Alejandro Meruelo

Title(s)Assistant Adjunct Professor, Psychiatry
SchoolVc-health Sciences-schools
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    Collapse Education and Training
    California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CAB.S.06/2006Physics
    David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CAM.D., Ph.D.06/2014Medicine, Molecular and Structural Biology
    UCSD, San Diego, CAResidency06/2018Psychiatry

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    Collapse Overview
    Biography

    Dr. Meruelo earned a B.S. with honors in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 2006, his Ph.D. in Molecular and Structural Biology from UCLA in 2012, and his M.D. from UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine in 2014. He completed Adult Psychiatry Residency training in 2018 and a postdoctoral research fellowship at UCSD in 2019. He received a 2016 NIMH Outstanding Resident Award, 2018 Judd Research Award, and 2019 Career Development Institute for Psychiatry Award during this time.


    Research Interests

    Dr. Meruelo’s laboratory focuses on integrating neuroimaging, computational methods, and advanced statistics to extricate the complex relationship between mood disorders and substance use. He has published papers on adolescent brain development and cognition, in addition to the impact of alcohol and cannabis use on the developing brain. His studies are currently funded through a K23 from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.


    Clinical Focus

    Dr. Meruelo provides Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to adults suffering from treatment-resistant depression, in addition to treating depressive, anxiety, psychotic, and bipolar disorders.
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    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Adolescent Markers of Depression and the Impact of Alcohol Use
    NIH K23AA026869Jun 1, 2019 - May 31, 2024
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Discovery of SAM domain functions
    NIH F31GM089143Aug 1, 2009 - Jul 31, 2012
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. A four-factor model of executive function: Predicting physical and academic outcomes from cognitive assessments in adolescents. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2024 Oct 30; 70:101471. Meruelo AD, Gunawan T, Thomas ML, Ramchandani VA. PMID: 39486390; PMCID: PMC11566708.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Greater social jetlag predicts poorer NIH Toolbox crystallized cognitive and academic performance in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Chronobiol Int. 2024 Jun; 41(6):829-839. Li AR, Thomas ML, Gonzalez MR, McCarthy MJ, Hasler BP, Tapert SF, Meruelo AD. PMID: 38771191; PMCID: PMC11292803.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    3. How Do Anger and Impulsivity Impact Fast-Food Consumption in Transitional Age Youth? AJPM Focus. 2024 Jun; 3(3):100208. Meruelo AD, Brumback T, Pelham WE, Wade NE, Thomas ML, Coccaro EF, Nooner KB, Brown SA, Tapert SF, Mrug S. PMID: 38560402; PMCID: PMC10981031.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    4. How Does Parental Monitoring Reduce Adolescent Substance Use? Preliminary Tests of Two Potential Mechanisms. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2024 May; 85(3):389-394. Pelham WE, Tapert SF, Gonzalez MR, Ahiarakwe U, Patel H, Davis IS, Meruelo AD, Van Rinsveld AM, Marshall AT, Dick AS, Guillaume M, Dowling GJ, Baskin-Sommers A, Brown SA. PMID: 38227391; PMCID: PMC11095493.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    5. The relations between chronotype, stressful life events, and impulsivity in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 11; 167:119-124. McCarthy MJ, Brumback T, Thomas ML, Meruelo AD. PMID: 37866325.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    6. Salivary cortisol awakening levels are reduced in human subjects with intermittent explosive disorder compared with controls. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2023 05; 151:106070. Meruelo AD, Timmins MA, Irwin MR, Coccaro EF. PMID: 36863129; PMCID: PMC10262314.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. Assessing cross-lagged associations between depression, anxiety, and binge drinking in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2023 02 01; 243:109761. McCabe CJ, Brumback T, Brown SA, Meruelo AD. PMID: 36621201; PMCID: PMC10122417.