School of Medicine

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  • Dina Ganji

    Dina Ganji

    Affiliate, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
    Visiting Scholar, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    BioDina Ganji, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, working at the intersection of clinical psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, and translational neuroscience. Her research focuses on integrating neuroimaging, neuromodulation techniques, and clinical phenotyping to advance precision psychiatry, with a particular emphasis on autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental disorders, and cognitive neuroscience in children, as well as mood and substance use disorders.

    She has a strong and growing interest in autism, pediatric neurocognition, and broader neurodevelopmental conditions, with a particular focus on understanding cognitive and behavioral mechanisms in early development and translating these insights into more individualized and effective interventions.

    Dr. Ganji completed her Psychiatry Residency at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, where she also gained extensive clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of psychiatric disorders. She is a board-certified psychiatrist with clinical expertise in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care.

    At Stanford University, she has contributed to multiple interdisciplinary research programs. In Dr. Maldonado’s lab, she serves as a research coordinator for large-scale clinical and longitudinal studies, including delirium outcomes in patients (LUCIDIFY study), psychosocial assessment in transplant candidates (SIPAT project), and clinical cohorts involving CAR-T and hematopoietic stem cell therapy.

    Previously, in the Brain Stimulation Lab at Stanford, she gained hands-on experience in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), including motor threshold assessment and clinical application of H-coil protocols in patients with OCD, depression and anxiety disorders. She also received training in functional MRI (fMRI) data acquisition and interpretation through advanced neuroscience courses.

    In Iran, she served as Research and Development Lead at Atrin Clinic, where she integrated repetitive TMS (rTMS), pharmacological treatment, and clinical assessment tools for patients with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and substance use disorders, while systematically monitoring treatment outcomes.

    Her research output includes multiple peer-reviewed publications in international journals, covering topics such as autism spectrum disorder, neuromodulation in bipolar disorder, congenital heart defects in vulnerable pediatric populations, neurocognitive effects of environmental exposure, and adjunctive treatments in psychiatric disorders.

    Beyond research, Dr. Ganji is actively involved in academic service, including conference organization, neuropsychiatry committee activities, and peer review for scientific journals. She has also completed professional training in mind-body medicine approaches.

    Dr. Ganji is deeply committed to patient-centered psychiatry and is particularly motivated by understanding autism, neurodevelopmental disorders, and pediatric cognitive neuroscience. She aims to bridge neuroscience and clinical psychiatry to develop more precise, individualized interventions that improve outcomes in children and patients with complex psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions.

  • Matthew Gunther, MD, MA

    Matthew Gunther, MD, MA

    Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Medical Psychiatry
    Clinical Associate Professor (By courtesy), Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Gunther’s scholarly work focuses on neuropsychiatric syndromes arising in the context of medical illness, with particular emphasis on delirium, catatonia, psychopharmacology in the medically ill, and the psychiatric sequelae of critical illness. His research spans the identification, assessment, and management of acute brain dysfunction in hospitalized and critically ill populations, including studies evaluating delirium prediction tools, bedside diagnostic instruments, and neurorecovery outcomes following medical insults. He has contributed to the validation and clinical application of the Stanford Proxy Test for Delirium (S-PTD) and related delirium risk stratification efforts, and has authored systematic reviews and case-based scholarship addressing catatonia, alcohol withdrawal syndromes, and medication-related neurotoxicity. In parallel, Dr. Gunther’s work in integrated behavioral health and medical education examines how psychiatry-led, skills-based interventions can improve recognition of neuropsychiatric and trauma-related symptoms in primary care and inpatient medical settings. Across these domains, his research emphasizes translational, clinically grounded approaches that equip non-psychiatric clinicians to manage complex neuropsychiatric presentations with greater confidence and precision.