School of Medicine


Showing 1-26 of 26 Results

  • Sanno Zack

    Sanno Zack

    Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Zack is involved with ongoing research related to the treatment of adolescent and adult trauma (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - TF-CBT; Prolonged Exposure - PE), and the effective provision of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to adolescent girls and women with disorder of emotion regulation. She additionally studies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for adolescent girls with anxiety. More broadly she is interested in the impact of Evidenced Based Treatments on improving quality of life, and helping individuals find the right match for clinical care. Research is conducted through the Early Life Stress and Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Program at Stanford Children's Hospital and the Stanford Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program.

  • Natalie M. Zahr

    Natalie M. Zahr

    Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Laboratories)

    BioNatalie M. Zahr received a graduate education in the basic sciences including the study of neuro- pharmacology, physiology, and anatomy. After completing her graduate training in electrophysiology, she began a postdoctoral fellowship as a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scientist. Her work focuses on translational approaches using in vivo MR imaging and spectroscopy in studies of human with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) and in rodent models of alcohol exposure with the goal of identifying mechanisms of alcohol effects on the brain. Her human studies include participants with HIV, those co-morbid for HIV and AUD and recently, aging individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Her position allows her to explore emerging MR technologies and apply them to test relevant hypotheses. Before joining Stanford, she taught at several local institutions including UC Berkeley extension and Santa Clara University where she enjoyed sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for learning with students.

  • Isheeta Zalpuri

    Isheeta Zalpuri

    Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development

    BioDr. Isheeta Zalpuri is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. She specializes in the treatment of pediatric anxiety and mood disorders.
    Dr. Zalpuri has a special interest in faculty development, professional development of trainees, physician well-being and cultural psychiatry.

  • Mira Zein

    Mira Zein

    Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Medical Psychiatry

    BioDr. Zein received her dual bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Physiological Science at UCLA and worked initially as a healthcare consultant, developing programs that improve healthcare access for vulnerable populations. She returned to school to pursue a Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University; her research foci were disaster response interventions for physical and mental health and the impact of the built environment on public health. During her masters, she worked with the International Rescue Committee in Baltimore to help address the acculturation and psychological stress the Baltimore refugee population faced in resettlement.

    Dr. Zein completed her medical training at McGill University. During medical school she continue to pursue interests in global and cultural health, focusing on national and local clinical projects to support refugee and asylum seeker access to medical and mental health treatment as part of CFMS. She was awarded the Mona Bronfman Sheckman Prize in Psychiatry for her work. During her psychiatry residency training at New York University (NYU), Dr. Zein continued pursuing her interest in global mental health, working as a group leader for refugees/asylum seekers in the Bellevue Survivors of Torture program, and the Association for Culture and Psychiatry.

    She also became interested in models of Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) to provide better access to mental health services within primary care and other settings. She founded the Integrated Behavioral Health resident working group and designed a two-year resident training program in the Collaborative Care Model, and developed a Collaborative Care model in one of NYU Langone-Brooklyn's FQHC sites. She completed residency as a chief resident and won awards for Excellence in Resident Teaching as well as for humanism and clinical excellence in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program

    Dr. Zein completed her Consult Liaison Fellowship at Stanford and has remained as clinical faculty. She previously currently served as an attending psychiatrist on the General, Intensive Care, and ED-Psychiatry Consult service. She currently works as the Psychiatric Director for Integrated Behavioral Health. She initially the model for the Stanford Primary Care Clinic serving Cisco employees and their families. She is currently working on expanding Integrated Behavioral health to other Stanford Primary Care Clinics, and has worked with Stanford's Digital Health Team to start and expand psychiatry e-consults for primary care. She also works as the Behavioral Health Director for Cisco, applying principles of organizational psychiatry and public health to assess company behavioral health strategy and provide support for Cisco employees and their families. Additionally, Dr Zein is part of the Stanford Mental Health lab where she supervises and completes evaluations for refugee and asylum seekers, and teaches Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology for the Psychiatry Residents

  • Jamie Zeitzer

    Jamie Zeitzer

    Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Sleep Medicine)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Zeitzer is a circadian physiologist specializing in the understanding of the impact of light on circadian rhythms and other aspects of non-image forming light perception.
    He examines the manner in which humans respond to light and ways to manipulate this responsiveness, with direct application to jet lag, shift work, and altered sleep timing in teens. Dr. Zeitzer has also pioneered the use of actigraphy in the determination of epiphenomenal markers of psychiatric disorders.

