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Hire Dr. Anastasia L.

Canada

USD 75 /hr

Biomedical science writing | Scientific consultation | Designing & conducting research projects (Genetics)

Profile Summary

I am ready to collaborate with entities in both the industry and academia as a biomedical science writer, scientific consultant, or a researcher. I possess extensive experience in writing peer-reviewed scientific articles at the most advanced level, as well as the ability to communicate complex scientific concepts effectively to non-specialists at the most basic level. This versatility allows me to write for any target audience. Furthermore, I can provide valuable guidance to other writers in accurately interpreting complex scientific data. I am a doctorate-holding scientist who specializes in molecular genetics of brain disorders. My detailed CV is available upon request. Throughout my career, I have conducted research on the genetics of various neuropsychiatric disorders, including frontotemporal dementia, restless legs syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and alcohol dependence. This work has resulted in the discovery of multiple genetic loci associated with these conditions. My experience in conducting and supervising scientific projects spans twenty-one years. I have six-year postdoctoral training experience and four-year university level teaching experience with the rank of Assistant Professor. Moreover, I am the first author of fifteen journal articles, peer-reviewed and indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3509-1304). This indicates that I wrote either the entirety or the most significant part of each manuscript. I also have considerable experience in writing successful grant applications as the principal investigator. Furthermore, I won an important number of grants, fellowships, and awards during my career. Notably, I possess excellent communication skills, enabling me to convey complex scientific concepts to non-specialists through oral presentations, posters, and blogs. I firmly believe that effectively communicating scientific knowledge to the general public is not only crucial for educational purposes but also for raising awareness about the vital role of scientific research in the continuous development and prosperity of society. Given the importance of accurate science communication, I believe that only experienced professionals should be entrusted with this responsibility. My writing samples of scientific publications (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3509-1304) are available upon request; my writing samples of news stories are published on Facebook.com (please search for "Biomedical Science Writer & Consultant", as direct links are not supported here). N.B. Please note that I am not a psychologist. My specialty lies within the realms of psychiatry, neurology, and molecular biology, particularly genetics. Additionally, I am not a ghostwriter; I do not prepare scientific written works, such as articles or dissertations, for someone who will later claim authorship of something they did not prepare.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Molecular Biology
• ★ Genetics
• ★ Psychiatry
• ☆ Developmental Biology
• ☆ Embryology
• ☆ Computational Biology
• ☆ Evolutionary Biology
• ☆ Biomarkers
• ☆ Genomics
• ☆ Epigenetics
• ☆ PCR
• ☆ DNA Sequencing
• ☆ Cell Biology
• ☆ Cell Signaling Pathways
• ☆ Gene Regulation
• ☆ Neuroscience
• ☆ Molecular Neuroscience
• ☆ Neurobiology
• ☆ Pathogenesis
• ☆ Population Genetics
• ☆ Neurology
• ☆ Movement Disorders
• ☆ Non-Alzheimer's Dementia
• ☆ Neuropsychiatry
• ☆ Addiction Psychiatry
• ☆ Psychopharmacology

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting

Writing Medical Writing, Newswriting, General Proofreading & Editing

Research Fact Checking, Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Scientific and Technical Consulting

Work Experience

Senior Research Scientist

St. Petersburg State University

October 2016 - December 2022

Postdoctoral Fellow

St. Petersburg State University

October 2008 - January 2015

Assistant Professor (Contractual)

St. Petersburg State University

April 2009 - September 2013

Education

PhD (Neurogenetics)

McGill University

September 2002 - September 2008

PhD (Human Genetics)

McGill University

2002 - 2008

Masters of Science (Central Nervous System)

University of Montreal

May 2001 - August 2002

Bachelors (Biomedical Sciences)

