Crystal C. Watkins Johansson Explained

Crystal C. Watkins Johansson
Birth Place:Baltimore, Maryland
Nationality:American
Fields:Neuroscience
Workplaces:Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Alma Mater:University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Johns Hopkins University
Known For:Role of nitric oxide synthase in diabetic gastrointestinal dysfunction
Awards:Meyerhoff Scholar, Top 100 Women in Maryland, Physician of the Year by the Daily Record, UMBC Outstanding Alumnus in Natural & Mathematical Sciences

Crystal C. Watkins Johansson is an American neuroscientist and psychiatrist and associate professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as the director of the Sheppard Pratt Memory Clinic in Neuropsychiatry in Baltimore, Maryland. Johansson was the first Black female Meyerhoff Scholar to obtain an MD/PhD from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. During her MD/PhD she developed a novel treatment for gastrointestinal in patients with diabetes that led to a patent for a pharmacological compound in 2000.[1] Johansson is a practicing neuropsychiatrist with a focus on geriatric psychiatry and she conducts brain imaging research as well as research on cancer in African American women.

Early life and education

Johansson was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.[2] She wanted to become a doctor from a young age. She attended public school in Baltimore City and became the first Black president of the student government at Dulaney High School in Cockeysville. During high school, she completed an internship through the Nursing Program at Johns Hopkins to begin to explore the field of medicine.

In 1991, Johansson attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) for her undergraduate education.[3] She was supported by the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program which is a competitive program that funds the undergraduate degrees of underrepresented minorities at UMBC.[4] She majored in biological sciences and was interested in diabetes research since her grandmother had diabetes.[5] Johansson graduated in 1995 with a Bachelors of Science.

After completing her undergraduate degree, Johansson pursued her MD/PhD training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.[6] During her PhD training, she worked in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience under the mentorship of Solomon H. Snyder, whom she met as an undergraduate at UMBC.[7] She became a Society for Neuroscience Fellow, an Academic Medicine Fellow of the National Medical Fellowships and Bristol-Myers Squibb Inc. Her thesis was titled "Nitric Oxide and Carbon Monoxide: Novel Neurotransmitters in the Enteric Nervous System". For her graduate work, she explored the mechanisms underlying gastrointestinal dysfunction in patients with diabetes.[8] She found that in mouse models of diabetes, there is a significant reduction in neuronal nitric oxide synthase mRNA and that insulin treatment restores the nNOS levels. Further, the delay in gastric emptying can be reversed with the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, sildenafil.[8] Her PhD work led to a patent for a drug to treat neuropathic pain in patients with diabetes and the work was covered in the Wall Street Journal. Johansson completed her MD/PhD in 2003, becoming the first female Meyerhoff Scholar to obtain an MD/PhD.[9] Johansson was also one of only three Black women at the time to graduate with a doctorate in molecular and cellular neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Johansson continued her medical training at JHU, pursuing her residency training in psychiatry.[10] She completed her Internship at Sinai Hospital at Johns Hopkins in 2004, and then went on to complete her residency training in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in 2008.[11] During her residency, she became the Chief Resident of Psychiatry and also completed her postdoctoral work under the mentorship of Martin G. Pomper using the novel Positron Emission Tomography ligand, TSPO, to visualize neuroinflammation in the human brain.[12] She then completed a fellowship in Mood Disorders and Neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins in 2009. She then completed another Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry in 2011.

Career and research

In 2011, Johansson became an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University. In 2014, she became the Director of the Sheppard Pratt Memory Clinic in Neuropsychiatry and has since been promoted to associate professor at JHU. As a clinician and a professor, Johansson treats patients, conducts clinical research, and educates the future generation of physicians.