  • Wendy Zhang

    Wendy Zhang

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry

    BioWendy Zhang, Ph.D. (she/her) is a clinical psychology postdoctoral fellow in the INSPIRE Clinic at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Clinically, Dr. Zhang specializes in evidence-based assessment and therapeutic intervention for individuals experiencing psychosis and their families. Dr. Zhang provides clinical care through a culturally-informed and recovery-oriented lens in both English and Mandarin Chinese. Dr. Zhang's current research focuses on early detection of psychosis risk and dissemination strategies for evidence-based treatment, including cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp), to improve early psychosis care. 

  • Yu Zhang

    Yu Zhang

    Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences)

    BioDr. Yu Zhang's research operates at the intersection of AI, translational neuroscience, and precision medicine. His work focuses on unraveling the complex neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits, behavioral dysfunctions, and therapeutic responses in mental health disorders. By integrating advanced machine learning techniques with multimodal brain imaging modalities (e.g., fMRI, DTI, EEG), Dr. Zhang aims to identify neural signatures that reveal the heterogeneity of mental disorders across individuals. A central goal of his research is the development and validation of robust neurobiomarkers to improve diagnostic accuracy, refine prognostic assessments, and guide personalized treatment strategies. His work systematically characterizes brain function and dysfunction to optimize therapeutic interventions, including pharmacological treatments, psychotherapy, and neurostimulation. He is particularly focused on conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, mood disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders, where individualized approaches are essential for improving patient outcomes.

    Dr. Zhang has received several grants including the R01, R21, and Alzheimer's Association AARG grant. Beyond foundational research, Dr. Zhang is committed to bridging the gap between computational innovation and clinical application. By collaborating with clinicians, neuroscientists, and engineers, he strives to translate data-driven insights into actionable tools for real-world healthcare settings. His long-term vision is to enable mental health diagnostics and treatment to be guided by objective, biologically grounded biomarkers, thereby enhancing quality of life and long-term outcomes for individuals with psychiatric and neurological conditions.

    The Stanford Precision NeuroIntelligence (SPNI) Lab, led by Dr. Zhang, is dedicated to advancing research in AI-driven neuroimaging and precision psychiatry. The lab develops and applies cutting-edge machine learning and deep learning methods to uncover neurobiological mechanisms associated with cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions, as well as treatment responses in mental health conditions. Its mission is to identify translational biomarkers that support precision diagnosis, prognosis, and targeted interventions for mood disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases.

  • Yanan Zhao

    Yanan Zhao

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry

    BioYanan completed her Ph.D. degree at Fudan University, where she uncovered the mechanisms of sleep transitions from the evolutionary point of view in Dr Zhili Huang’s lab, with a combination of optogenetics, in vivo electrophysiology, fiber photometry, polysomnography, immunohistochemistry and so on. In the de Lecea lab, Yanan is now curious about how sleep regulates the balance between DNA damage and repair with approaches of imaging. At the same time, she is interested in larger scale imaging during different brain states. Outside the lab, Yanan enjoys biking and exploring the sunny bay area.

  • Patrick Zhou

    Patrick Zhou

    Affiliate, Psych/Major Laboratories and Clinical & Translational Neurosciences Incubator

    BioResearch Intern at Stanford Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    My name is Patrick Zhou, and I’m a high school student at BASIS Independent in Fremont, California, with a strong academic focus on STEM subjects. I’m incredibly fortunate to work alongside accomplished researchers like Dr. Pingping Qu and Dr. Alexander Eckehart Urban. This experience has deepened my appreciation for the complexity of life science and the dedication that Stanford scientists invest in their research.

