Becky Kinkead

Becky Kinkead, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Psychiatry

Divisions: Adult Psychiatry

Becky Kinkead, PhD, Research Professor, earned a BA degree in Biology at Cornell University and received a PhD in Molecular Therapeutics and Toxicology from Emory University. Under the mentorship of Charles Nemeroff, MD, PhD, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship (Markey fellow) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University where she began her academic career as Assistant Professor in the Research track (1999-2011). In 2011, she switched to the Medical Educator/service track and was an Associate Professor (2012-2021). While at Emory, she held numerous administrative positions including Editor of the Grant Editing and Manuscript Support Core in Emory+Children’s Pediatric Research Center (2013-2021), the Emory FIRST co-Champion, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (2016-2021), and Administrative Director of Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (2017-2021). In addition, as Director of Grant Development, she has served in a leadership position within the Office of Postdoctoral Education in the Emory University School of Medicine (2016-2021).

A highly respected researcher exploring complementary approaches to the treatment of anxiety, depression, and cancer-related fatigue, Dr. Kinkead has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles including first author publications in such high impact journals as Synapse, Biological Psychiatry, and The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. These studies have moved the field of complementary and integrative medicine forward by addressing the issue of replicability. The development and use of standardized, controlled protocols for manual therapies have led to publications demonstrating the efficacy of Swedish massage therapy for both anxiety and cancer-related fatigue. Team studies evaluating the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids for depression have provided rationale for the need for a personalized medicine strategy in omega-3 studies, demonstrating that subjects with underlying chronic inflammation are the most responsive to omega-3s. Additional scholarly work includes publication of 3 book chapters and15 review articles, and one Grand Rounds presentation. In 2019, Dr. Kinkead served as Chair for a national workshop on grants education organized by the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Based on her expertise in grantsmanship, she has consulted for 3 national/international organizations seeking grant funding. She has provided national and international service as an ad hoc reviewer through Department of Defense PTSD clinical grant review panels and funding review bodies in Israel and Singapore, and reviews peer-reviewed articles for sixteen neuroscience journals. Dr. Kinkead has been continually funded as PI, Co-PI, or Co-Investigator on federally- and privately-funded studies since 1999.

Education History

Undergraduate Cornell University
 BA
Professional Medical Emory Laney Graduate School
 PhD
Fellowship Emory University School of Medicine
 Postdoctoral Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Geracioti TD Jr, Carpenter LL, Owens MJ, Baker DG, Ekhator NN, Horn PS, Strawn JR, Sanacora G, Kinkead B, Price LH, Nemeroff CB (2006). Elevated cerebrospinal fluid substance p concentrations in posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression. Am J Psychiatry, 163(4), 637-43. (Read full article)
  2. Dunlop BW, Rajendra JK, Craighead WE, Kelley ME, McGrath CL, Choi KS, Kinkead B, Nemeroff CB, Mayberg HS (2017). Functional Connectivity of the Subcallosal Cingulate Cortex And Differential Outcomes to Treatment With Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or Antidepressant Medication for Major Depressive Disorder. Am J Psychiatry, 174(6), 533-545. (Read full article)
  3. Dunlop BW, Kelley ME, Aponte-Rivera V, Mletzko-Crowe T, Kinkead B, Ritchie JC, Nemeroff CB, Craighead WE, Mayberg HS, PReDICT Team. (2017). Effects of Patient Preferences on Outcomes in the Predictors of Remission in Depression to Individual and Combined Treatments (PReDICT) Study. Am J Psychiatry, 174(6), 546-556. (Read full article)
  4. Dunlop BW, LoParo D, Kinkead B, Mletzko-Crowe T, Cole SP, Nemeroff CB, Mayberg HS, Craighead WE (2019). Benefits of Sequentially Adding Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or Antidepressant Medication for Adults With Nonremitting Depression. Am J Psychiatry, 176(4), 275-286. (Read full article)
