Newcastle University

Roles and Responsibilities

I work as a Specialty Registrar in the Affective Disorder Unit at the Campus for Ageing and Vitality. In addition, I have been awarded an Academic Clinical Fellowship from the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR) to facilitate the development of my academic and research work, while continuing my clinical training. My research involves investigating the effects of glucocorticoids and SSRIs on neural correlates of neuropsychological functions in affective disorder patients and healthy subjects.

Qualifications

• PhD in Psychiatry, University of Newcastle, UK.
• MRCPsych, The Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
• MD, Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria.

Memberships

• Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK
• Member of the British Medical Association (BMA).
• Member of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP).
• Member of the British Neuroscience Association (BNA).
• Member of the Medical Defence Union (MDU).
• Member of the Syrian Medical Association.

Honours and Awards

• Academic Clinical Fellowship, NIHR (2008)
• BAP/ Eli Lilly Fellowship (2007)
• BNA Annual Meeting Bursary (2007)
• BAP/ Eli Lilly Fellowship (2006)
• BAP Summer Meeting Bursary (2005)
• AKF PhD Scholarship

Languages

• English: fluent
• Arabic: mother tongue
• French: basic understanding

Research Interests

The effects of glucocorticoids and SSRIs on neural correlates of neuropsychological functions in affective disorder patients and healthy subjects.

Other Expertise

• Electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs)
• Neuroscan and other ERP-related software
• Neuroimaging analysis
• Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA)
• Recruitment of patient groups and healthy volunteers
• Depression and anxiety rating scales
• Statistical analysis using SPSS and Minitab
• Grants and Ethics applications

Undergraduate Teaching

Teaching: Lectures of Anxiety Disorders and Psychopharmacology to undergraduate medical students

Supervion: undergraduate psychology students studying the effect of motivation on neuropsychological function in healthy volunteers.

Postgraduate Teaching

Teaching: Introduction to psychiatric disorders to MRes students

Supervision: MRes student

• Alhaj HA, Selman M, Jervis V, Rodgers J, Barton S, McAllister-Williams RH. Effect of low-dose acute tryptophan depletion on the specificity of autobiographical memory in healthy subjects with a family history of depression. Psychopharmacology 2012, 222(2), 285-292.
• Pariante CM, Alhaj HA, Arulnathan VE, Gallagher P, Hanson A, Massey AE, McAllister-Williams RH. Central glucocorticoid receptor-mediated effects of the antidepressant, citalopram, in humans: A study using EEG and cognitive testing. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2012, 37(5), 618-628.
• Alhaj HA. Effects of Adrenal Steroids on Mood and Memory: Electrophysiological Studies in Depressed Patients and Healthy Subjects. Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2009.
• Alhaj H, Wisniewski G, McAllister-Williams RH. The use of the EEG in measuring therapeutic drug action: focus on depression and antidepressants. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2011, 25(9), 1175-1191.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. Adrenal steroids and episodic memory: relevance to mood disorders. In: Dere E; Easton A; Nadel L; Huston J, ed. Handbook of Episodic Memory. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 2008, pp.585-596.
• Alhaj HA, Massey AE, McAllister-Williams RH. Effects of cortisol on the laterality of the neural correlates of episodic memory. Journal of Psychiatric Research 2008, 42(12), 971-981.
• Alhaj HA, Massey AE, McAllister-Williams RH. Effects of DHEA administration on episodic memory, cortisol and mood in healthy young men: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Psychopharmacology 2006, 188(4), 541-551.
• Alhaj HA, Massey AE, McAllister-Williams RH. A study of the neural correlates of episodic memory and HPA axis status in drug-free depressed patients and healthy controls. Journal of Psychiatric Research 2007, 41(3-4), 295-304.
• McAllister-Williams RH, Hanson A, Alhaj HA, Marsh VR, Massey AE, Pariante CM. Citalopram Modulation of the Effects of Cortisol on Cortical Activity in Healthy Male Subjects. Biological Psychiatry 2009, 65(8, supplement 1), 238S no. 781.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. Effects of DHEA Administration on Auditory Evoked Potentials. British Neuroscience Association Abstracts 2007, 19, 144.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. LORETA source localization of the electric activity associated with episodic retrieval following DHEA and placebo treatments in healthy men. In: Journal of Psychopharmacology: Summer Meeting of the British Association for Psychopharmacology. 2005, Harrogate, UK: Sage Publications Ltd.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. An investigation of the neural correlates of episodic memory in drug-free depression. In: 59th Annual Meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. 2004, New York, USA: Biological Psychiatry: Elsevier.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. DHEA improves recollection and mood in healthy young men: an electrophysiological study. In: International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004, Paris, France: Cambridge University Press.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. Cortisol Administration Alters the Laterality of the Neural Circuitry of Episodic Memory. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2007.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. Effects of DHEA on neuropsychological function, mood and salivary cortisol in healthy young men. In: Journal of Psychopharmacology: Summer Meeting of the British Association for Psychopharmacology. 2004, Harrogate, UK: Sage Publications Ltd.
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. Correlations between Cortisol Concentrations and the Laterality of the Neural Circuitry of Episodic Memory in Depression. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2006, 20(5 suppl), A71 (SO12) & A61 (TD15).
• Alhaj HA, Massey AE, McAllister-Williams RH. Effects of DHEA on the Neural Correlates of Episodic Memory. Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis 2004, 64, 533 (O2.2).
• Alhaj HA, McAllister-Williams RH. [abstract] DHEA Improves Mood and Recollection in Healthy Young Men. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology 2004, 7(S2), S340-341 abstract no. P02.135.
• Alhaj HA, Massey AE, McAllister-Williams RH. Event-related brain potentials investigation of the effects of four-day, high-dose course of cortisol on the neural correlates of episodic memory. In: Journal of Psychopharmacology: Summer Meeting of the British Association for Psychopharmacology. 2003, Cambridge, UK: Sage Publications Ltd.