School of Medicine
Showing 1-100 of 612 Results
-
Elias Aboujaoude, MD, MA
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Aboujaoude is a Clinical Professor, researcher and writer at Stanford University's Department of Psychiatry, where he is Chief of the Anxiety Disorders Section and Director of the OCD Clinic and the Impulse Control Disorders Clinic. Besides the compulsivity-impulsivity spectrum, his work has focused on the intersection of technology and psychology, with an emphasis on the problematic use of Internet-related technologies, mental health in a post-privacy world, and the potential for telemedicine interventions such as virtual reality and video-based therapy to increase access to care and advance global health. His books include "Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the e-Personality" and "Mental Heath in the Digital Age: Grave Dangers, Great Promise". Dr. Aboujaoude also teaches psychology on the main Stanford campus and at UC Berkeley. Scholarly and media platforms that have featured his work include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly, The Harvard Business Review, The Chronicle of Higher Education, BBC, PBS, and CNN.
-
Daniel A. Abrams
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are among the most pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders and are characterized by significant deficits in social communication. A common observation in children with ASD is that affected individuals often “tune out” from social interactions, which likely impacts the development of social, communication, and language skills. My primary research goals are to understand why children with ASD often tune out from the social world and how this impacts social skill and brain development, and to identify remediation strategies that motivate children with ASD to engage in social interactions. The theoretical framework that guides my work is that social impairments in ASD stem from a primary deficit in identifying social stimuli, such as human voices and faces, as rewarding and salient stimuli, thereby precluding children with ASD from engaging with these stimuli.
My program of research has provided important information regarding the brain circuits underlying social deficits in ASD. Importantly, these findings have consistently implicated key structures of the brain’s reward and salience processing systems, and support the hypothesis that impaired reward attribution to social stimuli is a critical aspect of social difficulties in ASD.
My lab is currently conducting three research studies:
Speaker-Listener Coupling and Brain Dynamics During Naturalistic Verbal Communication in Children with Autism
We have a new study investigating how the brain processes and understands speech in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as typically developing children. We are interested in understanding speech comprehension in children through anticipating incoming speech and accumulating speech information over a period of time.
Speaker-Listener Coupling and Brain Dynamics During Naturalistic Verbal Communication in Alzheimer’s Disease
In collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, our new study is exploring how the brain enables us to understand speech, with a focus on both healthy older adults and adults with Alzheimer’s Disease. We also aim to understand how the brain measures seen while we listen and understand a story are linked to language skills in these individuals.
Pivotal Response Treatment for Adolescents with High Functioning Autism Intervention Study
This is a 9-week intervention focusing on key social skills for autistic adolescents, while exploring brain plasticity using fMRI imaging. Your child will receive 1:1 sessions with our clinician, with parent training in clinic. Topics include: Greetings, Departures, Question Asking, Talking the Right Amount, Empathy, Sarcasm, and Eating and Drinking. We also coordinate with the school for additional support and opportunities to practice the targeted social skills in a club of interest. -
Connor Adams
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Connor Adams (she/they) is a Clinical Assistant Professor who received her doctorate in psychology from the George Washington University and completed her internship training at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance. Her clinical and research interests center on therapeutic interventions that support recovery for individuals living with serious mental illness. Dr. Adams grounds her work in a psychodynamic perspective, assisting individuals in understanding why they think, feel, and behave the way they do, in order to increase agency and choice. Dr. Adams has specialized training in comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy and provides treatment for individuals with emotion regulation difficulties. She also has specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp). Additionally, Dr. Adams provides individual and group psychotherapy within the psychiatric inpatient treatment setting. She is broadly interested in increasing access to person-centered and recovery-oriented care.
-
Leslie Adams
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics
BioLeslie Adams, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Public Mental Health and Population Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she focuses on addressing mental health disparities among people of African descent and marginalized communities. As a behavioral scientist, her research emphasizes the role of structural racism, gender norms, and psychosocial stressors in influencing mental health outcomes. Dr. Adams employs mixed-methods approaches, including ecological momentary assessment and passive data sensing, to explore real-time stressors like racial discrimination and their link to depressive symptoms and suicidality. Prior to her role at Stanford, she served as an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and was a David E. Bell Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.
-
Ehsan Adeli
Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Populations Sciences) and, by courtesy, of Computer Science and of Biomedical Data Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research lies in the intersection of Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Healthcare, Ambient Intelligence, and Computational Neuroscience.
