Jack J. Blanchard, Ph.D.

Background:

Dr. Blanchard received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1991 from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Blanchard was Co-Director of the Clinical Program from 2003-2005 and has served as Director of the Program since 2005. Dr. Blanchard served as President of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (Section III, Division 12 of APA) and currently serves as Consulting Editor for the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (previously serving as Associate Editor for this journal). He received the 2005 Excellence in Teaching Mentorship Award from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Research and Teaching Interests:

Dr. Blanchard conducts research examining the psychopathology of schizophrenia and schizotypy. This research involves understanding the emotional, social, and neurocognitive changes associated with these disorders. Much of his research has focused on understanding how emotion is altered in schizophrenia and how individual differences in affective traits are related to other aspects of the disorder including social dysfunction, stress reactivity, and cognitive impairment. Related to this work on emotion, Dr. Blanchard's lab has sought to understand how decreased hedonic capacity might serve as an indicator of the genetic liability for schizophrenia. A current focus of his lab is the development of new assessment approaches for the measurement of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. This research is part of a multi-site investigation funded by NIMH: the Collaboration to Advance Negative Symptom Assessment in Schizophrenia (CANSAS). The CANSAS project involves the University of Maryland (Dr. Blanchard and Dr. Melanie Bennett), the University of Pennsylvania (Dr. Raquel Gur), UCLA (Dr. Bill Horan) and UC-Berkeley (Dr. Ann Kring). Dr. Blanchard's teaching interests include adult psychopathology and empirically supported approaches to clinical intervention.

Courses Taught:

• Adult Psychopathology
• Adult Interventions
• Seminar on Schizophrenia
• Clinical Supervision

Representative Publications:

Blanchard, J. J., Kring, A. M., Horan, W. P., & Gur, R. (in press). Toward the next generation of negative symptom assessments: The Collaboration to Advance Negative Symptom Assessment in Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin. 10.1093/schbul/sbq104

Forbes, C., Blanchard, J. J., Bennett, M., Horan, W. P., Kring, A. M., & Gur, R. (in press). Initial development and preliminary validation of a new negative symptom measure: The Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). Schizophrenia Research. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2010.08.039

Blanchard, J.J., Aghevli, M., Wilson , A., Sargeant, M. (2010). Developmental instability in social anhedonia: An examination of minor physical anomalies and clinical characteristics. Schizophrenia Research, 118, 162-167.

Cohen, A.S., Emmerson, L.C., Mann, M.C., Forbes, C.B., & Blanchard, J.J. (2010). Schizotypal, schizoid and paranoid characteristics in the biological parents of social anhedonics. Psychiatry Research , 178, 79-83.

Emmerson, L.C., Miller, S.L., & Blanchard, J.J. (2009). Behavioral signs of schizoidia and schizotypy in the biological parents of social anhedonics. Behavior Modification , 33, 452-473.

Horan, W.P., Blanchard, J.J., Clark, L.A. , & Green, M.F. (2008). Affective traits in schizophrenia and schizotypy. Schizophrenia Bulletin , 34 , 856-874.

Horan, W.P., Brown, S.A., & Blanchard, J.J. (2007). Social anhedonia and schizotypy: The contribution of individual differences in affective traits, stress, and coping. Psychiatry Research , 149 , 147-156.

Cacioppo, J.T., Amaral, D., Blanchard, J.J., Cameron, J.L., Carter, C.S., Crews, D., Fiske, S., Heatherton, T., Johnson, M.K., Kozak, M.J., Levenson, R.W., Lord, C., Miller, E.K., Ochsner, K., Raichle, M.E., Shea, M.T., Taylor, S.E., Young, L., & Quinn, K.J. (2007). Social neuroscience: Progress and implications for mental health. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 2 , 99-123.

Grants:

Title: Understanding Emotion and Social Impairment in Schizophrenia
Role: Principal Investigator
Agency: NIMH (K02 MH079231)
Total Project Period: 4/1/08 through 3/31/13
Summary: This is an Independent Scientist Award and provides support for Dr. Blanchard to receive additional training and consultation in affective neuroscience and developmental psychopathology. The ultimate aim of this grant is to develop novel approaches to understanding the emotional changes and social impairment that characterize schizophrenia.

Title: Collaboration to Advance Negative Symptom Assessment in Schizophrenia (CANSAS)
Role: Principal Investigator
Agency: NIMH (MH082839)
Total Project Period: 3/1/09 through 12/31/11
Summary: This three-year project seeks to develop the next-generation clinical rating scale for the assessment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. This involves four collaborating sites at the University of Maryland (Dr. Blanchard and Dr. Melanie Bennett), University of Pennsylvania (Dr. Raquel Gur), UCLA (Dr. Bill Horan) and UC-Berkeley (Dr. Ann Kring). The reliability and validity of the newly developed negative symptom scale will be assessed in over 400 individuals with schizophrenia across two studies.

Title:  Schizophrenia Research Training Program
Role: Director/PI
Agency: NIMH (T32)
PI: Jack J. Blanchard
Period: 07/01/2010 to 6/30/2015
This grant award supports an established (first funded in 2003) National Research Service Award predoctoral training program in schizophrenia research at the University of Maryland , College Park (UMCP). This predoctoral training program is designed to develop future schizophrenia researchers capable of translating basic behavioral, cognitive, developmental and neuroscience principles into research on the psychopathology and treatment of schizophrenia. This NRSA emphasizes a multidisciplinary orientation that includes diverse course work and the involvement of research mentors at UMCP, the UM Medical School, and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center . Mentors represent a diverse array of research including ethical issues, neuropsychological aspects of functioning, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, neurological models of symptomatology, emotion and stress reactivity, social impairment and psychosocial remediation, detection of risk for the development of schizophrenia, gender differences, comorbidity, family issues, and service models.