Brian Fuehrlein, MD, PhD

I was born on Long Island and raised mostly in Florida. As an only child of parents who did not graduate from college, I never had educational aspirations. In fact, I withdrew from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) during my sophomore year, to focus on my career in the grocery business, where I was a manager at Winn Dixie. I made a decision to give college another shot and throughout the next few years, I met a series of mentors who forever changed my life by leading me down a path of higher education.

I eventually graduated with an associate's degree from FAU, a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida, and an MD-PhD (biomedical engineering) from the University of Florida. During my medical school clerkships, I became fascinated with the clinical care of those with substance use disorders. I went on to complete a psychiatry residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and then an addiction psychiatry fellowship here at Yale. I am now on the faculty at Yale and am the director of the psychiatric emergency room at the VA.

I would not be here today without the dedication of a group of mentors who I was fortunate enough to meet. There is nothing more rewarding than to give that back to current trainees and provide guidance and mentorship.

Outside of work, my wife and I have been together since we were 18 years old, and we now have three children. My wife and I recently became an Iron couple when we crossed the finish line together of the Arizona Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile run) in just over 15 hours!