  5. Nemeroff CB, Levant B, Myers B, Bissette G (1992). Neurotensin, antipsychotic drugs, and schizophrenia. Basic and clinical studies. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 668, 146-56. (Read full article)
  6. Kinkead B, Binder EB, Nemeroff CB (1999). Does neurotensin mediate the effects of antipsychotic drugs? Biol Psychiatry, 46(3), 340-51. (Read full article)
  7. Binder EB, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff CB (2001). The role of neurotensin in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs. Biol Psychiatry, 50(11), 856-72. (Read full article)
  8. Shilling PD, Kinkead B, Murray T, Melendez G, Nemeroff CB, Feifel D (2006). Upregulation of striatal dopamine-2 receptors in Brattleboro rats with prepulse inhibition deficits. Biol Psychiatry, 60(11), 1278-81. (Read full article)
  9. Coccaro EF, Lee R, Owens MJ, Kinkead B, Nemeroff CB (2012). Cerebrospinal fluid substance P-like immunoreactivity correlates with aggression in personality disordered subjects. Biol Psychiatry, 72(3), 238-43. (Read full article)
  10. Dunlop BW, Binder EB, Iosifescu D, Mathew SJ, Neylan TC, Pape JC, Carrillo-Roa T, Green C, Kinkead B, Grigoriadis D, Rothbaum BO, Nemeroff CB, Mayberg HS (2017). Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Receptor 1 Antagonism Is Ineffective for Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Biol Psychiatry, 82(12), 866-874. (Read full article)
  11. Wilson ME, Kinkead B (2008). Gene-environment interactions, not neonatal growth hormone deficiency, time puberty in female rhesus monkeys. Biol Reprod, 78(4), 736-43. (Read full article)
  12. Thrivikraman KV, Kinkead B, Murray KE, Owens MJ (2013). In vivo dialysis setup with a loop injection valve facilitates retrodialysis studies. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods, 68(2), 217-224. (Read full article)
  13. Mandell AJ, Selz KA, Owens MJ, Kinkead B, Shlesinger MF, Gutman DA, Arguragi V (2003). Cellular and behavioral effects of D2 dopamine receptor hydrophobic eigenmode-targeted peptide ligands. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28 Suppl 1, S98-107. (Read full article)
  14. Binder EB, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff CB (2004). Neurotensin receptor antagonist SR 142948A alters Fos expression and extrapyramidal side effect profile of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs. Neuropsychopharmacology, 29(12), 2200-7. (Read full article)
  15. Garlow SJ, Boone E, Kinkead B, Nemeroff CB (2006). Genetic analysis of the hypothalamic neurotensin system. Neuropsychopharmacology, 31(3), 535-43. (Read full article)
  16. Chastain LG, Qu H, Bourke CH, Iuvone PM, Dobner PR, Nemeroff CB, Kinkead B (2015). Striatal dopamine receptor plasticity in neurotensin deficient mice. Behav Brain Res, 280, 160-71. (Read full article)
  17. Cáceda R, Binder EB, Kinkead B, Nemeroff CB (2012). The role of endogenous neurotensin in psychostimulant-induced disruption of prepulse inhibition and locomotion. Schizophr Res, 136(1-3), 88-95. (Read full article)
  18. Mathew SJ, Vythilingam M, Murrough JW, Zarate CA Jr, Feder A, Luckenbaugh DA, Kinkead B, Parides MK, Trist DG, Bani MS, Bettica PU, Ratti EM, Charney D (2011). A selective neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist in chronic PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept trial. European neuropsychopharmacology, 21(3), 221-9. (Read full article)
  19. Kinkead B, Schettler PJ, Larson ER, Carroll D, Sharenko M, Nettles J, Edwards SA, Miller AH, Torres MA, Dunlop BW, Rakofsky JJ, Rapaport M (2018). Massage therapy decreases cancer-related fatigue: Results from a randomized early phase trial. Cancer, 124(3), 546-554. (Read full article)
  20. Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2000). The effects of acute antipsychotic drug administration on the neurotensin system of the developing rat brain. Brain research. Developmental brain research, 124(1-2), 1-10. (Read full article)
  21. Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2004). Neurotensin, schizophrenia, and antipsychotic drug action. International review of neurobiology, 59, 327-49. (Read full article)
  22. Cáceda R, Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2007). Involvement of neuropeptide systems in schizophrenia: human studies. International review of neurobiology, 78, 327-76. (Read full article)