University of Montreal

September 1998 - April 2001

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Alexander Hatoum, Sarah M.C. Colbert, Emma C Johnson, Spencer B. Huggett, Joseph Deak, Gita A. Pathak, Mariela V. Jennings, Sarah Paul, Nicole Karcher, Isabella Hansen, et al.(2023). Multivariate genome-wide association meta-analysis of over 1 million subjects identifies loci underlying multiple substance use disorders . Nature Mental Health. 1. (3). p. 210--223. Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}

Anastasia Levchenko, Maria Plotnikova(2023). Genomic regulatory sequences in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder . Frontiers in Psychiatry. 14. Frontiers Media {SA}

Anastasia Levchenko, Fedor Gusev, Evgeny Rogaev(2023). The evolutionary origin of psychosis . Frontiers in Psychiatry. 14. Frontiers Media {SA}

A Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals a BDNF-Centered Molecular Network Associated with Alcohol Dependence and Related Clinical Measures <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Refresh" CONTENT="0;URL=/servlet/useragent"> </head> . Biomedicines.

Rare single nucleotide variants in COL5A1 promoter do not play a major role in keratoconus susceptibility associated with rs1536482 @article{2021, doi = {10.1186/s12886-021-02128-6}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12886-021-02128-6}, year = 2021, month = {oct}, publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}}, volume = {21}, number = {1}, author = {Liubov O. Skorodumova and Alexandra V. Belodedova and Elena I. Sharova and Elena S. Zakharova and Liliia N. Iulmetova and Mukharram M. Bikbov and Emin L. Usubov and Olga P. Antonova and Oksana V. Selezneva and Anastasia Levchenko and Olga Yu Fedorenko and Svetlana A. Ivanova and Raul R. Gainetdinov and Boris E. Malyugin}, title = {Rare single nucleotide variants in {COL}5A1 promoter do not play a major role in keratoconus susceptibility associated with rs1536482}} . BMC Ophthalmology.

(2020). A genome-wide association study identifies a gene network associated with paranoid schizophrenia and antipsychotics-induced tardive dyskinesia . Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry.

(2020). NRG1, PIP4K2A, and HTR2C as Potential Candidate Biomarker Genes for Several Clinical Subphenotypes of Depression and Bipolar Disorder . Frontiers in Genetics.

Anastasia Levchenko, Timur Nurgaliev, Alexander Kanapin, Anastasia Samsonova, Raul R. Gainetdinov(2020). Current challenges and possible future developments in personalized psychiatry with an emphasis on psychotic disorders . Heliyon. 6. (5). p. e03990. Elsevier {BV}

(2019). Opening up new horizons for psychiatric genetics in the Russian Federation: moving toward a national consortium . Molecular Psychiatry.

Anastasia Levchenko, Natalya Vyalova, Ivan V. Pozhidaev, Anastasiia S. Boiko, Diana Z. Osmanova, Olga Yu. Fedorenko, Arkadiy V. Semke, Nikolay A. Bokhan, Bob Wilffert, Anton J.M. Loonen, et al.(2019). No evidence so far of a major role of AKT1 and GSK3B in the pathogenesis of antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia . Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental. p. e2685. Wiley

Levchenko, A., Losenkov, I.S., Vyalova, N.M., Simutkin, G.G., Bokhan, N.A., Wilffert, B., Loonen, A.J.M., Ivanova, S.A.(2018). The functional variant RS334558 of GSK3B is associated with remission in patients with depressive disorders . Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine. 11. p. 121-126.

Levchenko, A., Kanapin, A., Samsonova, A., Gainetdinov, R.R.(2018). Human accelerated regions and other human-specific sequence variations in the context of evolution and their relevance for brain development . Genome Biology and Evolution. 10. (1). p. 166-188.

Levchenko, A., Davtian, S., Freylichman, O., Zagrivnaya, M., Kostareva, A., Malashichev, Y.(2015). Beta-catenin in schizophrenia: Possibly deleterious novel mutation . Psychiatry Research. 228. (3). p. 843-848.

