Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, PhD, ABPP
Professor of Psychiatry and of PsychologyCards
Additional Titles
Director, PTSD Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment
Deputy Director, Evaluation Division at the National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Contact Info
Appointments
Additional Titles
Director, PTSD Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment
Deputy Director, Evaluation Division at the National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Contact Info
Appointments
Additional Titles
Director, PTSD Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment
Deputy Director, Evaluation Division at the National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Contact Info
About
Titles
Professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology
Director, PTSD Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment
Positions outside Yale
Deputy Director, Evaluation Division at the National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Biography
Dr. Harpaz-Rotem is a Professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology at Yale University. He is a clinical psychologist who, for many years, has conducted research and provided treatment to individuals exposed to trauma. Dr. Harpaz-Rotem serves as an investigator at the National Center for PTSD, and he also directs the evaluation of VA PTSD treatment programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, VA Central Office. Research into how to modify traumatic memories and their associated emotions is one of the core questions that guide his work.
Appointments
Psychiatry
ProfessorPrimaryDepartment of Psychology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Department of Psychology
- Harpaz-Rotem Lab
- MR Core
- Psychiatry
- Psychology Section
- VA National Center for PTSD
- VA-Yale Clinical Neurosciences PTSD Research Program
- Wu Tsai Institute
- Yale Ventures
Education & Training
- Postdoc
- NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship Yale University Department of Psychiatry (2004)
- PhD
- New School for Social Research (2002)
- Clinical training
- University of California at Davis School of Medicine (2002)
- Clinical training
- Albert Einstein School of Medicine Bronx Lebanon Hospital (2001)
- Clinical training
- New York University Medical Center & Bellevue Hospital (2000)
- Clinical training
- Beth Israel Medical Center (1998)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
ORCID
0000-0002-6066-9406- View Lab Website
Harpaz-Rotem PTSD Treatment & Research Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Jack Tsai
Or Duek, PhD
John Krystal, MD
Robert Pietrzak, PhD, MPH
Nachshon Korem
Tobias Spiller, MD
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Veterans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mental Health Services
Psychotherapy
Depression
Publications
2025
Assessing and alleviating state anxiety in large language models
Ben-Zion Z, Witte K, Jagadish A, Duek O, Harpaz-Rotem I, Khorsandian M, Burrer A, Seifritz E, Homan P, Schulz E, Spiller T. Assessing and alleviating state anxiety in large language models. Npj Digital Medicine 2025, 8: 132. PMID: 40033130, PMCID: PMC11876565, DOI: 10.1038/s41746-025-01512-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConnectome-Based Predictive Modeling of PTSD Development Among Recent Trauma Survivors
Ben-Zion Z, Simon A, Rosenblatt M, Korem N, Duek O, Liberzon I, Shalev A, Hendler T, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I, Scheinost D. Connectome-Based Predictive Modeling of PTSD Development Among Recent Trauma Survivors. JAMA Network Open 2025, 8: e250331. PMID: 40063028, PMCID: PMC11894499, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0331.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsConnectome-based predictive modelingPosttraumatic stress disorderClinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5Months post-traumaFunctional magnetic resonance imagingTrauma survivorsDSM-5Post-traumaPosttraumatic stress disorder symptom clustersPosttraumatic stress disorder symptom severityPosttraumatic stress disorder symptom trajectoriesPosttraumatic stress disorder severityTask-based fMRI dataAnterior default modePredictive of symptomsFollow-up assessmentDevelopment of effective personalized treatmentsComprehensive clinical assessmentClinician-AdministeredNeurobiological indicesPosttraumatic psychopathologyHyperarousal symptomsCentral executiveTrauma exposureSalience networkMEMORY RELATED STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL NEURAL CHANGES FOLLOWING A SINGLE INFUSION OF KETAMINE IN PTSD