  23. Bonne O, Gill JM, Luckenbaugh DA, Collins C, Owens MJ, Alesci S, Neumeister A, Yuan P, Kinkead B, Manji HK, Charney DS, Vythilingam (2011). Corticotropin-releasing factor, interleukin-6, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, and substance P in the cerebrospinal fluid of civilians with posttraumatic stress disorder before and after treatment with paroxetine. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 72(8), 1124-8. (Read full article)
  24. Rakofsky JJ, Schettler PJ, Kinkead BL, Frank E, Judd LL, Kupfer DJ, Rush AJ, Thase ME, Yonkers KA, Rapaport M (2013). The prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms along the spectrum of unipolar depressive disorders: a post hoc analysis. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 74(11), 1084-91. (Read full article)
  25. Mischoulon D, Nierenberg AA, Schettler PJ, Kinkead BL, Fehling K, Martinson MA, Hyman Rapaport (2015). A double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial comparing eicosapentaenoic acid versus docosahexaenoic acid for depression. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 76(1), 54-61. (Read full article)
  26. Rapaport MH, Schettler P, Larson ER, Edwards SA, Dunlop BW, Rakofsky JJ, Kinkead (2016). Acute Swedish Massage Monotherapy Successfully Remediates Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Proof-of-Concept, Randomized Controlled Study. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 77(7), e883-91. (Read full article)
  27. Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (1994). The effects of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs on neurotensin-containing neurons in the central nervous system. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 55 Suppl B, 30-2. (Read full article)
  28. Nemeroff CB, Kinkead B, Goldstein (2002). Quetiapine: preclinical studies, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, and dosing. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 63 Suppl 13, 5-11. (Read full article)
  29. Binder EB, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Kilts CD, Nemeroff C (2001). Enhanced neurotensin neurotransmission is involved in the clinically relevant behavioral effects of antipsychotic drugs: evidence from animal models of sensorimotor gating. The Journal of neuroscience, 21(2), 601-8. (Read full article)
  30. Cáceda R, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2005). Virally mediated increased neurotensin 1 receptor in the nucleus accumbens decreases behavioral effects of mesolimbic system activation. The Journal of neuroscience, 25(50), 11748-56. (Read full article)
  31. Kinkead B, Shahid S, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2000). Effects of acute and subchronic administration of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs on the neurotensin system of the rat brain. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 295(1), 67-73. (Read full article)
  32. Kinkead B, Lorch SM, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2000). Sex- and estrous cycle-related differences in the effects of acute antipsychotic drug administration on neurotensin-containing neurons in the rat brain. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 295(1), 205-11. (Read full article)
  33. Kinkead B, Dobner PR, Egnatashvili V, Murray T, Deitemeyer N, Nemeroff C (2005). Neurotensin-deficient mice have deficits in prepulse inhibition: restoration by clozapine but not haloperidol, olanzapine, or quetiapine. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 315(1), 256-64. (Read full article)
  34. Garlow SJ, Kinkead B, Thase ME, Judd LL, Rush AJ, Yonkers KA, Kupfer DJ, Frank E, Schettler PJ, Rapaport M (2013). Fluoxetine increases suicide ideation less than placebo during treatment of adults with minor depressive disorder. Journal of psychiatric research, 47(9), 1199-203. (Read full article)
  35. Kinkead B, Selz KA, Owens MJ, Mandell A (2006). Algorithmically designed peptides ameliorate behavioral defects in animal model of ADHD by an allosteric mechanism. Journal of neuroscience methods, 151(1), 68-81. (Read full article)
  36. Bissette G, Myers (1992). Somatostatin in Alzheimer's disease and depression. Life sciences, 51(18), 1389-410. (Read full article)
  37. Ehlers CL, Somes C, Li TK, Lumeng L, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (1999). Neurontensin studies in alcohol naive, preferring and non-preferring rats. Neuroscience, 93(1), 227-36. (Read full article)