-
Steven Adelsheim
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioSteven Adelsheim, MD is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and Associate Chair for
Community Engagement in Stanford’s Department of Psychiatry, where he directs the Center for
Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing. A national leader in early intervention, Dr. Adelsheim
spearheaded the launch of allcove—a youth-driven, integrated mental health model now
expanding across California. He also co-leads PEPPNET, the national early psychosis clinical
network. His work extends to youth suicide prevention, school mental health systems, and
partnerships with Indigenous communities to strengthen culturally grounded early intervention
for tribal youth. Dr. Adelsheim’s career is grounded in building equitable, accessible mental
health systems for young people nationwide. -
Sarah Adler
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am interested in the design and delivery of clinical care using, data and technology. I have focused on disordered eating behaviors and obesity.
-
W. Stewart Agras
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research is focused on disorders of human feeding including the eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Ongoing or recently completed studies include: A controlled trial of the implementation of interpersonal psychotherapy for eating disorders and depression on college campuses across the U.S. A multisite controlled study of two types of family therapy for the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa. Early prevemtion of overweight and obesity.
-
Teddy J. Akiki, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Akiki's research focuses on advancing precision psychiatry through computational neuroscience approaches. His work centers on developing transformer-based foundation models for functional neuroimaging that can predict treatment responses and symptom trajectories in psychiatric disorders. Using multimodal connectomics (combining structural, functional, and diffusion MRI), he maps neural circuits underlying stress-related conditions, with particular emphasis on identifying dysconnectivity patterns in PTSD and depression. Dr. Akiki develops novel analytical methods for neuroimaging data, including network-restricted metrics and community detection frameworks optimized for functional time series. His translational work includes neuroimaging-augmented clinical trials of novel therapeutics for treatment-resistant psychiatric disorders, with the goal of implementing data-driven, personalized interventions based on individual neurobiological profiles.
-
Amy Alexander
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCollege Mental Health, Emotional Support Animals & Service Animals, Women's Health, Mental Health & Well-being in Veterinarians
-
Olivia Altamirano, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCulturally Sensitive Therapy is a group psychotherapy for people with early psychosis and their families. Study aims are to understand if this treatment is compatible with this population, to assess improvements in family functioning and mental health symptoms, to assess mediating factors (e.g., increased usage of adaptive religious and other cultural beliefs/values), and to assess longevity of improvements. Last, we aim to qualitatively understand participants’ experiences with this treatment.
-
James Armontrout
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Armontrout is the Program Director of the Stanford Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. He completed residency training at the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program, followed by forensic psychiatry fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. He is board certified in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine.
Before coming to Stanford Dr. Armontrout worked as a staff psychiatrist for the Palo Alto VA Healthcare System at the Trauma Recovery Program, a residential treatment program focusing on PTSD, other trauma-related disorders, and substance use disorders. For a portion of Dr. Armontrout's time with the VA he served as the Medical Director for the Trauma Recovery Program.
In addition to his forensic fellowship activities, Dr. Armontrout currently serves as an attending in the Stanford PTSD clinic and the dual diagnosis clinic. -
Bruce Arnow, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry and Psychology - Adult)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent research interests include treatment outcome for major depression, particularly treatment refractory and chronic forms of major depression, as well as mediators and moderators of outcome; the epidemiology of chronic pain and depression; relationships between child maltreatment and adult sequelae, including psychiatric, medical and health care utilization.
-
Alan Atkins
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
BioDr. Al Atkins is a psychiatrist providing talk therapy and medical management in English and Spanish.
Dr. Atkins grew up in California and started his mental health career facilitating therapy at a prison in Buenos Aires. He teamed up with his patients and colleagues to build a climbing wall inside the prison, allowing patients to challenge themselves physically and mentally. After medical school at Brown University, Dr. Atkins completed psychiatry residency and founded a research team dedicated to investigating the healing power of walking in nature. After residency, Dr. Atkins traveled to Colorado to complete a two year fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. There, he served as Chief Fellow and pursued specialized therapy training. Dr. Atkins has been awarded the Kimberly Kelsay Curiosity Award for his enthusiasm for learning from his patients and the Catcher in the Rye award for "going the extra mile" for his Spanish-speaking Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) patients. Some career highlights have included teaching meditation neuroscience to doctors in Cambodia and getting to learn from doctors and patients in Kumasi, Ghana.