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    8. Pre-enlistment Anger Attacks and Postenlistment Mental Disorders and Suicidality Among US Army Soldiers. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 09 01; 4(9):e2126626. Smith DM, Meruelo A, Campbell-Sills L, Sun X, Kessler RC, Ursano RJ, Jain S, Stein MB, Army STARRS Team. PMID: 34570207; PMCID: PMC8477262.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    9. Corrigendum to "Neuroimaging markers of adolescent depression in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study Journal of Affective Disorders 287 (2021) 380-386". J Affect Disord. 2021 Oct 01; 293:502. Meruelo AD, Brumback T, Nagel BJ, Baker FC, Brown SA, Tapert SF. PMID: 34247841.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    10. Associations of developmental imbalance between sensation seeking and premeditation in adolescence and heavy episodic drinking in emerging adulthood. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2021 06; 45(6):1249-1264. McCabe CJ, Wall TL, Gonzalez MR, Meruelo AD, Eberson-Shumate SC, Clark DB, Nooner KB, Brown SA, Tapert SF. PMID: 33991389; PMCID: PMC8254779.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    11. Neuroimaging markers of adolescent depression in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study. J Affect Disord. 2021 05 15; 287:380-386. Meruelo AD, Brumback T, Nagel BJ, Baker FC, Brown SA, Tapert SF. PMID: 33836366; PMCID: PMC8117976.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    12. Substance use initiation and the prediction of subsequent academic achievement. Brain Imaging Behav. 2020 Dec; 14(6):2679-2691. Meruelo AD, Castro N, Nguyen-Louie T, Tapert SF. PMID: 31903528; PMCID: PMC7334085.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    13. Adolescent Cerebellar Development: An Underexplored Frontier. Biol Psychiatry. 2020 04 01; 87(7):e19-e20. Meruelo AD. PMID: 32164919; PMCID: PMC7197862.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    
    14. Early adolescent brain markers of late adolescent academic functioning. Brain Imaging Behav. 2019 Aug; 13(4):945-952. Meruelo AD, Jacobus J, Idy E, Nguyen-Louie T, Brown G, Tapert SF. PMID: 29911279; PMCID: PMC6298856.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    15. Cannabis and alcohol use, and the developing brain. Behav Brain Res. 2017 05 15; 325(Pt A):44-50. Meruelo AD, Castro N, Cota CI, Tapert SF. PMID: 28223098; PMCID: PMC5406224.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 29     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    16. Neuropsychological performance in adolescent marijuana users with co-occurring alcohol use: A three-year longitudinal study. Neuropsychology. 2015 Nov; 29(6):829-843. Jacobus J, Squeglia LM, Infante MA, Castro N, Brumback T, Meruelo AD, Tapert SF. PMID: 25938918; PMCID: PMC4633396.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 45     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    17. Cortical thickness in adolescent marijuana and alcohol users: A three-year prospective study from adolescence to young adulthood. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2015 Dec; 16:101-109. Jacobus J, Squeglia LM, Meruelo AD, Castro N, Brumback T, Giedd JN, Tapert SF. PMID: 25953106; PMCID: PMC4624050.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 53     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    18. Structural differences between thermophilic and mesophilic membrane proteins. Protein Sci. 2012 Nov; 21(11):1746-53. Meruelo AD, Han SK, Kim S, Bowie JU. PMID: 23001966; PMCID: PMC3527711.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 24     Fields:    Translation:Cells
    19. TMKink: a method to predict transmembrane helix kinks. Protein Sci. 2011 Jul; 20(7):1256-64. Meruelo AD, Samish I, Bowie JU. PMID: 21563225; PMCID: PMC3149198.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 21     Fields:    Translation:Cells
    20. Identifying polymer-forming SAM domains. Proteins. 2009 Jan; 74(1):1-5. Meruelo AD, Bowie JU. PMID: 18831011; PMCID: PMC2605191.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 27     Fields:    Translation:Cells
    21. C. elegans EVI1 proto-oncogene, EGL-43, is necessary for Notch-mediated cell fate specification and regulates cell invasion. Development. 2007 Feb; 134(4):669-79. Hwang BJ, Meruelo AD, Sternberg PW. PMID: 17215301.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
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