  38. Lamon-Fava S, So J, Mischoulon D, Ziegler TR, Dunlop BW, Kinkead B, Schettler PJ, Nierenberg AA, Felger JC, Maddipati KR, Fava M, Rapaport M (2021). Dose- and time-dependent increase in circulating anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving lipid mediators following eicosapentaenoic acid supplementation in patients with major depressive disorder and chronic inflammation. Prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and essential fatty acids, 164, 102219. (Read full article)
  39. Binder EB, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2001). Neurotensin and dopamine interactions. Pharmacological reviews, 53(4), 453-86. (Read full article)
  40. Jarrell H, Hoffman JB, Kaplan JR, Berga S, Kinkead B, Wilson M (2008). Polymorphisms in the serotonin reuptake transporter gene modify the consequences of social status on metabolic health in female rhesus monkeys. Physiology & behavior, 93(4-5), 807-19. (Read full article)
  41. Cáceda R, Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2006). Neurotensin: role in psychiatric and neurological diseases. Peptides, 27(10), 2385-404. (Read full article)
  42. Carpenter LL, Bayat L, Moreno F, Kling MA, Price LH, Tyrka AR, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2008). Decreased cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of substance P in treatment-resistant depression and lack of alteration after acute adjunct vagus nerve stimulation therapy. Psychiatry research, 157(1-3), 123-9. (Read full article)
  43. Kinkead B, Yan F, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (2008). Endogenous neurotensin is involved in estrous cycle related alterations in prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex in female rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 33(2), 178-87. (Read full article)
  44. Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Nemeroff C (1995). Ontogeny of the effect of antipsychotic drug treatment on neurotensin concentrations in the rat brain. Synapse (New York, N.Y.), 20(3), 244-8. (Read full article)
  45. Stowe ZN, Landry JC, Tang Z, Owens MJ, Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2005). The electrophysiological effects of neurotensin on spontaneously active neurons in the nucleus accumbens: an in vivo study. Synapse (New York, N.Y.), 58(3), 165-72. (Read full article)
  46. Bigdeli TB, Genovese G, Georgakopoulos P, Meyers JL, Peterson RE, Iyegbe CO, Medeiros H, Valderrama J, Achtyes ED, Kotov R, Stahl EA, Abbott C, Azevedo MH, Belliveau RA, Bevilacqua E, Bromet EJ, Byerley W, Carvalho CB, Chapman SB, DeLisi LE, Dumont AL, O'Dushlaine C, Evgrafov OV, Fochtmann LJ, Gage D, Kennedy JL, Kinkead B, Macedo A, Moran JL, Morley CP, Dewan MJ, Nemesh J, Perkins DO, Purcell SM, Rakofsky JJ, Scolnick EM, Sklar BM, Sklar P, Smoller JW, Sullivan PF, Macciardi F, Marder SR, Gur RC, Gur RE, Braff DL, Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS) Investigators., Nicolini H, Escamilla MA, Vawter MP, Sobell JL, Malaspina D, Lehrer DS, Buckley PF, Rapaport MH, Knowles JA, Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (GPC) Consortium., Fanous AH, Pato MT, McCarroll SA, Pato C (2020). Contributions of common genetic variants to risk of schizophrenia among individuals of African and Latino ancestry. Molecular psychiatry, 25(10), 2455-2467. (Read full article)
  47. Rapaport MH, Nierenberg AA, Schettler PJ, Kinkead B, Cardoos A, Walker R, Mischoulon (2016). Inflammation as a predictive biomarker for response to omega-3 fatty acids in major depressive disorder: a proof-of-concept study. Molecular psychiatry, 21(1), 71-9. (Read full article)
  48. Hoffman JB, Kaplan JR, Kinkead B, Berga SL, Wilson M (2007). Metabolic and reproductive consequences of the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in adult female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Endocrine, 31(2), 202-11. (Read full article)
  49. Rapaport MH, Schettler PJ, Larson ER, Dunlop BW, Rakofsky JJ, Kinkead (2021). Six versus twelve weeks of Swedish massage therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Preliminary findings. Complementary therapies in medicine, 56, 102593. (Read full article)
  50. Cáceda R, Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2003). Do neurotensin receptor agonists represent a novel class of antipsychotic drugs?. Seminars in clinical neuropsychiatry, 8(2), 94-108. (Read full article)
  51. Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2002). Neurotensin: an endogenous antipsychotic?. Current opinion in pharmacology, 2(1), 99-103. (Read full article)