Contemplative practice, psychotherapy, humor and nature time permeate both Dr. Atkins' clinical and personal interests. His clinical style involves a slow-moving dynamic emphasizing trust, understanding, and diagnostic humility. He takes an integrative and minimalist approach; often prescribing things like morning walks or returning to a favorite hobby before resorting to medications. -
Aparna Atluru, MD, MBA
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPhysician Mental Health, Resident Mental Health
-
Rania Awaad, MD
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs the Director of the Muslims and Mental Health Lab, Dr. Awaad is dedicated to creating an academic home for the study of mental health as it relates to the Islamic faith and Muslim populations. The lab aims to provide the intellectual resources to clinicians, researchers, trainees, educators, community and religious leaders working with or studying Muslims.
-
Sepideh Bajestan, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNeuropsychiatry
Functional Neurological Symptom Disorders, Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures
Group and Individual Psychotherapy
Impulse Control Disorders -
Jacob S. Ballon
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry and Psychology)
BioJacob S. Ballon, M.D., M.P.H. specializes in the treatment of people with psychotic disorders including schizophrenia. He is the Co-Director of the INSPIRE Clinic at Stanford which provides interdisciplinary care for people experiencing psychosis. He is also the Associate Chair for Patient Services and co-Division Chief for General Adult Psychiatry and Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Ballon completed his residency at Stanford in 2009 and a Schizophrenia Research Fellowship at Columbia University in 2011.
Dr. Ballon's research focuses primarily in clinical trials of new medications for the treatment of schizophrenia. He further maintains an interest in understanding the connections between the brain and the rest of the body as relates to the manifestation and treatment of people who experience psychosis. He works closely with a diverse group of researchers throughout the university and technology community to investigate these connections. He has participated in numerous projects investigating the metabolic implications of schizophrenia and of psychiatric medication including the association of antipsychotic medication with weight gain and insulin resistance.
INSPIRE is an innovative interdisciplinary client-centered resource providing respectful evidence-based care to support people to achieve meaningful recovery from psychosis through collaborative partnership with individuals and their families while advancing knowledge and training for a new generation of providers. With a recovery-oriented philosophy, the clinic provides an array of services including psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, and psychosocial evaluations. As a research clinic, they are focused on collaborating with multiple disciplines throughout the university to conduct clinical and basic science research including functional imaging, clinical trials, basic pathophysiology, and genetics. -
Stephanie Balters
Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences
BioDr. Stephanie Balters is a neuroscientist, educator, and innovator dedicated to advancing team flourishing and excellence. She directs the Empowerment Neuroscience Lab in Stanford Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, serves as Director of Research at Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE), and is Scientific Lead of the Stanford Belonging Project. Her research employs portable dual-brain neuroimaging (fNIRS hyperscanning) and advanced computational modeling to elucidate the neural and inter-brain signatures of high-impact, purpose-aligned teams. She also develops and tests targeted, evidence-based interventions that measurably strengthen connection, collaboration, and performance. Partnering across Stanford Medicine, the Graduate School of Business, and Stanford Athletics, Dr. Balters translates biomarkers of human connection into simple, repeatable practices that leaders can train and track over time—turning the neuroscience of connection into a practical engine for culture change. She also leads team-innovation workshops at Stanford, creating high-trust spaces that foster authenticity, alignment, and bold, measurable execution. Beyond academia, she serves as a Human Factors Specialist at NATO, converting neuroscience insights into actionable strategies for resilient, high-performing teams.
-
Fiona Barwick, PhD, DBSM
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Sleep Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch interests focus on expanding sleep education, improving sleep health, optimizing treatment for circadian rhythm disorders, and adapting treatment for insomnia in populations where developmental, medical, psychiatric and cultural factors intersect.
Current research projects include developing and piloting integrated protocols for treating sleep problems that co-occur with medical conditions such as chronic pain or POTS. Ongoing collaborations include delivery of a CBTI protocol in Mandarin via telehealth to patients at Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in China. Past projects include investigation of the link between RLS and the gut microbiome and a survey of student sleep health. -
Nataly Beck, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioAs co-founder and co-director of La Clínica Latina, Dr. Nataly Beck is a psychiatrist who is passionate about providing culturally sensitive and compassionate care to patients, especially to those from the Latino community. Originally from Lima, Peru, she immigrated to the US with her family at a young age. She graduated from Yale School of Medicine and completed her psychiatry residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. After her first year as an attending at Yale, she began her work at Stanford where she worked in the INSPIRE Clinic for individuals experiencing psychosis and then co-founded La Clínica Latina. She loves the Bay Area and her interests include salsa dancing, playing piano, and spending time with her family.
