Jacek Kolacz, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Member, Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium
Dr. Jacek Kolacz is a developmental neuropsychologist who studies how life experiences shape biological systems, psychological well-being, and physical health over time. His work at the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at the Kinsey Institute examines biobehavioral pathways that are sensitive to disruption by sexual violence, their effects on mental and physical health, and their influence on relationships and social interactions. This research will be used to identify factors that confer risk and resilience for sexual trauma survivors and inform new clinical intervention strategies.
Kolacz’s research applies methods for analyzing vocal acoustic features, neural regulation of the heart, statistical modeling for examining complex longitudinal data, and psychometric assessment of survey instruments. His methodological efforts at Kinsey involve the development of novel online data collection tools that will allow remote psychophysiological assessment.
Morrison Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
Education
- Ph. D., Psychology and Neuroscience, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2016
- B. A., Psychology, DePaul University, 2009
Research interests
- Effects of trauma
- Risk and resilience
- Neural regulation of vocal acoustic features
- Sensory and body awareness
- Quantitative methods for longitudinal data
- Psychometrics
Selected publications
Kolacz, J., Kovacic, K. & Porges, S. W. (under review). Traumatic stress and the autonomic brain-gut connection in development: An integrative framework for psychosocial and gastrointestinal pathology.
Kolacz, J. & Porges, S. W. (2018). Chronic diffuse pain and functional gastrointestinal disorders after traumatic stress: Pathophysiology through a polyvagal perspective. Frontiers in Medicine, 5, 145.
Cabrera, A.*, Kolacz, J.*, Pailhez, G., Bulbena-Cabre, A., Bulbena, A., & Porges, S. W. (2018). Assessing body awareness and autonomic reactivity: Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Body Perception Questionnaire-Short Form (BPQ-SF). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 27(3), e1596. DOI: 10.1002/mpr.1596. [*Equal contribution]
Kolacz, J., Lewis, G. F., & Porges, S. W. (2018). The integration of vocal communication and biobehavioral state regulation in mammals: A polyvagal hypothesis. In S. M. Brudzynski (Ed.) Handbook of Ultrasonic Vocalization. New York: Elsevier Press.
Kolacz, J., Holochwost, S. J., Gariépy, J.-L., & Mills-Koonce, W. R. (2016). Patterns of joint parasympathetic, sympathetic, and adrenocortical activity and their associations with temperament in early childhood. Developmental Psychobiology, 58(8), 990-1001.