Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Showing 1-57 of 57 Results
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Saisha Pal
Affiliate, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
BioDougherty Valley High School Class of 2027
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Heather Ryan Pankow
Life Science Rsch Prof 2, Psych/General Psychiatry and Psychology (Adult)
Current Role at StanfordLife Science Research Professional 2 in The Depression Research Clinic
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Sara Pardej
Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry
BioSara Pardej earned her BA in Psychology and BS in Cognitive Science at Marquette University. Afterwards, she attended the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee under the mentorship of Dr. Bonita P. Klein-Tasman, where she earned both her MS and PhD in Clinical Psychology. There, she worked on several studies focusing on youth with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), including behavioral phenotyping work, psychometric studies, and a social skills intervention study. Her dissertation study, which was funded by a Young Investigator Award from the Children's Tumor Foundation, focused on examining event related potentials using EEG by comparing children with NF1 to children with idiopathic ADHD and unaffected children. She completed her Doctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology at Penn State Health in Hershey, Pennsylvania. While at Penn State, she also worked on research examining safety and psychopathology in youth with ADHD and/or autism. Her clinical interest is neuropsychology, and her research interests include issues of psychometrics, behavioral phenotyping, and the neuropsychological development (and subsequent areas of intervention) of individuals with NF1 across the lifespan.
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Karen J. Parker, PhD
Truong-Tan Broadcom Endowed Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Comparative Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Parker Lab conducts research on the biology of social functioning in monkeys, typically developing humans, and patients with social difficulties.
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Sergiu P. Pasca
Kenneth T. Norris, Jr. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Director of the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsA critical challenge in understanding the intricate programs underlying development, assembly and dysfunction of the human brain is the lack of direct access to intact, functioning human brain tissue for detailed investigation by imaging, recording, and stimulation.
To address this, we are developing bottom-up approaches to generate and assemble, from multi-cellular components, human neural circuits in vitro and in vivo.
We introduced the use of instructive signals for deriving from human pluripotent stem cells self-organizing 3D cellular structures named brain region-specific spheroids/organoids. We demonstrated that these cultures, such as the ones resembling the cerebral cortex, can be reliably derived across many lines and experiments, contain synaptically connected neurons and non-reactive astrocytes, and can be used to gain mechanistic insights into genetic and environmental brain disorders. Moreover, when maintained as long-term cultures, they recapitulate an intrinsic program of maturation that progresses towards postnatal stages.
We also pioneered a modular system to integrate 3D brain region-specific organoids and study human neuronal migration and neural circuit formation in functional preparations that we named assembloids. We have actively applied these models in combination with studies in long-term ex vivo brain preparations to acquire a deeper understanding of human physiology, evolution and disease mechanisms.
We have carved a unique research program that combines rigorous in vivo and in vitro neuroscience, stem cell and molecular biology approaches to construct and deconstruct previously inaccessible stages of human brain development and function in health and disease.
We believe science is a community effort, and accordingly, we have been advancing the field by broadly and openly sharing our technologies with numerous laboratories around the world and organizing the primary research conference and the training courses in the area of cellular models of the human brain. -
Sujata Patel
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Vaden Health Center
BioSujata Patel is a staff psychiatrist at Vaden Health Center, where she provides care to Stanford students. Her areas of interest include the transition to college and working with parents of college students.
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Ankita Patil
Research Assistant, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
BioAnkita Patil is a public health researcher focused on advancing health equity through a social justice–centered framework. She holds a B.A. in Social Psychology from The College of New Jersey and an M.S. in Community Health and Prevention Research from Stanford University. Her research experience includes work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins University, where she examined the health impacts of incarceration, trauma-informed care, and reproductive health among incarcerated populations. Ankita is a co-author of an American Public Health Association policy statement calling for an end to shackling incarcerated patients and has peer-reviewed work on COVID-19 in Massachusetts prisons. Her work bridges research, policy, and community-based advocacy to advance humane public health solutions.
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Margot Paul
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Paul is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She received her undergraduate degree from Tulane University where she graduated magna cum laude with departmental honors in psychology. She then received a master of science degree in behavioral health psychology the following year, after partaking in the 4+1 master's program. She graduated with her doctor of psychology degree from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium, where she won the award for Outstanding Overall Student (2021). She completed her clinical psychology doctoral internship at the Sepulveda VA in Los Angeles and her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine.
