Profile

Carol Prescott
Professor of Psychology

Contact Information
Office: SGM 934
Phone: (213) 740-2314
E-mail: cprescot@usc.edu

LINKS
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website
 

Biographical Sketch

Carol Prescott obtained B.A. and M.A. degrees in Experimental Psychology from Johns Hopkins University and her Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in clinical research from the University of Virginia. She completed a clinical internship at the Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles and post-doctoral training in psychiatric genetics and epidemiology at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Prescott’s work has been funded by grants from the U.S. National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Dr. Prescott has received several awards in recognition of her research, including the Theodore Reich Prize from the International Society for Psychiatric Genetics and the Fulker Award from the Behavior Genetics Association.

Education

  • B.A. Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, 1984
  • M.A. Experimental Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, 1985
  • Ph.D. Psychology (Clinical Research), University of Virginia, 1991

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

  • Professor, University of Southern California, 2005-  
  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2000-2005  
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1995-2000  

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
The primary goal of Dr. Prescott’s research is to understand the genetic and environmental sources of individual differences in risk for alcohol dependence and other substance use disorders and the mechanisms by which this variation is translated into clinical syndromes. For example, we are examining whether genetic risk for alcoholism is mediated through drinking motives, and how genetic risk interacts with environmental stress to increase risk for alcohol dependence. Other research interests include substance use as a risk factor for other psychological and disease outcomes; treatment outcome studies of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders of homeless adults; and gene-environment interactions in cognition and health in older age.
Research Specialties
Substance Use Disorders, Psychopathology, Behavior Genetics, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Longitudinal Data Analysis, Research Methodology

