NRTP Faculty

NRTP residents can work with any faculty members at Yale University who conduct research relevant to any aspect of psychiatry. Below is a list of some of the core NRTP faculty doing research within the Psychiatry Department.

Nii Addy

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and of Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Research Interests:Neurobiology of addiction; In vivo electrochemistry; Behavioral pharmacology; Systems neuroscience; Neurotransmission; Signal transduction

George Aghajanian

Professor Emeritus of and Senior Research Scientist in Psychiatry

Research Interests:Neurotransmission; antipsychotics; antidepressants; hallucinogens; opiates

Meenakshi Alreja

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurobiology
Director, Minority Recruitment, Psychiatry Department
Director, Postdoctoral Affairs, Psychiatry Department

Research Interests:Prefrontal cortex; Interneurons; Nicotine; Acetylcholine; Electrophysiology; GABA; glutamate; Hypocretin; MCH; Learning and Memory; Neurotransmitters; Signal Transduction; GnRH; Puberty; Fertility; HPG axis; Kisspeptin

Kevin Behar

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Director, MRRC Neurometabolism Research Laboratory

Research Interests:NMR; 1H NMR; 13C NMR; In vivo brain metabolism; Glutamate; Gamma-aminobutyrate; Glutamine; Neuron-glial trafficking

Michael Bloch

Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center

Research Interests:tourette syndrome; obsessive-compulsive disorder; trichotillomania

Clinical Interests:Tourette's Syndrome; obsessive compulsive disorders, trichotillomania

Hilary Blumberg

Professor of Psychiatry, in the Child Study Center and of Diagnostic Radiology
Director, Mood Disorders Research Program

Research Interests:Adolescence; Bipolar Disorder; Brain; Depression; Development; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Emotion; Endophenotype; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mania; Manic Depressive Disorder; Neuropsychiatry; Neuroscience; Women

Clinical Interests:Bipolar Disorder; Depression; Adults; Adolescents

Kathleen Carroll

Albert E. Kent Professor of Psychiatry
Director of Psychosocial Research, Division of Addictions
Scientific Director, Psychotherapy Development Center for Drug Abuse

Research Interests:Addiction and treatment; Evidence-based treatments; Treatment development; Computer-assisted therapies; Research-practice partnerships; Clinician training; Psychotherapy-pharmacotherapy combinations; Neurocognitive effects of behavioral therapies

Richard Carson

Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and of Biomedical Engineering
Director, Yale PET Center
Director of Graduate Studies, Biomedical Engineering

Research Interests:Positron emission tomography (PET) modeling and physics; Tracer kinetic modeling methods and parametric imaging techniques for PET tracers; Application of receptors ligands to assess neurotransmitter dynamic; 3D and 4D PET image reconstruction; Medical imaging

Philip Corlett

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Residential College Associate Fellow in Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Research Interests:Schizophrenia; Delusions; Prediction error; Associative learning; fMRI

Ralph DiLeone

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurobiology

Research Interests:Addictions; Animal Behavior; Ethology; Animal Nutrition; Diseases and Disorders; Drug Abuse; Eating Disorders; Etiology; Evolution; Genetic Manipulation; Natural History; Obesity; Psychiatry

Deepak D'Souza

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Director Schizophrenia Research Program VACHS
Director, Neurobiological Studies Unit, VACHS
Director, VA-CMHC Schizophrenia Research Clinic

Research Interests:Schizophrenia; Psychosis; Cognition; Psychopharmacology; Treatment; Glutamate; Cannabinoids; Substance Abuse

Clinical Interests:Schizophrenia Psychotic Disorders Treatment Substance and Alcohol Abuse Dual Diagnosis Cannabinoids

Ronald Duman

Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neurobiology and of Pharmacology
Director, Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities

Research Interests:Depression; Antidepressants; Stress; Molecular biology; Neuropharmacology Signal transduction pathways; Gene expression; Identifying the molecular and cellular adaptations that underlie the actions of psychotropic drugs and stress

Joel Gelernter

Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Genetics and of Neurobiology
Director, Division of Human Genetics (Psychiatry)

