School of Medicine


Showing 1-20 of 30 Results

  • Karen J. Parker, PhD

    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 impairments.

  • Sergiu P. Pasca

    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.

  • Ryan Pate, MD, MS

    Ryan Pate, MD, MS

    Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    BioDr. Ryan Pate is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with eligibility for board certification in geriatric psychiatry. He completed his general adult psychiatry training at Dartmouth-Hitchcock and pursued his geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Stanford Health Care. In addition to his psychiatry training, he is actively participating in the psychoanalytical psychotherapy fellowship offered by the Palo Alto division of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. Dr. Pate's research interests primarily focus on providing support for caregivers and developing group interventions tailored to older adults with mental health disorders. At Stanford, his professional practice primarily takes place in an outpatient setting, where he conducts appointments that involve a combination of medication management and psychotherapy interventions. Beyond his clinical work, Dr. Pate is dedicated to medical education.

  • Sujata Patel

    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.

  • Margot Paul

    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 substance use disorders. 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

    Rafael Pelayo, MD

    Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Sleep Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSleep Disorders in Adults and Children

  • Adolf Pfefferbaum

    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

  • Jennifer M. Phillips, PhD

    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

  • Jennifer Pien MD

    Jennifer Pien MD

    Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    BioJennifer H. Pien is a Clinical Associate Professor and Stanford Medical Humanities & Arts faculty through the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University. She is the Director of The Pegasus Physician Writers, Founder of The Pegasus Review, and is on the faculty editorial team 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. 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.

  • Thomas G Plante

    Thomas G Plante

    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 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 250 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.

  • Celeste Poe, Ph.D., LMFT

    Celeste Poe, Ph.D., LMFT

    Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development

    BioDr. Celeste Poe is a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist. She is a Clinical Instructor and Attending NICU and Perinatal Psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is the director of the NICU Psychology Program at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital where she provides psychological consultation and psychotherapy to parents of infants and young children hospitalized in the NICU, CVICU, and other departments of the hospital.

    Dr. Poe’s research and clinical specialties include perinatal and early childhood mental health, pediatric behavioral health, ethnic minority mental health, and grief, trauma, and bereavement. Dr. Poe is an alumna of the American Psychological Association’s Minority Fellowship Program and is currently a Zero to Three Fellow. Dr. Poe is a registered Circle of Security Parenting facilitator and is a rostered Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) provider.

    She also holds an appointment as a Clinical Instructor at the Yale Child Study Center where she works on the Grief-Sensitive Healthcare Project which aims to enhance medical providers’ capacities to meet the needs of grieving families.

  • Kilian M Pohl

    Kilian M Pohl

    Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Labs and Incubator)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe foundation of the laboratory of Associate Professor Kilian M. Pohl, PhD, 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) and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD), the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the US. The laboratory also investigates brain patterns specific to alcohol use disorder 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.