-
Catherine Benedict, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Medical Psychiatry
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research focuses on improving cancer survivorship through better understanding of long-term health outcomes and through the development of theoretically driven, evidence-based behavioral interventions to improve adjustment, risk management, and quality of life. To this end, I lead studies aimed to guide and support patient decision-making and self-management after cancer. Much of my work focuses on the experiences of young adults affected by cancer.
-
Michele Berk, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe focus of my research is on adolescent suicidal and self-harm behavior. I am currently one of four Principal Investigators of a multisite NIMH-sponsored RCT of DBT for adolescents at high risk for suicide (NCT01528020: Collaborative Adolescent Research on Emotions and Suicide [CARES], PI: Linehan, McCauley, Berk, & Asarnow) aimed at evaluating the efficacy of DBT with adolescents compared to a combined individual and group supportive therapy control condition (IGST).
-
Wendy J. Bernstein
Adjunct Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioSenior Community Psychiatrist, Wellness Equity Alliance, Medical Director, Project ECHO and Telemedicine for Severe Mental Illness Track to support the Mental Health of SGBV survivors in Democratic Republic of Congo project. Past Associate Medical Director at Casa del Sol, specialty mental health clinic of La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland California from 2013 to July 2021. Previously at Kaiser Permanente, Northern California, from 2000 to 2013, and Contra Costa County Older Adults Clinics from 1995-2000. Graduate of McGill University Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Canada, and Boston University Psychiatry Residency. Interests include global health, community mental health, Latinx and underserved populations, women's health, and elder care.
-
Mahendra T. Bhati
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Professor, NeurosurgeryBioDr. Bhati is an interventional psychiatrist with expertise in psychiatric diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and neuromodulation. He completed postdoctoral research studying language abnormalities and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) evoked potentials in schizophrenia. He was a principal investigator for the DSM-5 academic field trials, and his research experiences included roles in the first controlled clinical trials of TMS and deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment of depression. He was the founding Chief of Interventional Psychiatry at Stanford where he performs consultations and provides pharmacological and neuromodulatory treatments. His current research interests include studying magnetic resonance imaging and augmented reality to target TMS, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for treatment-resistant depression, DBS for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression, responsive neurostimulation (RNS) for treatment of impulse and fear-related disorders, and focused ultrasound (FUS) for treatment-resistant OCD and depression. Dr. Bhati seeks to train more providers in mental healthcare and founded a clinical fellowship in Interventional Psychiatry at Stanford.
-
Richa Bhatia, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Bhatia is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is a dual Board-certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist, specializing in treating anxiety disorders. Her work has been cited in Time magazine and Scientific American, and her professional opinions have been quoted in media such as CNBC, The Guardian, U.S. News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News Bay Area, WUCF-TV (PBS), and others. Dr. Bhatia served as President-Elect of Northern California Psychiatric Society. She is an avid advocate of improving mental health awareness and reducing the stigma surrounding psychiatric conditions and treatments. For her work in this arena, she was awarded the 2021 Jerilyn Ross Clinician Advocate Award by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and the Marian Butterfield award in 2018. Her other roles include serving as Section Editor for Current Opinion in Psychiatry, a Wolters Kluwer journal, for the last 7 years. She also served as Associate Editor of Current Psychiatry for 6 years. She is often invited to give talks at national, regional and local conferences and organizations.
She values the academic as well as the humanistic aspects of psychiatry. During her psychiatry residency training from 2007 to 2010, she scored between 94th and 98th percentile among US psychiatry resident physicians. She takes a whole-person approach, utilizing active, empathic listening and aimed at understanding the biological, psychological, social, and other factors affecting an individual’s mental health. She integrates medication management (where needed) with psychotherapy. Her psychotherapy approach is informed by various evidence-based psychotherapies such as psychodynamic therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness-based, compassion-focused interventions. Dr. Bhatia’s other professional interests include ruling out medical conditions mimicking psychiatric disorders, diagnostic errors, mindfulness, bullying prevention, and compassion and empathy cultivation. -
Apurva Bhatt
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioApurva Bhatt, M.D., is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her role spans the General Adult Psychiatry Division, Child Psychiatry Division, and Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Dr. Bhatt specializes in early psychosis evaluation and treatment. She is the Director of the Child INSPIRE clinic and currently provides clinical care in both the Stanford Children’s Hospital Child INSPIRE early psychosis clinic and the Stanford Health Care INSPIRE clinic and INSPIRE360 Coordinated Specialty Care/Wraparound program. She contributes to early psychosis program development in California (through EPI-CAL as the Psychiatric Provider Team Lead) and nationally (through PEPPNET). She is also co-chair of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Adolescent Psychiatry Committee and Early Psychosis work group.