Johansson is actively involved in advocacy, mentorship, and education. She co-founded a literacy program for youth and teaches adolescents about preventing teen pregnancy. She is also on the ABRCMS Steering Committee which hosts the largest professional conference for underrepresented students.[13] On the clinical side, Johansson volunteers with the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program which educated high school students, teachers, and parents about adolescent depression. She has been featured on several news broadcasting networks such as WBALTV, The Maryland Daily Record, The Baltimore Sun,[14] WYPR,[15] Science Magazine,[16] and ConscienHealth.[17]

HIV/AIDs medical service and research

Johansson has been committed to educating communities and patients about HIV/AIDs prevention as well as conducting research on the psychological and neurological complications of the various stages of infection.[18] She worked with the Ministry of Health in Ghana to implement HIV/AID health education and prevention programs. In the laboratory and the clinic, Johansson has explored the severity and prevalence of the neuropsychiatric complications of HIV infection that remain regardless of antiretroviral therapy due to the harboring of virus in microglia and astrocytes in the brain.[19] Based on the infection of glial cells in patients with HIV, Johansson has also conducted studies exploring the extent of neuroinflammation in patients with HIV using Positron Emission Tomography with the PET ligand TSPO.[20] The positive signal associated with the TSPO ligand is thought to be correlated with increased glial cell activation. She found that there were white matter abnormalities in patients with HIV on combination antiretroviral therapies compared to controls and white matter abnormalities increased in patients that also had HIV associated dementia.

Psychological coping strategies and disease progression

As a neuropsychiatrist, Johansson treats memory loss and provides geriatric psychiatry services.[21] She also explores how psychiatric or psychological dysfunction relates to cancer and systemic disease progression and recovery, with a focus on African American women, who are understudied in clinical research.[22] She has found that African American women with breast cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatment benefit from comprehensive psychological care programs in terms of coping capacity and distress associated with disease. She has also explored how chemotherapy affects daily life in African American women.[23]

