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Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, MD, PhD, BMath

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurology
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Additional Titles

Medical Director, Dementia and Behavioral Neurology, Neurology

About

Titles

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurology

Medical Director, Dementia and Behavioral Neurology, Neurology

Biography

Dr. Fesharaki is currently a neuropsychiatrist, as well as a basic neuroscience researcher focusing on Traumatic Brain Injury and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. He has a diverse training background, which include a mixture of clinical adult psychiatry, clinical behavioral neurology/neuropsychiatry and bench neuroscience skills. This combination of aforementioned skills has in turn given him a unique vantage point to have the opportunity to apply what he continues to learn in the laboratory to enrich his clinical treatment. His current research focus is to develop a robust animal model of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), as well as investigation of potential treatment modalities. He is also involved in a collaborative research study investigating synaptic density alterations in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

PhD
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Neuroscience (2018)
UCNS Board Certified in Behavioral Neurology/Neuropsychiatry
Yale University School of Medicine (2017)
ABPN Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry
SUNY Downstate Medical Center (2016)
MD
Ross School of Medicine (2009)
BMath
University of British Columbia, Mathematics

Research

Overview

There is an alarming number of patients, including civilian populations, athletes, as well as veterans, suffering from the short and long term clinical sequelae of traumatic brain injury and co-morbid psychiatric disorders including Major Depressive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Recent studies have shown that even one episode of traumatic brain injury could increase the likelihood of developing dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. My current research involves studying potential mechanisms leading to chronic traumatic encephalopathyn (CTE), which is proposed to involve tau accumulation in various regions of the brain including the sulci, as well as peri-vascular regions. Finally, I will investigate the efficacy of potential therapeutic regimens, including medications that function via Fyn and mGluR5 pathways, which have been recognized to have key roles in both tau and amyloid based neurodegenerative processes, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurosciences

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    Dementia and Neurodegenerative Diseases Editor’s Pick 2021 by Professor Bruce Miller

  • honor

    American Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Honors Scholarship Award

Clinical Care

Overview

Arman Fesharaki-Zadeh, MD, is a behavioral neurologist and neuropsychiatrist at Yale Medicine. He specializes in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and various types of dementia, such as Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD).

Dr. Fesharaki-Zadeh grew up in Canada as the son of a surgeon. His father’s passion for medicine inspired him to go to medical school. He decided to focus on traumatic brain injury and other neurodegenerative diseases after his experiences as a psychiatry resident at a veteran’s hospital in Brooklyn. There, he noticed a subgroup of PTSD patients who did not respond to treatments even though they were on a maximum dose of medications. He discovered that many of these PTSD patients had also suffered from traumatic brain injuries, which complicated their conditions. In 2017, he completed a fellowship in behavioral neurology/ neuropsychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine.

Currently, the majority of Dr. Fesharaki-Zadeh’s time is spent conducting research using animal models to understand traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

In addition to conducting research, Dr. Fesharaki-Zadeh also sees patients at Yale memory outpatient clinic . As a physician, his first priority is establishing trust with a patient. “A lot of the symptoms are personal, affecting their day-to-day lives, and for the patients to be able to trust their physician is of paramount importance,” he says.

To establish that positive relationship, Dr. Fesharaki-Zadeh will start his appointments off with open-ended questions about what prompted them to see a physician, what has changed in their lives, and where they are in their life. He will also test patients’ short- and long-term memories in order to understand the severity of their conditions.

In addition to seeing patients and conducting research, Dr. Fesharaki-Zadeh teaches psychiatry and neurology at Yale School of Medicine.

Clinical Specialties

Psychiatry; Neurology; Neuropsychiatry

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Psychiatry

    Certification Organization
    AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
    Original Certification Date
    2016

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