Dr. Bhatt is also a school psychiatrist, providing school clinical consultations for the Redwood City School District through the Stanford Redwood City Sequoia School Mental Health Collaborative. She also provides clinical consultations to schools in the Los Altos School district, and supervises child and adolescent psychiatry fellows providing consultation to Los Altos, Redwood City, and Mountain View schools.
Dr. Bhatt’s research interests include Asian American and South Asian youth mental health and prevention of youth suicide. She enjoys teaching and mentoring students and trainees, and currently is a mentor through the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. -
Brandon Birckhead MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Brandon Birckhead is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He works in the Stanford University's Virtual Reality and Immersive Technology Clinic and Stanford Anxiety and Depression Adult Psychological Treatment (ADAPT) clinic.
He was valedictorian for his graduating class of biological sciences at University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Followed by his medical degree at Mayo Clinic Medical School in Rochester Minnesota. He then received a master degree in healthcare delivery science at Cedars-Sinai. During this time he helped develop a set of recommendations for VR therapy clinical trials. He also helped design and implement some of the first remote CBT skills based VR therapy clinical trials for chronic pain. He was also the co-director of virtual medicine conference from 2019-2020. He then completed his psychiatry residency at Johns Hopkins. During his residency he was a consultant to Apple, providing guidance on the Apple Vision Pro. He then spent some time on the Apple Health team as a clinical project manager.
Clinically Dr. Birckhead offers a comprehensive approach to care, integrating evidence-based therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). When appropriate he also provides medication management. He is interested in working with adults with anxiety disorders, PTSD, mood disorders, and OCD. He is committed to a collaborative, personalized treatment process—working closely with each individual to understand their unique challenges and develop a tailored plan to support their mental health and well-being. -
Celeste Birkhofer, PhD, PsyD
Adjunct Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Celeste Birkhofer is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Clinical Faculty member at Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Birkhofer teaches didactics and provides clinical supervision to the psychiatry residents, and she has a private practice in Portola Valley. Dr. Birkhofer's interests and special training include contemporary relational psychoanalysis, grief counseling, dialectic behavior therapy (DBT), life coaching, mindfulness, and couples counseling.
-
Britney Blair, PsyD, DBSM, CST
Adjunct Clinical Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Sleep Medicine
BioDr. Blair is a licensed clinical psychologist and is board certified in behavioral sleep medicine. Her clinical and research expertise are in behavioral medicine with specializations in sleep and sexual health. She has made numerous presentations, developed workshops, written chapters and published articles in the area of sleep and sexual medicine. Dr. Blair is a Stanford sleep consultant and is on the adjunct faculty at The Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine. She is also the Clinical Director of The Clinic.
Dr. Blair completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University Medical School and her pre-doctoral internship at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System. Dr. Blair received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Dr. Blair founded a successful business consulting firm. -
Helen M. Blau
Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor, Director, Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology and Professor, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProf. Helen Blau's research area is regenerative medicine with a focus on stem cells. Her research on nuclear reprogramming and demonstrating the plasticity of cell fate using cell fusion is well known and her laboratory has also pioneered the design of biomaterials to mimic the in vivo microenvironment and direct stem cell fate. Current findings are leading to more efficient iPS generation, cell based therapies by dedifferentiation a la newts, and discovery of novel molecules and therapies.
-
Daniel Michael Blonigen
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences)
BioDr. Blonigen is a Research Career Scientist and an Associate Director at the Center for Innovation to Implementation (Ci2i), VA Palo Alto Health Care System. He is also an Affiliate Investigator with the VA National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota and is a former VA Career Development Awardee. He is licensed as a clinical psychologist in the State of California.