Harpaz-Rotem *, Duek O, Korem N, Krystal J. MEMORY RELATED STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL NEURAL CHANGES FOLLOWING A SINGLE INFUSION OF KETAMINE IN PTSD. The International Journal Of Neuropsychopharmacology 2025, 28: i38-i38. PMCID: PMC11814760, DOI: 10.1093/ijnp/pyae059.066.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPost-retrieval extinctionInfusion of ketamineIntravenous infusion of ketamineTrauma memoriesTraumatic memoriesFear responsesSs' responsesAssociated with decreased connectivityAmygdala-vmPFC connectivityTrauma-focused psychotherapyTreatment of PTSDNMDA receptor antagonistPre-post treatmentAmygdala activationLower amygdalaReconsolidation windowUncinate fasciculusAssessed before treatmentKetamine administrationMemory learningNaturalistic stimuliLabile stateAmygdalaPTSDExtinction process123: TRAUMA-RELATED PSYCHOPATHOLOGIES AFTER EXTRACORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION SUPPORT
Demory A, Broden E, Equey L, Funaro M, Sharifi M, Harpaz-Rotem I, Traube C, Karam O. 123: TRAUMA-RELATED PSYCHOPATHOLOGIES AFTER EXTRACORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION SUPPORT. Critical Care Medicine 2025, 53 DOI: 10.1097/01.ccm.0001099156.06691.67.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTrauma-related psychopathologies after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Demory A, Broden E, Equey L, Funaro M, Sharifi M, Harpaz-Rotem I, Traube C, Karam O. Trauma-related psychopathologies after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Perfusion 2025, 2676591251317919. PMID: 39879146, DOI: 10.1177/02676591251317919.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrevalence of post-traumatic stress disorderTrauma-related psychopathologyExtracorporeal membrane oxygenationPediatric ECMO patientsAdult ECMO patientsAssociated with substantial psychiatric morbidityPost-traumatic stress disorderPrevalence of PTSDECMO survivorsECMO patientsPooled prevalence of anxietyPrevalence of anxietyStress disorderPooled prevalencePrevalence of depressionPsychiatric morbidityPsychopathologyMeta-analysisExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation supportExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation useExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation survivorsMembrane oxygenation supportAnxietySystematic reviewPooled prevalence of depression
2024
Suicide Risk Among Veterans Who Receive Evidence-Based Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Saulnier K, Brabbs S, Szymanski B, Harpaz-Rotem I, McCarthy J, Sripada R. Suicide Risk Among Veterans Who Receive Evidence-Based Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e2452144. PMID: 39724372, PMCID: PMC11672158, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.52144.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsVeterans Health AdministrationPosttraumatic stress disorder diagnosisVeterans Health Administration carePosttraumatic stress disorderSuicide riskStress disorderAdequate courseDeath certificate dataAssociated with lower suicide riskCohort study of veteransMortality Data RepositoryPopulation-based sampleStudy of veteransLower suicide riskReceipt of evidence-based treatmentsEvidence-based psychotherapiesMultivariable proportional hazards regressionProportional hazards regressionEvidence-based treatmentsAssociated with suicideEvidence-based therapiesCertificate dataSuicide mortalityHealth AdministrationMain OutcomesGeneralizable and replicable brain-based predictions of cognitive functioning across common psychiatric illness
Chopra S, Dhamala E, Lawhead C, Ricard J, Orchard E, An L, Chen P, Wulan N, Kumar P, Rubenstein A, Moses J, Chen L, Levi P, Holmes A, Aquino K, Fornito A, Harpaz-Rotem I, Germine L, Baker J, Yeo B, Holmes A. Generalizable and replicable brain-based predictions of cognitive functioning across common psychiatric illness. Science Advances 2024, 10: eadn1862. PMID: 39504381, PMCID: PMC11540040, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn1862.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPrediction of cognitionCognitive functionPrediction of cognitive functionFunctional neuroimaging dataTransdiagnostic sampleComputational psychiatryPsychiatric illnessNeuroimaging dataCognitive impairmentCognitionPopulation-level datasetsPsychiatryAssociated with poor outcomesUK BiobankImpairmentBrainIllnessSymptomsPrediction studiesParticipantsPoor outcomeClinical studiesSamplesUnveiling the Structure in Mental Disorder Presentations