Research Interests:Complex trait genetics; Psychiatric genetics; Population genetics; Substance dependence; Gene mapping

David Glahn

Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Ralitza Gueorguieva

Research Scientist in Public Health (Biostatistics)

Jonas Hannestad

Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Psychiatry
Chief, Inpatient Division, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit

Research Interests:Neuroimmunology; Brain-immune interactions; Cytokines; Endotoxin; PET imaging; Mood disorders

Ralph Hoffman

Professor of Psychiatry
Medical Director, Intensive Outpatient Program at Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital

Research Interests:Schizophrenia; Psychosis; Hallucinations; Delusions, Paranoia, Language; Pathophysiology; Neural network computer modeling; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; fMRI

Clinical Interests:Schizophrenia; bipolar disorder; hallucinations; delusions; paranoia

Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Vice-Chair, Human Investigations Committee II & IV

Research Interests:Substance use; Alcohol; Tobacco; Marijuana; Adolescent; Developmental; Prevention; Cessation; Biobehavioral

John Krystal

Robert L. McNeil Jr. Professor of Translational Research
Chair, Department of Psychiatry
Chief of Psychiatry, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Director: NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism
Director, Clinical Neuroscience Division, VA National Center for PTSD
Director, VA Alcohol Research Center
Medical Director, Schizophrenia Biological Research Center, DVA

Research Interests:Neurobiology; pharmacotherapy; genetics; neuroimaging; schizophrenia; alcoholism; PTSD

James Leckman

Neison Harris Professor in the Child Study Center and Professor of Pediatrics and of Psychiatry

Research Interests:Child and adolescent psychiatry; Tourette's syndrome; Obsessive/compulsive disorder (OCD)

Clinical Interests:Child and adolescent psychiatry; Tourette's syndrome; Obsessive/compulsive disorder (OCD)

Robert Malison

Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit (CNRU)
Director, Neuroscience Research Training Program
Chief, Cocaine Research Clinic

Research Interests:Neurobiology and genetics of substance dependence disorders; Psychostimulant (cocaine and methamphetamine) dependence; Drug abuse; Sleep and cognition; Impulsivity and stimulants

Graeme Mason

Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and of Psychiatry
Director Metabolic Modeling and Director Psychiatric MRS
Director, Neuroimaging Sciences Training Program
Chair, Magnetic Resonance Research Center Protocol Review Committee

Research Interests:Alcoholic Intoxication; Alcohol Induced Disorders; Alcoholism; Amino Acids; Brain Mapping; Carbohydrates; CNS Diseases; Cocaine-Related Disorders; Fatty Acids; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Mood disorders; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome; Tobacco Use Disorder

Carolyn Mazure

Professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Director, Women's Health Research at Yale

Research Interests:Depression; Addictive behaviors; Women's health research; Gender specific aspects of health and disease and the interplay of stress

Clinical Interests:Adult disorders; depression; smoking cessation

Peter Morgan

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Director, Cocaine Research Clinic
Medical Director, Forensic Drug Diversion Clinic
President, Medical and Professional Staff of Connecticut Mental Health Center

Research Interests:Sleep; Cocaine; Learning; Dreaming; Lucid dreams; Consciousness

Clinical Interests:General Psychiatric Consultations; Substance Abuse Treatment; Forensic Evaluations

Evan Morris

Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology, of Biomedical Engineering and of Psychiatry
Co-director for Imaging, Yale PET Center

Research Interests:kinetic modeling; parameter estimation; parametric imaging; dopamine; reward; drug occupancy; drug abuse; alcoholism; Parkinson's disease

Angus Nairn

Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Pharmacology

Research Interests:Dopaminergic signal transduction; Structure and function of protein kinases and phosphatases

Stephanie O'Malley

Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Division of Substance Abuse Research in Psychiatry
Assistant Chair, Clinical Research

Research Interests:Medications development; Smoking cessation; Heavy drinking or alcohol dependence treatment; Risk reduction

Godfrey Pearlson

Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurobiology

Kevin Pelphrey

Harris Associate Professor in the Child Study Center and Associate Professor of Psychology
Director of the Child Neuroscience Laboratory