    More information about me can be found at: https://patrickzhou.sites.stanford.edu

  • Sa Zhou

    Sa Zhou

    Postdoctoral Scholar, Psychiatry

    BioSa Zhou completed her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, under the supervision of Dr. Xiaoling Hu and Prof. Yongping Zheng. Her Ph.D. research focused on quantitative evaluation and targeted therapeutics for sensory-motor rehabilitation in stroke patients. She developed strong interests in developing closed-loop brain-computer interface (BCI)-driven neuromodulation and robotic systems, designing neuro-behavioral measurements, and understanding functional connectivity in brain networks based on multimodal neurophysiological signals. At Stanford, Sa will contribute her interdisciplinary expertise to the field of cognitive enhancement to prevent cognitive decline and brain aging in the elderly at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or AD related dementia (AD/ADRD).

  • Lindsey Zimmerman

    Lindsey Zimmerman

    Affiliate, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences

    BioLindsey Zimmerman, PhD, is a Clinical and Community Psychologist, and Implementation Scientist at the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division of the Veterans Health Administration.

    Dr. Zimmerman is principal investigator of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Veterans Health Administration (VA) research that enlists participatory system dynamics to increase timely patient access to evidence-based pharmacotherapy and evidence-based psychotherapy for depression, PTSD, alcohol and opioid use disorder. See https://mtl.how/team



    Active NIH Grants

    Participatory System Dynamics vs Audit and Feedback: A Cluster Randomized Trial of Mechanisms Of Implementation Change to Expand Reach of Evidence-Based Addiction and Mental Health Care (R01DA046651)

    The most common reasons Veterans seek VA addiction and mental health care is for help with opioid and alcohol misuse, depression and PTSD. Research evidence has established highly effective treatments that prevent relapse, overdose and suicide, but even with policy mandates, performance metrics, and electronic health records to fix the problem, these treatments may only reach 3-28% of patients. This study tests participatory business engineering methods to better meet the addiction and mental health needs of Veterans and the U.S. population.


    Participatory System Dynamics for Evidence-Based Addiction and Mental Healthcare (R21DA042198)

    Limited access and delays to high-quality, evidence-based mental health and addiction treatments can lead to patients getting too little or ineffective care and contribute to chronic patient impairment, relapse, and death by suicide or overdose. This study evaluates a system for resolving problems with patient flow and organization in health care systems, using electronic medical record systems and a high-level of input from healthcare leadership, frontline providers and patients.


    Active VA Grants

    Participatory System Dynamics vs Usual Quality Improvement: Is Staff Use of Simulation an Effective, Scalable and Affordable Way to Improve Timely Veteran Access to High-quality Mental Health Care? (I01HX002521)

    Participatory system dynamics (PSD) helps improve quality with existing resources, critical in mental health and all VA health care. PSD uses learning simulations to improve staff decisions, showing how goals for quality can best be achieved given local resources and constraints. We aim to significantly increase the proportion of patients who start and complete evidence-based care, and determine the costs of using PSD for improvement.


    National Responsibilities

    2019 National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review
    Community Influences on Health Behavior (CIHB) Study Section

    2019-present VA Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) 
    QUERI/Health Services Research & Development, Scientific Merit Review Committee

    2019-present Emory University
    Prolonged Exposure Consultant Training Program Advisory Board

    2018-present National Institutes of Health
    Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH)
    Mental Health Faculty Mentor

    2015-2017 National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program
    National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Research Review Committee



    Teaching Responsibilities

    Quality Improvement and Systems of Care Competencies
    Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Residency, Stanford University School of Medicine & VA Palo Alto Health Care System

    Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program Seminar
    VA Palo Alto research centers of the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), Center for Innovation to Implementation (Ci2i), Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Care (MIRECC), and War-related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC).



    Open Science Resources for the Modeling to Learn Simulation Learning Program are available on GitHub at https://mtl.how and https://mtl.how/demo