Levchenko, A., Davtian, S., Petrova, N., Malashichev, Y.(2014). Sequencing of five left-Right cerebral asymmetry genes in a cohort of schizophrenia and schizotypal disorder patients from Russia . Psychiatric Genetics. 24. (2). p. 75-80.

Xiong, L., Montplaisir, J., Desautels, A., Barhdadi, A., Turecki, G., Levchenko, A., Thibodeau, P., Dub&#233;, M.-P., Gaspar, C., Rouleau, G.A.(2010). Family study of restless legs syndrome in Quebec, Canada: Clinical characterization of 671 familial cases . Archives of Neurology. 67. (5). p. 617-622.

Rivi&#232;re, J.-B., Xiong, L., Levchenko, A., St-Onge, J., Gaspar, C., Dion, Y., Lesp&#233;rance, P., Tellier, G., Richer, F., Chouinard, S., et al.(2009). Association of intronic variants of the BTBD9 gene with Tourette syndrome . Archives of Neurology. 66. (10). p. 1267-1272.

Levchenko, A., Montplaisir, J.-Y., Asselin, G., Provost, S., Girard, S.L., Xiong, L., Lemyre, E., St-Onge, J., Thibodeau, P., Desautels, A., et al.(2009). Autosomal-dominant locus for restless legs syndrome in French-Canadians on chromosome 16p12.1 . Movement Disorders. 24. (1). p. 40-50.

Xiong, L., Catoire, H., Dion, P., Gaspar, C., Lafreni&#232;re, R.G., Girard, S.L., Levchenko, A., Rivi&#232;re, J.-B., Fiori, L., St-Onge, J., et al.(2009). MEIS1 intronic risk haplotype associated with restless legs syndrome affects its mRNA and protein expression levels . Human Molecular Genetics. 18. (6). p. 1065-1074.

Xiong, L., Levchenko, A., Montplaisir, J., Rivi&#232;re, J.-B., Thibodeau, P., St-Onge, J., Gaspar, C., Desautels, A., Lesp&#233;rance, P., Chouinard, S., et al.(2008). Genetic association studies of neurotensin gene and restless legs syndrome in French Canadians . Sleep Medicine. 9. (3). p. 273-282.

Xiong, L., Dion, P., Montplaisir, J., Levchenko, A., Thibodeau, P., Karemera, L., Rivi&#232;re, J.-B., St-Onge, J., Gaspar, C., Dub&#233;, M.-P., et al.(2007). Molecular genetic studies of DMT1 on 12q in French-Canadian restless legs syndrome patients and families . American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics. 144. (7). p. 911-917.

Xiong, L., Jang, K., Montplaisir, J., Levchenko, A., Thibodeau, P., Gaspar, C., Turecki, G., Rouleau, G.A.(2007). Canadian restless legs syndrome twin study . Neurology. 68. (19). p. 1631-1633.

Levchenko, A., Provost, S., Montplaisir, J.Y., Xiong, L., St-Onge, J., Thibodeau, P., Rivi&#232;re, J.B., Desautels, A., Turecki, G., Dub&#233;, M.P., et al.(2006). A novel autosomal dominant restless legs syndrome locus maps to chromosome 20p13 . Neurology. 67. (5). p. 900-901.

Levchenko, A., Robitaille, Y., Strong, M.J., Rouleau, G.A.(2004). TAU mutations are not a predominant cause of frontotemporal dementia in Canadian patients . Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. 31. (3). p. 363-367.

Levchenko, A., Montplaisir, J.-Y., Dub&#233;, M.-P., Riviere, J.-B., St-Onge, J., Turecki, G., Xiong, L., Thibodeau, P., Desautels, A., Verlaan, D.J., et al.(2004). The 14q restless legs syndrome locus in the French Canadian population . Annals of Neurology. 55. (6). p. 887-891.

BOOK

Xiong, L., Turecki, G., Levchenko, A., Gaspar, C., Hening, W.A., Montplaisir, J., Rouleau, G.A.(2009). Genetics of Restless Legs Syndrome . Restless Legs Syndrome. p. 31-49.