Dr. Blonigen’s research mission is to identify and develop innovations to increase access and engagement in substance use and mental health care for vulnerable populations. In particular, he is interested in testing the effectiveness and implementation potential of mobile health and peer-based interventions for justice-involved and homeless veterans. He is currently leading or co-leading multisite trials of behavioral interventions for justice-involved and homeless veterans. He is also funded by VA Health Systems Research to tailor smartphone applications for self-management of unhealthy drinking for veteran primary care patients and use of peer specialists to increase patient engagement with these apps.
In addition to research, Dr. Blonigen is actively involved in mentoring and teaching VA research fellows and Stanford University residents. These roles include serving as a faculty mentor for the Stanford Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program and the Ci2i VA Palo Alto Training Program. He is a member of several VA management and oversight committees and has served as a grant reviewer for national and international funders. He is an invited speaker at national conferences and cyberseminars devoted to substance use and mental health research, and he holds editorial positions for leading addiction, personality, and assessment journals. -
Cara Bohon
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests have focused on the neural bases of eating disorders. I am particularly interested in the way emotion and reward is processed in the brain and how that may contribute to eating behavior and food restriction. I hope to eventually translate biological research findings into treatments.
-
Mariya Borodyanskaya
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Mariya Borodyanskaya enjoys being part of the Stanford Team at Mills, an interdisciplinary team dedicated to supporting adolescents and their families in navigating the challenges of mental health crisis. She maintains a broad set of interests, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Psychotic Disorders and Juvenile Justice system reform. She also enjoys supervising and teaching the Stanford Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellows.
-
Daniel L. Bowling, PhD
Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences)
BioDr. Bowling is Director of the Music, Brain & Health Lab at Stanford School of Medicine. His translational research harnesses the neural effects of music to develop personalized music-based treatments for health and wellness, with a particular focus on anxiety and depression in young adults. His approach integrates expertise in neuroscience, bioacoustics, music therapy, and psychiatry to apply insights from music's underlying biology to medicine.
Dr. Bowling earned his PhD in Neurobiology from Duke University School of Medicine and holds graduate certificates in Cognitive Neuroscience and Translational Medicine. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals including Science, PNAS, and Molecular Psychiatry. His research program has been supported by federal and private foundations including the National Institutes of Health, NeuroArts Blueprint, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. -
Christiane Brems, PhD, ABPP, ERYT500, C-IAYT
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioChristiane Brems, PhD, ABPP, RYT-500, C-IAYT, is the Founding Director of YogaX, a Special Initiative in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University in 1987. Dr. Brems is licensed as a psychologist in several US states and board-certified as a clinical psychologist by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). She is a registered yoga teacher (E-RYT500) and certified C-IAYT yoga therapist. She is also certified in Interactive Guided Imagery.
She began her career in academia at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She then served on faculty at the University of Alaska Anchorage for 23 years, where she held a variety of leadership positions, including as (Co-Founding) Director of the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services, (Co-Founding) Director of the PhD Program in Clinical-Community Psychology, and Interim Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School. Most recently, she served for nearly six years as Dean and Professor of the School of Graduate Psychology (SGP) at Pacific University Oregon.
Dr. Brems has worked for decades as an applied researcher and clinical practitioner with particular interests in health promotion, rural healthcare delivery, and all things yoga. Her work has been funded by grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, and local and State of Alaska funding sources. She has shared her work extensively in over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, 100s of technical reports, and several books, including the Comprehensive Guide to Child Psychotherapy (now in its 4th edition), Dealing with Challenges in Psychotherapy and Counseling, Basic Skills in Counseling and Psychotherapy, and others. Dr. Brems is committed to excellence in and integration of clinical services, teaching, consultation, and research.
Dr. Brems has integrated yoga, mindfulness, complementary interventions, and self-care strategies in her work as a consultant, author, dean, teacher, researcher, mentor, supervisor, colleague, and service provider. She values these practices as crucial aspects of day-to-day professional and personal life and seeks to enhance access to them for all who can benefit. -
Nicole Brooks
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Nicole Brooks is board certified in psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. She specializes in the treatment of mood disorders and serves as a forensic expert in criminal and civil cases. In her role as Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Brooks provides outpatient care in the depression and bipolar disorder clinics. She also serves as the Associate Program Director of the forensic psychiatry fellowship.