Spiller T, Duek O, Helmer M, Murray J, Fielstein E, Pietrzak R, von Känel R, Harpaz-Rotem I. Unveiling the Structure in Mental Disorder Presentations. JAMA Psychiatry 2024, 81: 1101-1107. PMID: 39110437, PMCID: PMC11307158, DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.2047.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSymptom combinationsNational Institute of Mental Health Data ArchivePosttraumatic stress disorderDiagnostic criteriaHeterogeneity of symptomsSecondary data analysisCross-sectional studyRevision of diagnostic criteriaSymptom-based definitionsDSM criteriaStress disorderSymptom heterogeneityDisorder presentationsClinical populationsMain OutcomesAssess symptomsGroup of individualsParticipantsSymptomsNational InstituteDisordersIndividualsSchizophreniaAnxietyIndividual frequenciesPrevalence, Correlates, and Burden of Subthreshold PTSD in US Veterans.
Fischer I, Na P, Harpaz-Rotem I, Marx B, Pietrzak R. Prevalence, Correlates, and Burden of Subthreshold PTSD in US Veterans. The Journal Of Clinical Psychiatry 2024, 85 PMID: 39480145, DOI: 10.4088/jcp.24m15465.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSubthreshold posttraumatic stress disorderPosttraumatic stress disorderPosttraumatic stress disorder symptom clustersLifetime psychiatric disordersUS veteransUS military veteransSymptom-related distressStress disorderPsychiatric disordersSymptom clustersTreating veteransCriterion AMilitary veteransTraumatic eventsCognitive functionWorking case definitionMental healthCriterion FFunctional impairmentVeteransNationally representative sampleFunctional correlatesDisordersElevated oddsGreater oddsAmygdala Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, Pain Response, and Emotional Numbing in Trauma-Exposed Individuals
Korem N, Hillmer A, D’Souza D, Nia A, Levy I, Pietrzak R, Harpaz-Rotem I. Amygdala Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, Pain Response, and Emotional Numbing in Trauma-Exposed Individuals. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e2432387. PMID: 39250156, PMCID: PMC11385051, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.32387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and Concepts
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Eligibility for Participation in Neuroimaging Studies
HIC ID2000027842RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2023Recruiting ParticipantsUsing Neuroimaging to track symptom change in PTSD treatment
HIC ID2000025892RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date07/31/2029Recruiting ParticipantsImaging mGluR5 and synaptic density in psychiatric disorders
HIC ID2000020186RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date01/31/2018Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge18 years - 80 yearsIntensive 7-day Treatment for PTSD Combining Ketamine With Exposure Therapy (PTSD)
HIC ID1509016530RolePrincipal InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date08/01/2030Recruiting ParticipantsGenderBothAge21 years - 70 yearsImaging Cannabinoid Receptors Using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanning
HIC ID1005006735RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2016Recruiting ParticipantsGenderMaleAge18 years - 55 years
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor Distinguished Mentorship Award
National AwardInternational Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)Details11/11/2022United States
News & Links
News
- March 10, 2025Source: Yale News
Machine Learning Model Predicts PTSD Symptom Severity Over Time
- September 09, 2024Source: Yale News
Endocannabinoids Are Associated With Emotional Numbing in PTSD
- May 03, 2024Source: Yale News
Rapid Emotion Transitions May Explain Numbness and Hyperreactivity in PTSD
- April 23, 2024Source: APA PsycNet
To Expose or Not to Expose: A Comprehensive Perspective on Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Get In Touch
Contacts
Psychiatry
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New Haven, CT 06511