During her postdoctoral year she continued her research on using virtual reality (VR) as a method of engaging in behavioral activation for individuals with depression. Dr. Paul began her VR work in 2017 after joining Dr. Kim Bullock’s Virtual Reality-Immersive Technology Clinic & Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Paul won the Cheryl Koopman Dissertation of the Year Award for designing and implementing a feasibility study and three-arm pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the feasibility of using a VR headset as a way to administer behavioral activation therapy for participants with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. She presented her past and ongoing research findings as a speaker at Shift Medical 2021: Virtual Medical XR Congress and Expo (2021), Stanford Psychiatry Grand Rounds (2022), IVRHA’s 7th Annual Virtual Reality and Healthcare Global Symposium (2023), VMed23 (2023), ADAA (2023), and CYPSY26 (2023). Dr. Paul has worked and consulted with VR companies and local Bay Area startups in the technology and mental health space. She has published on her virtual reality work.
Clinically, she is interested in working with adults with anxiety and mood disorders, interpersonal difficulties, health-related difficulties, and/or perfectionistic tendencies. Dr. Paul has experience working with high-performance individuals, such as healthcare providers and student athletes. She practices using predominantly cognitive behavioral and dialectical behavioral therapies, but integrates various skills depending on the presentation and need of each unique individual. -
Rafael Pelayo, MD
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Sleep Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSleep Disorders in Adults and Children
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Adolf Pfefferbaum
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDevelopment and application of magnetic resonance imaging approaches for in vivo studies of human and animal brain integrity in neurodegenerative conditions, including alcoholism, HIV infection, Alzheimer's disease, and normal aging
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Jennifer M. Phillips, PhD
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAutism spectrum disorders, young child assessment, developmental disabilities
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Jennifer Pien MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioJennifer H. Pien is a Clinical Associate Professor through the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University. She is the Director of The Pegasus Physician Writers, Founder of The Pegasus Review, and is a founding faculty editor for the Oxford Review of Books x Stanford collaboration. She also serves on the Advisory Board for The Bellevue Literary Press and the Stanford School of Medicine Medical Humanities Fellowship. Jennifer is represented by Amy Collins of Talcott Notch. She is the author of Healing the Healers, Johns Hopkins University Press, forthcoming 2025 and is the Co-Founder of Hesperides Literary Agency.
In addition to her work in Medical Humanities, her interests include advocacy for adults with developmental disabilities where she cofounded Puente Clinic through the San Mateo County Medical System, an innovative dev. disabilities subspecialty clinic. She serves on the Regional Advisory Committee to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Currently, her clinical focus is on physician well-being through the WellConnect team. -
Adam Pines
Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry
BioAdam Pines, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Anish Mitra and Nolan Williams, PhD. Adam completed his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Adam’s work centers on neurodevelopment and the role of hierarchical brain function in mood disorder emergence and remission.
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Julia Rachel Plank
Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry
BioI am a postdoctoral researcher in the BRain Imaging, Development, and GEnetics (BRIDGE) Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Currently my work focuses on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for improving understanding of the neuropathophysiology underlying neuropsychiatric disorders with a genetic basis.
My PhD investigated the use of neuroimaging techniques (diffusion MRI, quantitative magnetization transfer, magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, electroencephalography) for detection of neuroinflammation in human participants.
My research interests are centered on the clinical applications of MRI for elucidation of pathology and improving diagnosis and treatment. -
Thomas G Plante
Emeritus Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioThomas G. Plante, Ph.D., ABPP is an emeritus adjunct professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is also the Augustin Cardinal Bea, S.J. University Professor, professor of psychology and, by courtesy, religious studies and The Jesuit School of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, and directs the Applied Spirituality Institute at Santa Clara University. He has served as vice-chair of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Youth for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and is past-president of the Society for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (Division 36) of the American Psychological Association (APA). He has published 29 books including, Spiritually Informed Therapy: Wisdom and Evidence Based Strategies That Work, Contemporary Clinical Psychology, Graduating with Honor: Best Practices to Promote Ethics Development in College Students, Living Ethically in an Unethical World, Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: A Decade of Crisis, 2002-2012, and Spiritual Practices in Psychotherapy: Thirteen Tools for Enhancing Psychological Health. He is editor of the APA journal, Spirituality in Clinical Practice. He has published over 275 scholarly professional journal articles and book chapters as well. He has been frequently featured in most major national and international media outlets. Time Magazine featured him in a 2005 profile and referred to him in a 2002 cover story about clerical abuse as one of “three leading American Catholics.” He teaches courses in psychopathology, health psychology, the psychology of religion and spirituality, and professional ethics and maintains a private clinical practice as a licensed psychologist in Menlo Park, CA. He is best reached at tplante@scu.edu.