Publications

Book
  • Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A. (2006). Genes, Environment and Psychopathology: Understanding the Causes of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. Boston, MA: Genes, Environment and Psychopathology: Understanding the Causes of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders./Guilford Press.
Journal Article
  • Kalsi, G., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S., Riley, B. P. (2009). Unraveling the molecular mechanisms of alcohol dependence. Trends in Genetics. Vol. 25, pp. 49-55.
  • Sintov, N. D., Kendler, K. S., Walsh, D., Patterson, D. G., Prescott, C. A. (2009). Predictors of illicit substance dependence among individuals with alcohol dependence. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Vol. 70, pp. 269-278.
  • Young-Wolff, K. C., Kendler, K. S., Sintov, N. D., Prescott, C. A. (2009). Mood-related drinking motives mediate the familial association between major depression and alcohol dependence. Alcoholism Clinical Experimental Research. Vol. 33, pp. 1476-1486.
  • Kuo, P., Kalsi, G., Prescott, C. A., Hodgkinson, C. A., Goldman, D., Alexander, J., van den Oord, E. J., Chen, X., Sullivan, P. F., Patterson, D. G., Walsh, D., Kendler, K. S., Riley, B. P. (2009). Associations of glutamate decarboxylase genes with initial sensitivity and age-at-onset of alcohol dependence in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Vol. 101, pp. 80-87.
  • Kuo, P. H., Kalsi, G., Prescott, C. A., Hodgkinson, C. A., Goldman, D., van den Oord, E. J., Alexander, J., Jiang, C., Sullivan, P. F., Patterson, D. G., Walsh, D., Kendler, K. S., Riley, B. P. (2008). Association of ADH and ALDH genes with alcohol dependence in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence (IASPSAD) Sample. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Vol. 32, pp. 785-795.
  • Kendler, K. S., Jacobson, K. C., Gardner, C. O., Gillespie, N., Aggen, S. A., Prescott, C. A. (2007). Creating a social world: A developmental twin study of peer-group deviance. Archives of General Psychiatry. Vol. 64 (8), pp. 958-965.
  • Prescott, C. A., Kuhn, J. W., Pedersen, N. L. (2007). Twin pair resemblance for psychiatric hospitalization in the Swedish Twin Registry: a 32-year follow-up study of 29,602 twin pairs. Behavior Genetics. Vol. 37 (4), pp. 547-558.
  • Gillespie, N. A., Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A., Aggen, S. H., Gardner, C. O., Jacobson, K., Neale, M. C. (2007). Longitudinal modeling of genetic and environmental influences on self-reported availability of psychoactive substances: alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine and stimulants. Psychological Medicine. Vol. 37 (7), pp. 947-959.
  • Gillespie, N. A., Neale, M. C., Prescott, C. A., Aggen, S. H., Kendler, K. S. (2007). Factor and item-response analysis DSM-IV criteria for abuse of and dependence on cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, sedatives, stimulants and opioids. Addiction. Vol. 102 (6), pp. 920-930.
  • Kuo, P., Neale, M. C., Riley, B. P., Patterson, D. G., Walsh, D., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S. (2007). A genome-wide linkage analysis for the personality trait neuroticism in the Irish affected sib-pair study of alcohol dependence. Am J Med Genet B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics). Vol. 144 (4), pp. 463-468.
  • Kendler, K. S., Myers, J. M., Prescott, C. A. (2007). The specificity of genetic and environmental risk factors for symptoms of cannabis, cocaine, alcohol, caffeine and nicotine dependence. Archives of General Psychiatry. Vol. 64, pp. 1313-1320.
  • Spotts, E. L., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S. (2006). Examining the origins of gender differences in marital quality: A behavior genetic analysis. J Fam Psychol. Vol. 20 (4), pp. 605-613.
  • Kendler, K. S., Kuo, P., Webb, B. T., Kalsi, G., Neale, M. C., Sullivan, P. F., Walsh, D., Patterson, D. G., Riley, B. P., Prescott, C. A. (2006). A joint genome-wide linkage analysis of symptoms of alcohol dependence and conduct disorder. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research/Blackwell Publishing. Vol. 30 (12), pp. 1972-1977.
  • Kuo, P., Neale, M. C., Riley, B. P., Webb, B. T., Sullivan, P. F., Patterson, D. G., van den Oord, E. J., Walsh, D., Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A. (2006). Identification of susceptibility loci for alcohol-related traits in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research/Blackwell Publishing. Vol. 30 (11), pp. 1807-1816.
  • Riley, B. P., Kalsi, G., Kuo, P., Vladimirov, V., Thiselton, D. L., Vittum, J., Wormley, B., Grotewiel, M. S., Patterson, D. G., Sullivan, P. F., van den Oord, E. J., Walsh, D., Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A. (2006). Alcohol dependence is associated with the ZNF699 gene, a human locus related to Drosophila hangover, in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence (IASPSAD) sample. Molecular Psychiatry/Nature Publishing Group. Vol. 11 (11), pp. 1025-1031.
  • Kuo, P., Gardner, C. O., Kendler, K. S., Prescott, C. A. (2006). The temporal relationship of the onsets of alcohol dependence and major depression: Using a genetically informative study design. Psychological Medicine/Cambridge University Press. Vol. 36 (8), pp. 1153-1162.
  • Crabbe, J. C., Metten, P., Ponomarev, I., Prescott, C. A., Wahlsten, D. (2006). Effects of genetic and procedural variation on measurement of alcohol sensitivity in mouse inbred strains. Behavior Genetics/Kluwer Academic Press. Vol. 36, pp. 536-552.
  • Prescott, C. A., Madden, P. A., Stallings, M. C. (2006). Challenges in genetic studies of the etiology of substance use and substance use disorders. Behavior Genetics/Kluwer Academic Press. Vol. 36 (4), pp. 473-482.
  • Prescott, C. A., Sullivan, P. F., Kuo, P., Webb, B. T., Vittum, J., Patterson, D. G., Thiselton, D. L., Myers, J. M., Devitt, M., Halberstadt, L. J., Robinson, V. P., Neale, M. C., van den Oord, E. J., Walsh, D., Riley, B. P., Kendler, K. S. (2006). Genomewide linkage study in the Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence: Evidence for a susceptibility region for symptoms of alcohol dependence on chromosome 4. Molecular Psychiatry/Nature Publishing Group. Vol. 11, pp. 603-611.
  • Hettema, J. M., Neale, M. C., Myers, J. M., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S. (2006). A population-based twin study of the relationship between neuroticism and internalizing disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry/American Psychiatric Association. Vol. 163, pp. 857-864.
  • Hettema, J. M., Kuhn, J., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S. (2006). The impact of generalized anxiety disorder and stressful life events on risk for major depressive episodes. Psychological Medicine/Cambridge University Press. Vol. 36, pp. 789-795.
  • Kendler, K. S., Gardner, C. O., Prescott, C. A. (2006). Toward a comprehensive developmental model for major depression in men. American Journal of Psychiatry/American Psychiatric Association. Vol. 163, pp. 115-124.
  • Prescott, C. A., Sullivan, P. F., Myers, J. M., Patterson, D. G., Devitt, M., Halberstadt, L. J., Walsh, D., Kendler, K. S. (2005). The Irish Affected Sib Pair Study of Alcohol Dependence. Study methodology and validation of diagnosis by interview and family history. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research/Blackwell Publishing. Vol. 29 (3), pp. 417-429.
  • Kendler, K. S., Kuhn, J., Vittum, J., Prescott, C. A., Riley, B. P. (2005). The interaction of stressful life events and a serotonin transporter polymorphism in the prediction of episodes of major depression: A replication. Archives of General Psychiatry/American Medical Association. Vol. 62, pp. 529-535.
  • Kendler, K. S., Gardner, C. O., Jacobson, K. C., Prescott, C. A., Neale, M. C. (2005). Genetic and environmental influences on illicit drug use and tobacco use across birth cohorts. Psychological Medicine/Cambridge University Press. Vol. 35, pp. 1349-1356.
  • Kendler, K. S., Myers, J. M., Prescott, C. A. (2005). Sex differences in the relationship between social support and risk for major depression: A longitudinal study of opposite-sex twin pairs. American Journal of Psychiatry/American Psychiatric Association. Vol. 162, pp. 250-256.
  • Khan, A., Jacobson, K. C., Gardner, C. O., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S. (2005). Personality and comorbidity of common psychiatric disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry/The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Vol. 186, pp. 190-196.
  • Agrawal, A., Neale, M. C., Jacobson, K. C., Prescott, C. A., Kendler, K. S. (2005). Illicit drug use and abuse/dependence: Modeling of the two-stage conditional relationship. Addictive Behaviors/Elsevier. Vol. 30, pp. 1043-1048.

Honors and Awards

  • USC Center for Excellence in Research, Faculty Fellow, 2007-  
  • Fulker Award, Behavior Genetics Association, 2007  
  • Theodore Reich Young Investigator Award, International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, 2004  

Service to the University

Administrative Appointments
  • Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Psychology, USC, 2007-2009  

Service to the Profession

Editorships and Editorial Boards
  • Review Editor, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2003-2008  
  • Associate Editor, Behavior Genetics, 1999-2006  
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