Education
PhD, Emory University 2020
Bio
Dr. Pollak’s work is focused on understanding genetic disorders associated with autism, schizophrenia, and other developmental and psychiatric disorders. She completed her undergraduate degrees in molecular biology and psychology at the University of Delaware. She then went on to complete a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Emory University with Drs. Jennifer Mulle and Michael Zwick. After a postdoctoral fellowship with Drs. Joseph Buxbaum and Nan Yang at Mount Sinai, she came to CABM to reunite with Dr. Mulle.
When not in the lab, Dr. Pollak enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and dog; running; hiking; and reading
Research Focus
Using molecular biology, animal and cellular models, and human phenotypic data to understand the impact of the 3q29 deletion and duplication.
Pollak R, Purcell R, Rutkowski T, et al. Metabolic effects of the schizophrenia-associated 3q29 deletion. Translational psychiatry. 2022;12(1):66. doi:10.1038/s41398-022-01824-1.
Pollak R, Zinsmeister M, Murphy M, Zwick M, Project E, Mulle J. New phenotypes associated with 3q29 duplication syndrome: Results from the 3q29 registry. American journal of medical genetics. Part A. 2020;182(5):1152-1166. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.61540.
Pollak R, Murphy M, Epstein M, et al. Neuropsychiatric phenotypes and a distinct constellation of ASD features in 3q29 deletion syndrome: results from the 3q29 registry. Molecular autism. 2019;10:30. doi:10.1186/s13229-019-0281-5.