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Celeste Poe, Ph.D., PMH-C
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
Clinical Assistant Professor (By courtesy), PediatricsBioDr. Celeste Poe is a licensed clinical psychologist with a certification in perinatal mental health. She completed her residency and fellowship training at the Yale Child Study Center. She received her Ph.D. from Palo Alto University, her master’s degree from Pepperdine University and she is a proud HBCU alumni of Xavier University of Louisiana where she received her bachelor’s degree.
Dr. Poe is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Attending NICU and Perinatal Psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is the director of the NICU Psychology Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital where she provides psychological consultation and psychotherapy to parents requiring hospitalization due to high risk pregnancies and parents of infants hospitalized in the NICU. Dr. Poe’s clinical specialties include perinatal and infant mental health as well as maternal-infant critical care with a focus on child and caregiver trauma, grief, and bereavement. Her research focuses on Black perinatal mental health and mental health equity, infant and parent mental health in medical settings, and intergenerational trauma. Dr. Poe was a Zero to Three Fellow and currently serves as Co-Chair of the National Network of NICU Psychologists. In 2026 she was appointed to the American Psychological Association's committee on Children Youth and families.
Dr. Poe also holds a community faculty appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale Child Study Center where she works on the Grief-Sensitive Healthcare Project which aims to enhance healthcare providers’ capacities to meet the needs of grieving families. -
Kilian M Pohl
Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Labs and Incubator) and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe foundation of the laboratory is computational science aimed at identifying biomedical phenotypes improving the mechanistic understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. The biomedical phenotypes are discovered by unbiased, machine learning-based searches across biological, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological data. This data-driven discovery currently supports the adolescent brain research of the NIH-funded National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA). The laboratory also investigates brain patterns specific to alcohol use disorder, depression, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) across the adult age range, and have advanced the understanding of a variety of brain diseases including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, glioma, and aging.
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Russell Poldrack
Albert Ray Lang Professor of Psychology and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab uses the tools of cognitive neuroscience to understand how decision making, executive control, and learning and memory are implemented in the human brain. We also develop neuroinformatics tools and resources to help researchers make better sense of data.
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Lisa Post
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Lisa Post, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression and adjustment disorders in adults. She has been a practicing clinician at Stanford Hospital and Clinics since 1993. Since 2000, she has been Director of a clinical program for Stanford Varsity Athletes and for nine years has been the Team Clinician for the San Francisco 49ers. Her primary interest are in the treatment of high performing individuals and in stress management.
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Tyler Prestwood
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioTyler Prestwood, M.D., Ph.D. specializes in the treatment of people with psychotic disorders and psychiatric complications with immunologic abnormalities. He is an attending in the INSPIRE Clinic at Stanford, which provides interdisciplinary care for people experiencing psychosis. He also provides care for patients experiencing psychiatric symptoms associated with long-COVID/Post-Acute Coronavirus Syndrome (PACS).
Dr. Prestwood has extensive research experience related to the immune system in various contexts including infectious disease, cancer, and psychiatry. His current work is focused on understanding the influence of infections, the immune response to infections, and metabolism on the subsequent development of psychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia and PACS. -
Kelsey C. Priest
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioKelsey Priest, MD, PhD, MPH is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Priest completed her MD/PhD at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the joint School of Public Health at OHSU-Portland State University. She earned her doctorate in Health Systems & Policy, defending her mixed-methods dissertation titled "Hospital-Based Services for Opioid Use Disorder: A Study of Supply-Side Attributes." Dr. Priest began her residency at UPMC's Western Psychiatric Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, before transferring to Stanford, where she completed the remainder of her psychiatry residency training. During her third year at Stanford, she served as the Inpatient Chief Resident, and as a fourth year resident was part of the first group of residents designated as Social Medicine & Humanities Research Track Residents. While in residency, Dr. Priest completed a two-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy program as part of the Palo Alto Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program. In 2025, Dr. Priest completed a multi-week training in Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy (EAET).
Clinically, Dr. Priest focuses on caring for patients with functional and somatic distress, as well as those requiring high-acuity psychiatric services. Dr. Priest's research explores health service, system, and policy-related issues that impact access to evidence-based care for people with mental health and substance use disorders. -
Renee P Pyle, Ph.D.
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
BioDr. Pyle is a child psychologist who has worked in clinic, hospital, school, and private practice settings for over 20 years. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences where she supervises and teaches the child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. She received her B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