Research Interests:brain mechanisms; child development; neurodevelopmental disorders

Ismene Petrakis

Professor of Psychiatry
Chief of Psychiatry, VA Connecticut Healthcare System

Research Interests:Alcohol; Alcoholism; Dual diagnosis; Psychiatric comorbidity; Addiction; Neurobiology; Psychopharmacology; Familial vulnerability

Clinical Interests:Alcohol; Alcoholism

Marina Picciotto

Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neurobiology and of Pharmacology
Assistant Chair for Basic Science Research, Dept. of Psychiatry

Research Interests:Neuroscience; Molecular basis of behavior; Intracellular signaling; Mouse genetic models

Christopher Pittenger

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, in the Child Study Center and of Psychology
Director, Yale OCD Research Clinic
Associate Director, Neuroscience Research Training Program

Research Interests:Learning and memory; Habit; CREB; Adeno-associated virus; Behavioral neurobiology; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Glutamate; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Tourette syndrome

Clinical Interests:Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Tourette syndrome; anxiety disorders; trichotillomania; Body dysmorphic disorder

Marc Potenza

Professor of Psychiatry, in the Child Study Center and of Neurobiology
Director, Center of Excellence in Gambling Research
Director, Yale Program for Research on Impulsivity and Impulse Control Disorders
Director, Women and Addictive Disorders, Women's Health Research at Yale

Research Interests:Pathological gambling; Impulse control disorders; Substance abuse; Addiction; Gender differences

Clinical Interests:pathological gambling; impulse control disorders; substance abuse; addiction; gender differences

Douglas Rothman

Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and of Biomedical Engineering
Director Yale MR Research Center

Research Interests:Development of MR spectroscopy and MR imaging methods to image metabolic and neurotransmitter pathways in humans and in animal models

Gerard Sanacora

Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Yale Depression Research Program

Research Interests:Mood Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Stress; Pathophysiology; Neuropharmacology; Neuroimaging; Drug Development; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Clinical Interests:Treatment resistant depression, novel treatment strategies

Rajita Sinha

Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center and of Neurobiology
Director, Yale Interdisciplinary Stress Center
Chief, Psychology Section in Psychiatry
Deputy Director, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (Yale CTSA)

Research Interests:Stress; Relaxation; Chronic Disease; Addiction; Addictive behaviors; Clinical Prevention

Clinical Interests:Stress interventions; treatment of substance use disorders; behavioral interventions for excessive smoking, alcohol consumption, illicit drug use and overeating of comfort foods.

Dana Small

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Fellow, The John B Pierce Laboratory

Research Interests:Neurophysiology of feeding; Chemical senses; Neuroimaging; Dopamine; Addiction; Motivation; Psychophysics; Stress; Obesity

Steven Southwick

Glenn H. Greenberg Professor of Psychiatry and Professor in the Child Study Center

Research Interests:Posttraumatic stress disorder; Resilience; Neurobiology; Epidemiology

Clinical Interests:Post Traumatic Stress disorder, Resilience to stress

Matthew State

Donald J. Cohen Professor (Adjunct) in the Child Study Center and Professor of Genetics and of Psychiatry
Co-Director, Yale Program on Neurogenetics
Deputy Chairman for Research, Department of Psychiatry

Research Interests:Genetic mechanisms; neuropsychiatric disorders of childhood

Clinical Interests:Child and adolescent psychiatry; genetic syndromes; Tourette's syndrome; Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD); developmental delay; mental retardation

Jane Taylor

Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Psychology

Research Interests:Addiction; Depression; Learning; Memory; Animal Models; Plasticity; Signaling

Cenk Tek

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Psychosis Program, CMHC

Research Interests:Schizophrenia; Psycho-pharmacology; Cognitive neuroscience; Translational neuroscience; Working memory; Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia; Medical comorbidities in schizophrenia; Obesity and mental illness; Human reward mechanisms and appetite regulation

Clinical Interests:Schizophrenia; Psychotic Disorders

Clinical Interests:Mood disorders in women; Premenstrual dysphoric disorder; Managing psychiatric and addictive disorders in pregnancy