HomeCollegesCollegesCollege of Natural and Health SciencesFaculty And StaffProfilesDr. Mariapaola Barbato
Assistant Professor

PhD in “Cognitive Psychology, Psychophysiology & Personality”-Sapienza-University of Rome (Italy) (2011)

MSc in “Diagnosis and Rehabilitation of Cognitive Disorders”- Faculty of Psychology (2007)

Graduated with Full Grades: 110/110 cum laude - Sapienza - University of Rome (Italy)

Bio

Over the years I have gained research and teaching experience in different countries, including Singapore, Italy, Canada and UAE. My research focuses on neurocognition and on social cognition in both healthy and clinical populations. Part of my research focuses on youth mental health with a specific focus on the psychosis prodrome. I am also interested in the gut-brain interaction and the impact of nutrition on cognition and mental health. I have joined Zayed University in Fall 2017.

 EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

  • Adjunct Instructor in Psychology at American University in Dubai (UAE) 2016-2017
  • Adjunct Instructor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary (Canada) 2014
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Hotchkiss Brain Institute - University of Calgary (Canada) 2011-2015

My Honors and Awards: (last 5 years)

  • REALISE External Module Registration Award–Hotchkiss Brain Institute (2014)

  • Hotchkiss Brain Institute / Mathison Centre Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014-2016)

  • Hotchkiss Brain Institute / Mathison Centre PFUN grant for the project “Neural changes following social cognitive training in youth at clinical high risk of psychosis: a pilot investigation” (2014) (PI is Dr. Jean Addington)

  • Mathison Travel Award, Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education (2013).

  • Depression and Psychosis Program Travel Award - Hotchkiss Brain Institute (2013)

 
Office

Dubai Academic City, A-L2-042

Phone:

+971 4 402 1623

Email:
Teaching Areas

Cognition, Biopsychology, Mental Health

Research and Professional Activities

Memberships in Professional Organizations:

Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS)
International Early Psychosis Association (IEPA)
Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS)
Learning and the Brain Society (L&B)

Journal Reviewer:

Schizophrenia Bulletin
Schizophrenia Research
Early Intervention in Psychiatry
BMC Psychiatry
The British Journal of Psychiatry
Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
Psychiatry Research
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
Journal of Experimental Psychopathology

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Students are encouraged to contact me directly () to discuss research opportunities.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS: 

  • Barbato, M., Al Hemeiri, S., Nafie, S., Dhuhair, B.A., Dabbagh, N.T. Characterizing individuals accessing mental health services in the UAE: a focus on youth living in Dubai. International Journal of Mental Health Systems (in press).

  • Stocker, J, Abu-Hilal, M, Hermena, E, AlJassmi, M, Barbato, M. Internal/External Frame of Reference Model and Dimensional Comparison Theory: A novel exploration of their applicability among Arab High School Students. Educational Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/01443410.2021.1887455.

  • Barbato, M, Arora, T, Al Hemeiri, S, AlJassmi, MA. Looking within: Interoceptive sensibility in young adults with psychotic‐like experiences. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 2021; 1– 8. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.13117

  • Thomas, J., Barbato, M., Verlinden, M., Gaspar, C., Moussa, M., Ghorayeb, J., Menon, A., Figueiras, M.J., Arora, T., Bentall, R.P. (2020). Psychosocial Correlates of Depression and Anxiety in the United Arab Emirates During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11:564172. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.564172.

  • Thomas, J., Barbato, M. (2020). Positive Religious Coping and Mental Health Among Christians and Muslims in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Religions, 11(10), art. no. 498, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100498

  • Barbato, M., Almulla, A.A., Marotta, A. (2020). The Effect of Trust on Gaze-Mediated Attentional Orienting. Front. Psychol. 11:1554. https://doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01554

  • Barbato, M., Thomas, J. (2020). Far from the eyes, close to the heart: Psychological Impact of COVID-19 in a Sample of Italian foreign workers. Psychiatry Research, 290: 113113. https://doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113113

  • Terenzi, D., Mainetto, E., Barbato, M., Rumiati, R., Aiello, M. (2019). Temporal and Effort cost Decision-making in Healthy Individuals with Subclinical Psychotic Symptoms. Scientific Reports 9, 2151. https://doi:10.1038/s41598-018-38284-x.

  • Barbato, M., Buchy, L., Bray, S., MacMaster, F.P., Kuang, C., Deighton, S., Addington, J. (2017) Testing the feasibility of a computerized facial affect recognition training in early psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, 190, 180-181.

  • Buchy, L., Barbato, M., Makowski, C., Bray, S., MacMaster, F.P., Deighton, S., Addington, J. (2017) Mapping structural covariance networks of facial emotion recognition in early psychosis: A pilot study. Schizophrenia Research, 189, 146-152.

  • Kuang, C., Buchy, L., Barbato, M., Makowski, C., MacMaster, F.P., Bray, S., Deighton, S., Addington, J. (2017) A pilot study of cognitive insight and structural covariance in first-episode psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, 179, 91-96

  • Buchy, L., Barbato, M., MacMaster, F.P., Bray, S., Clark, D., Deighton, S, Addington, J. (2016) Cognitive insight is associated with cortical thickness in first-episode psychosis. Schizophrenia Research 172(1-3) 16-22

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