  52. Loring DW, Meador KJ, Shinnar S, Gaillard WD, Wheless JW, Kessler SK, Conry JA, Berl MM, Burns TG, Glauser TA, Kinkead B, Cnaan (2020). Differential antiseizure medication sensitivity of the Affective Reactivity Index: A randomized controlled trial in new-onset pediatric focal epilepsy. Epilepsy & behavior, 102, 106687. (Read full article)
  53. Dunlop BW, Binder EB, Cubells JF, Goodman MM, Kelley ME, Kinkead B, Kutner M, Nemeroff CB, Newport DJ, Owens MJ, Pace TW, Ritchie JC, Rivera VA, Westen D, Craighead WE, Mayberg H (2012). Predictors of remission in depression to individual and combined treatments (PReDICT): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 13, 106. (Read full article)
  54. Dunlop BW, Rothbaum BO, Binder EB, Duncan E, Harvey PD, Jovanovic T, Kelley ME, Kinkead B, Kutner M, Iosifescu DV, Mathew SJ, Neylan TC, Kilts CD, Nemeroff CB, Mayberg H (2014). Evaluation of a corticotropin releasing hormone type 1 receptor antagonist in women with posttraumatic stress disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 15, 240. (Read full article)
  55. Welberg LA, Kinkead B, Thrivikraman K, Huerkamp MJ, Nemeroff CB, Plotsky P (2006). Ketamine-xylazine-acepromazine anesthesia and postoperative recovery in rats. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 45(2), 13-20. (Read full article)
  56. Kinkead B, Nemeroff C (2006). Novel treatments of schizophrenia: targeting the neurotensin system. CNS & neurological disorders drug targets, 5(2), 205-18. (Read full article)
  57. Waserstein G, Partin C, Cohen D, Schettler P, Kinkead B, Rapaport M (2019). The prevalence and impact of psychiatric symptoms in an undiagnosed diseases clinical program. PloS one, 14(6), e0216937. (Read full article)
  58. Larson ER, Kinkead B, Edwards SA, Schettler PJ, Dunlop BW, Rakofsky JJ, Rapaport M (2018). Model structure for protocol adherence utilizing a manualized therapeutic massage intervention. Journal of complementary & integrative medicine, 16(2), (Read full article)
  59. Chalermpalanupap T, Kinkead B, Hu WT, Kummer MP, Hammerschmidt T, Heneka MT, Weinshenker D, Levey A (2013). Targeting norepinephrine in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 5(2), 21. (Read full article)
  60. Czamara D, Tissink E, Tuhkanen J, Martins J, Awaloff Y, Drake AJ, Khulan B, Palotie A, Winter SM, Nemeroff CB, Craighead WE, Dunlop BW, Mayberg HS, Kinkead B, Mathew SJ, Iosifescu DV, Neylan TC, Heim CM, Lahti J, Eriksson JG, Räikkönen K, Ressler KJ, Provençal N, Binder E (2021). Combined effects of genotype and childhood adversity shape variability of DNA methylation across age. Translational psychiatry, 11(1), 88. (Read full article)
  61. Rapaport MH, Schettler PJ, Larson ER, Carroll D, Sharenko M, Nettles J, Kinkead (2018). Massage Therapy for Psychiatric Disorders. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing), 16(1), 24-31. (Read full article)
  62. Hartz SM, Pato CN, Medeiros H, Cavazos-Rehg P, Sobell JL, Knowles JA, Bierut LJ, Pato MT, Genomic Psychiatry Cohort Consortium (2014). Comorbidity of severe psychotic disorders with measures of substance use. JAMA psychiatry, 71(3), 248-54. (Read full article)
  63. Dunlop BW, Rakofsky JJ, Mischoulon D, Mayberg HS, Kinkead B, Nierenberg AA, Ziegler TR, Fava M, Rapaport M (2021). The United States Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation for Individuals (USiDep). Pers Med Psychiatry, (Mar-Apr), 31-32.
  64. Thrivikraman KV, Kinkead B, Owens MJ, Rapaport MH, Plotsky P (2022). Locus Coeruleus Noradrenergic Modulation of Diurnal Corticosterone, Stress Reactivity, and Cardiovascular Homeostasis in Male Rats. Neuroendocrinology, 112(8), 763-776. (Read full article)
  65. Mac Giollabhui N, Mischoulon D, Dunlop BW, Kinkead B, Schettler PJ, Liu RT, Okereke OI, Lamon-Fava S, Fava M, Rapaport M (2023). Individuals with depression exhibiting a pro-inflammatory phenotype receiving omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids experience improved motivation-related cognitive function: Preliminary results from a randomized controlled trial. Brain, behavior, & immunity - health, 32, 100666. (Read full article)
  66. Rapaport MH, Schettler PJ, Larson ER, Edwards SA, Dunlop BW, Rakofsky JJ, Kinkead (2023). A preliminary descriptive report of the longevity of the effects of Swedish Massage therapy for subjects with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 33, 176-181. (Read full article)