-
Lisa Brown
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioLisa M. Brown, Ph.D., ABPP is an Adjunct Clinical Professor and member of the Human Rights in Trauma Mental Health program at Stanford University School of Medicine and Professor and Director of the Peace and Human Rights Lab at Palo Alto University. Her clinical and research focus is on trauma, resilience, human rights, refugees, and aging. As a researcher, she is actively involved in developing and evaluating health programs used nationally and internationally, drafting recommendations aimed at protecting vulnerable individuals and communities, facilitating the participation of key stakeholders, and improving access to resources and services.
Dr. Brown has been appointed to and has served on numerous local, state, and national boards and commissions. From 2007 to 2014, she served as the Assistant Clinical Director of Disaster Behavioral Health Services, Florida Department of Health where she helped write the state disaster behavioral health response plan, develop regional disaster behavioral health teams, and conduct program evaluations of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) crisis counseling programs. From 2008 to 2011, Dr. Brown was appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary to the Disaster Mental Health Subcommittee of the National Biodefense Science Board Federal Advisory Committee, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she contributed to the development of a national behavioral health response to disasters, terrorism, and pandemics. In 2020, she was appointed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes.
Dr. Brown is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 20 and the Gerontological Society of America. She is the former President of the APA Division 20 Adult Development and Aging. She is the recipient of two Fulbright Specialist awards with the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica (2014) and with Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (2015). -
Jennifer L. Bruno
Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Bruno is a translational researcher at the interface of developmental cognitive neuropsychology and neurobiology. An overarching goal of her work is to understand developmental windows of vulnerability—periods of risk for falling off the trajectory of typical brain development. Her research utilizes genetics, brain imaging, and deep behavioral phenotyping to bridge computational science with clinical knowledge, translating cutting-edge science to solve problems of great clinical need.
-
Kim Bullock, MD
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDirector of Virtual Reality & Immersive Techology (VR-IT) Clinic and Lab.
Use of technology to understand the interaction of sensation, embodiment, and emotional/ behavioral regulation.
Virtual reality treatments as a sensory modulating device to treat disorders involving body image, sensation, and control. Exploration of the use of mirrored visual feedback while inhabiting a virtual avatar to treat pain and somatic symptom related disorders. -
Jonathan Burgess, MD, MPH
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioJonathan Burgess, MD, MPH is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Lifestyle Psychiatry Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is passionate about evidence-based lifestyle practices for psychiatric disorders. He has published three academic book chapters on diet and lifestyle interventions for psychiatric disorders, and is co-author of The Culinary Medicine Textbook: Psychiatry, Food & Mood. With over 30 publications and oral presentations, he is credited with nine Grand Rounds presentations, is a faculty presenter at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting and Harvard School of Public Health’s national conferences, as well as an invited speaker at major academic hospitals. Dr. Burgess is co-author of the Lifestyle Interventions for Depression module of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine certification course. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, received a Doctor of Medicine from Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
-
Weidong Cai
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioMy research program investigates the neurobiological basis of cognitive dysfunction across the lifespan, focusing on two critical populations: children with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD) and elders with neurodegenerative conditions (e.g., Parkinson’s disease). By employing a highly interdisciplinary approach that integrates cognitive science, advanced functional neuroimaging, and computational modeling, I aim to delineate the neurocognitive processes governing both typical and atypical brain development and aging. The ultimate goal is to advance our understanding of the factors contributing to cognitive deficits and translate these findings into improved diagnostic tools and precision treatment strategies.
-
Robson Capasso, MD
Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS) and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Sleep Medicine)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsClinically relevant outcomes for OSA Surgery.
Wearables and Digital Health Technologies for Sleep.
Innovative approaches for OSA Management.
Innovation in Sleep and Otolaryngology -
Eve Carlson
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioEve Carlson is a Clinical Professor who focuses on fostering mental health after traumatic stress. She is a clinical psychologist and a researcher with the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder’s Dissemination and Training Division. Her primary interests are in measurement development and recovery after traumatic stress. She collaborates with faculty in Surgery (David Spain) and Medicine (Lisa Shieh) to study mental health of patients hospitalized after sudden, severe illness or injury, racial/ethnic disparities in traumatic stress risks and responses, screening for risk of mental health problems, and preventive mental health care. As PIs of a multi-center study funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Dr. Carlson and Dr. Spain and their collaborators have developed and validated a mental health risk screen for patients hospitalized after emergency care for acute illness or injury. Data from patients who identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, and White were analyzed to inform screen development, and the screen accurately predicts later mental health outcomes within these ethnic/racial groups. Our research has also found disparities across ethnic/racial groups in several traumatic stress risk factors and mental health responses. Dr. Carlson is Co-PI with Dr. Shieh of a study funded by Stanford RISE comparing mental health recovery in Latinx and non-Latinx COVID-19 patients to recovery in patients hospitalized with other sudden, severe illness.
