shafritz is an associate professor in the Hofstra University Department of Psychology, and an professor in Translational Psychiatry at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. He will be chair of the Hofstra University Department of Psychology beginning September 2013. Dr. Shafritz received his PhD in Neuroscience from Yale University in 2002. He then spent a year as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. In 2003, Dr. Shafritz moved to Duke University, where he spent two years as a Research Associate in Neuroimaging. Prior to coming to Hofstra and Northwell Health, he spent a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Drew University in Madison, NJ. Dr. Shafritz has published his research findings in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and NeuroImage. In addition, his research has been featured in professional newsletters and trade publications, such as Advance for Speech Pathologists and Audiologists, Hofstra Horizons, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) eAdvances. His research findings have also been featured by multiple media outlets, such as Newsday and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, AAAS, and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society.

Research Interest

Dr. Shafritz’s research examines the neural and cognitive mechanisms of attention, executive function, and emotion. He also studies psychological disorders that involve dysregulation of these processes, such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism. To study these phenomena, he uses a combination of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), and classic cognitive tests such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Continuous Performance Test, and the Go-No/Go task. A goal of this research is to determine the brain mechanisms underlying behavioral disorders, so that future treatments can target those specific brain areas.