Galginaitis Brings Passion for Problem-Solving to Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery

(May 22, 2026) — For more than six years, Rachel Galginaitis, MS, has supported researchers and provided research administration as center manager at the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery (CBPR), allowing her to leverage her background in research and her passion for problem-solving.

Galginaitis came to Georgetown from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where she worked for eight years. “I’ve gained some skillsets that I didn’t have before, which was my goal when I came to Georgetown — to grow my skillsets and learn new things,” she said.

One part of her role that Galginaitis says she really enjoys is working with early-career researchers. “Because a lot of the people I work with here have just obtained a position for the first time and are new in their career or new in their field, they’re really great to work with,” she said.

“The people are what make the job,” Galginaitis added. “The reason you stay and you keep working is because of the people you get to work with.”

Getting Started in Psychology and Research

Motivated by her longstanding interest in the relationship between the brain and behavior, Galginaitis earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and biology before starting a master’s degree program in clinical psychology.

“I got really interested in psychological and neuropsychological testing,” she said. “In my graduate program, it was mostly students who were struggling in school, so they were looking to see if they had a reading disability or if depression or anxiety were interfering with their work.”

Galginaitis found that helping people learn more about themselves by providing psychological testing services was engaging and rewarding. “People would come in and say, ‘I’m not doing well in school, maybe I’m just not good at this’ and it’s like, ‘Actually, you have the capability to do a lot more, you just need resources,’” she said. “I really liked knowing how that information can help people and what it can do. And people love finding out stuff about themselves.”

After completing her master’s degree, Galginaitis looked for career opportunities where she could draw on her experience in psychological research and testing. “That’s what brought me to Walter Reed,” she said.

Learning a New Skill

Over time at Walter Reed, Galginaitis’ responsibilities shifted from direct support for research, including working with research participants and carrying out testing, to focus more on research administration, including logistics and management, preparing her for her current role at CBPR.

“When you major in psychology, they make you participate in research as a subject, so I’d always had experience in research labs since I was an undergraduate,” she said. “Because I understand research and I’ve done it before, I know what they’re doing when it comes to research when questions come up about paying participants or setting up contracts.”

Since coming to Georgetown, Galginaitis has learned about working with grants, a skill she didn’t need in her previous role. Given the current volatility in the federal research funding environment, she has been working with the Office of Institutional Partnerships to identify nonfederal funding sources and share the details with researchers.

“They’re just trying to do their research,” Galginaitis said. “They have articles and grants to write and research participants to work with, so I’m trying to support them in other ways.”

Dedicated to Helping People and Animals

In high school, Galginaitis was recognized by her friends as “the mom” of the group who would wipe off the lunch table before they sat down and always had the thing in her purse that someone needed. “Anecdotally, I’ve always been the mom,” she said. “And the mom is always the problem solver and the solution-oriented person.”

Today, Galginaitis is literally “the mom” for two young daughters with whom she and her husband live in Rockville, Maryland. In her spare time, Galginaitis volunteers with an animal rescue.

“I do transports where I pick up dogs from high-kill shelters,” she said. “We put them with a foster or in doggie daycare and get them adopted around here. We also take the dogs to adoption shows. On Saturdays, they’re all there and people get to meet the dogs.”

In 2024, Galginaitis and other volunteers created A Home of Their Own, a D.C.-area nonprofit animal rescue. “It’s really great,” she said. “Seeing all of these animals and knowing that they’re going to go to different fosters and get adopted, it’s just so nice.”

Kat Zambon
GUMC Communications