-
Victor G. Carrión
John A. Turner Endowed Professor for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsExamines the interplay between brain development and stress vulnerability via a multi-method approach that includes psychophysiology, neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology and phenomenology. Treatment development that focuses on individual and community-based interventions for stress related conditions in children and adolescents that experience traumatic stress.
-
Regina Casper
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAlterations in brain morphology and organization during starvation and anorexia nervosa
-
Erin Cassidy Eagle
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Erin Cassidy-Eagle specializes in the treatment of mental health disorders in adults and older adults. She has practiced as a Clinical Psychologist for more than 20 years. Dr. Cassidy-Eagle has a special interest in sleep, cognition and mental health of older adults.
-
Anusha Chandrakanthan
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Anusha Chandrakanthan is a clinical instructor in psychiatry. She is a family practice physician who is board certified in Addiction Medicine. Previously, she was the medical director for a company that provided substance use treatment using telemedicine. Presently, she works with the Valley Homeless Healthcare Program at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center providing services to a marginalized population. She also continues to teach at the Stanford Addiction Medicine fellowship.
-
Sripriya Chari
Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioDr. Sripriya (Priya) Chari is a CA Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor working across the INSPIRE, PTSD and centerspace Clinics at Stanford. Dr. Chari's clinical interests lie in early intervention and providing evidence-based treatments for trauma and psychosis, as well as culturally-attuned services to people from the South Asian diaspora. She is involved in teaching undergraduates (IntroSem on Destigmatizing Psychosis) as well as graduate students (Clinical Perspectives on Trauma Psychology), as well as supervising postdoctoral fellows and practicum students. In addition, she leads outreach efforts into the local South Asian community with a view to educating people about mental health.
-
Lu Chen
Professor of Neurosurgery and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWhat distinguishes us humans from other animals is our ability to undergo complex behavior. The synapses are the structural connection between neurons that mediates the communication between neurons, which underlies our various cognitive function. My research program aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie synapse function during behavior in the developing and mature brain, and how synapse function is altered during mental retardation.
-
Grace A Cheney
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioGrace Cheney, M.D. specializes in the assessment and treatment of ADHD across the lifespan. She serves as Director of the Adult ADHD Assessment Clinic at Stanford, which provides structured, developmentally informed evaluations for adults with attention and executive function challenges. Rooted in a neurodiversity-affirming framework, the clinic focuses on diagnostic clarity to support tailored, evidence-based care. As part of this model, the clinic incorporates the California ADHD Symptom Tracking (CAST) initiative, a semi-structured symptom-tracking method that fosters patient insight, supports individualized treatment planning, and promotes adherence. Through continued collaboration with Dr. Aaron Winkler, creator of CAST and the clinic’s founding director, Dr. Cheney is advancing the use of CAST to strengthen the quality of ADHD assessment and care worldwide.
With subspecialty training in both child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry, Dr. Cheney’s diagnostic lens emphasizes precision and developmental context. She has particular expertise in the assessment of ADHD in women, transitional-age youth, and high-functioning professionals. Her treatment approach is comprehensive, and emphasizes establishing foundational non-pharmacological strategies in addition to pharmacological interventions.
Dr. Cheney lectures in the Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship on civil and child forensic topics, and she also supervises psychiatry residents and fellows in adult ADHD assessment. Her emerging areas of interest include the ethical use of AI to maintain therapeutic momentum and accelerate growth between visits, while enriching clinical decision-making with dynamic data that supports more personalized, precise, and adaptive therapy. -
Christina F. Chick
Instructor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research examines the mechanistic contributions of sleep, cognition and affect to the onset and course of psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. I am particularly interested in adolescence as a period during which changes in circadian rhythm, sleep architecture, and sleep behavior co-occur with neuroendocrine development, psychosocial changes, and the onset of many psychiatric disorders. Given that sleep is a highly treatable target, increasing our understanding of the specific contributions of sleep to psychiatric symptom onset may facilitate the development of targeted interventions to mitigate the course of illness.
