As Senior Medical Writer at the Neuroscience Education Institute, Dr. Morrissette is dedicated to bringing the latest advances in neurobiology, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health issues to the forefront of healthcare. Her mission is to improve quality of life for patients with psychiatric illnesses by increasing awareness and understanding in the clinicians who treat them. After obtaining her BS in Biology with a Biomedical Science concentration at Framingham State College, Dr. Morrissette went on to study Alzheimer's disease in transgenic mouse models -first in the Aging Studies program at the University of South Florida and subsequently at the University of California, Irvine where she obtained her PhD in Neuroscience. Her basic science background focused on neurodegenerative disease, animal models, excitotoxicity, and molecular biology/biotechnology. Dr. Morrissette has since expanded her interest and focus to psychiatry and psychopharmacology. She has written numerous peer-reviewed articles and books on a variety of mental health issues including psychosis, sleep/wake disorders, and violence. She has also been integrally involved in the development of several treatment guidelines including the California State Violence Assessment and Treatment (Cal-VAT) guidelines, "Meta-guidelines" for the Treatment of Schizophrenia, and Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Mixed Depression. Dr. Morrissette is also a vocalist and lyricist who has recorded numerous music videos that utilize popular songs to educate clinicians about complex topics in neuroscience and psychiatry.
Dr. Morrissette's research interests involve the etiology and neurobiological bases for various psychiatric and neurological issues including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and traumatic brain injury. On a broader level, she also investigates how circadian rhythm disturbances affect both mental and physical well-being, genetic and epigenetic underpinnings of brain function and treatment response, and the influence of neurotransmitter systems and circuits on psychiatric symptom presentation and amelioration. Dr. Morrissette has also extensively examined the association between violence and mental illness as well as pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods for preventing violent and aggressive behaviors. Her most recent research endeavor is focused on major depression with mixed features, including the consequences of overlooking the presence of subthreshold hypomania in patients presenting with a major depressive episode and the possible over-prescribing of antidepressants in such patients.