Uraina Simone Clark is an American

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

and Director of the Neuropsychology and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

. Her research makes use of

functional magnetic resonance imaging Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...

to understand how stressors impact brain and behaviour. She has studied the impact of discrimination on brain function, and shown that social discrimination results in an increase in

amygdala The amygdala (; : amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek language, Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is a paired nucleus (neuroanatomy), nuclear complex present in the Cerebral hemisphere, cerebral hemispheres of vertebrates. It is c ...

function.

Early life and education

In college Clark worked in several research labs, which taught her "the transformative potential of science" and inspired her towards a career in research. She is related to Dr. Richard A. Smith, a physician who worked in the US Surgeon General's Office of Equal Health Opportunity and oversaw the desegregation of US hospitals in the 1960s. Clark earned her doctoral degree at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, where she studied the recognition of facial emotions in

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. She was a clinical intern in the

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

consortium. Here she studied the impact of early life stress on the neural dysfunction of people with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

Research and career

Clark studies how brain function impacts behaviour. She has studied the effects of

infection and adverse life experiences influence brain structure and function. In 2016 Clark was awarded the Medical Research Council Suffrage Science award. Clark has also studied the impact of discrimination on people's physical and mental health. She used

to understand the impact of discrimination on brain function. As part of this effort, she showed that social discrimination results in an increase in

function. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

it became apparent that Black, indigenous or people of colour (

BIPOC The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

) were most likely to develop severe forms of

coronavirus disease Coronavirus diseases are caused by viruses in the coronavirus subfamily, a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, the group of viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from ...

. Clark argued that the biomedical science community must employ

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

approaches, coupling new policies with systems of accountability. In 2021 Clark was included in the
Life Sciences Power 50
list of scientists, entrepreneurs and investors driving New York State's biotech boom by City & State NY.

Select publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Uraina Living people Year of birth missing (living people) African-American women academics American women academics 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century American scientists Boston University alumni Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty American women neuroscientists American neuropsychologists 21st-century African-American women