Awards and honors

Select publications

Notes and References

  1. 6774128. US. Methods for prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. 2004-08-10. Watkins. Crystal C.. Snyder. Solomon H.. Ferris. Christopher D.. Johns Hopkins University.
  2. Web site: 2019-06-28. Crystal Watkins Johansson, M.D., Ph.D.. 2020-06-13. Maryland Daily Record. en-US.
  3. Web site: 2019. Health Care Heroes 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613081353/http://pageturnpro2.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Publications/201906/1191/90774/PDF/132060506791697582_2019_BLT_HCH_Web.pdf . 2020-06-13 . June 12, 2020.
  4. Web site: Rentz. Catherine. 'Agents of change:' A year with the UMBC program shaping some of the nation's best and most diverse scientists. 2020-06-13 . baltimoresun.com. 18 May 2018 .
  5. Web site: Fall 2012. To Whom Much Is Given The Meyerhoff Alumni Advisory Board Newsletter. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613081403/https://meyerhoff.umbc.edu/files/2013/12/Meyerhoff-Newsletter-Vol-3-Issue-3-Fall-2012.pdf . 2020-06-13 . June 12, 2020. meyerhoff.umbc.edu.
  6. Web site: Outstanding Recent Graduate Award 2013 Johns Hopkins Alumni. 2020-06-13. www.alumni.jhu.edu.
  7. Web site: Alumni Directory. 2020-06-13. neuroscience.jhu.edu.
  8. Watkins. C. C.. Sawa. A.. Jaffrey. S.. Blackshaw. S.. Barrow. R. K.. Snyder. S. H.. Ferris. C. D.. August 2000. Insulin restores neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression and function that is lost in diabetic gastropathy. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 106. 3. 373–384. 10.1172/JCI8273. 0021-9738. 10930440. 314323. free.
  9. Web site: History - Meyerhoff Scholars Program - UMBC. 2020-06-13. meyerhoff.umbc.edu.
  10. Web site: Environmental Factor: September 2008: The Meyerhoff Model. 2020-06-13. factor.niehs.nih.gov.
  11. Web site: Dr. Crystal Watkins, MD, Psychiatry Specialist - Baltimore, MD. 2020-06-13. Sharecare. en.
  12. Endres. Christopher J.. Pomper. Martin G.. James. Michelle. Uzuner. Ovsev. Hammoud. Dima A.. Watkins. Crystal C.. Reynolds. Aaron. Hilton. John. Dannals. Robert F.. Kassiou. Michael. August 2009. Initial evaluation of 11C-DPA-713, a novel TSPO PET ligand, in humans. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 50. 8. 1276–1282. 10.2967/jnumed.109.062265. 0161-5505. 2883612. 19617321.
  13. Web site: June 3, 2020. ABRCMS Stands in Solidarity. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613081355/https://www.abrcms.org/index.php/education-training/blog/itemlist/category/71-about . 2020-06-13 . June 12, 2020. abrcms.org.
  14. Web site: Rentz. Catherine. 'Agents of change:' A year with the UMBC program shaping some of the nation's best and most diverse scientists. 2020-06-13. baltimoresun.com. 18 May 2018 .
  15. Web site: Harvie. Sheilah Kast, Maureen. UMBC STEM Scholar Success Heads to the West Coast. 2020-06-13. www.wypr.org. en.
  16. Web site: MervisJul. 24. Jeffrey. 2019-07-24. A vaunted program for boosting the diversity of U.S. academic scientists is starting to spread. 2020-06-13. Science AAAS. en.
  17. Web site: 2020-05-03. Setting Aside Important Medical Care for Urgent Care. 2020-06-13. ConscienHealth. en-US.
  18. Web site: 2009 Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards - College of Engineering and Information Technology - UMBC. 2020-06-13. coeit.umbc.edu.
  19. Watkins. Crystal C.. Treisman. Glenn J.. 2015. Cognitive impairment in patients with AIDS - prevalence and severity. HIV/AIDS: Research and Palliative Care. 7. 35–47. 10.2147/HIV.S39665. 1179-1373. 4319681. 25678819 . free .
  20. Coughlin. Jennifer M.. Wang. Yuchuan. Ma. Shuangchao. Yue. Chen. Kim. Pearl K.. Adams. Ashley V.. Roosa. Heidi V.. Gage. Kenneth L.. Stathis. Marigo. Rais. Rana. Rojas. Camilo. June 2014. Regional brain distribution of translocator protein using [(11)C]DPA-713 PET in individuals infected with HIV. Journal of Neurovirology. 20. 3. 219–232. 10.1007/s13365-014-0239-5. 1538-2443. 4078660. 24567030.
  21. Web site: Crystal Watkins, MD, PhD. 2020-06-13. Sheppard Pratt. en. 2020-06-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613081354/https://www.sheppardpratt.org/why-sheppard-pratt/our-experts/details/crystal-watkins-md-phd/. dead.
  22. Watkins. Crystal C.. Kamara Kanu. Iye. Hamilton. Jill B.. Kozachik. Sharon L.. Gaston-Johansson. Fannie. November 1, 2017. Differences in Coping Among African American Women With Breast Cancer and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum. 44. 6. 689–702. 10.1188/17.ONF.689-702. 1538-0688. 29052667.
  23. Gaton-Johansson. Fannie. Watkins. Crystal C.. Kanu. Iye Kamara. Whitehouse. Erin. Sarenmalm. Elisabeth Kenne. Brovall. Maria. Kozachik. Sharon L.. December 2015. The Effects of Symptoms on Quality of Life during Chemotherapy in African-American Women with Breast Cancer. Journal of National Black Nurses' Association . 26. 2. 7–16. 0885-6028. 5544776. 27045153.
  24. News: Watkins. Crystal. Expression /Regulation of Neuronal Nos in Enteric NS and. en.
  25. Web site: Crystal Watkins. 2020-06-13. News and Stories for UMBC Alumni. en.
  26. Web site: BREAKING NEWS: The Daily Record Announces 2012 Top 100 Women. 2 March 2012. 2020-06-13. en-US.
  27. Web site: McQuay. Jessica. Annual Levi Watkins, Jr. M.D. Lectureship Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. 2020-06-13. www.hopkinsmedicine.org. en.
  28. Web site: Crystal Watkins Johansson, M.D., Ph.D.. 2020-06-13. Sheppard Pratt. 28 June 2019. en.
  29. Web site: Watkins CC - Search Results. 2020-06-13. PubMed. en.

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