FACULTY
Yuval Neria, PhD. is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University, Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology, and Director of Trauma and PTSD at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He received his BA degrees in Philosophy and Political Science and his MA degree in Clinical Psychology from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and his PhD in Psychology from Haifa University, Israel (1994). He was on faculty of Tel Aviv University until his recruitment to Columbia University after the 9/11 attacks (2002).
Dr. Neria’s research has been focused on the mental health consequences of exposure to extreme traumatic events, with a particular focus on war veterans and survivors of disasters and terrorism. Additionally, he has been involved in the development of novel treatment modalities for traumatized populations with PTSD. His scientific work has been inspired by his experience in combat. He was injured in the Yom Kippur 1973 War and was awarded the Medal of Valor, equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Dr. Neria has conducted large-scale studies among prisoners of war and war veterans, and led a number of research and training programs in New York City after the attacks of September 11, 2001. His studies are funded by NIMH since 2004. Currently his group at Columbia is focused on identification of biomarkers of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). By using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to identify brain circuits underlying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Dr Neria’s lab aims to probe for the first time neural pathways of symptomatic improvement in response to PTSD treatment.
Dr. Neria He has authored more than 120 articles and book chapters in the area of trauma and PTSD, edited three text books, including “9/11: mental health in the wake of terrorist attacks” (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and “The Mental Health Consequences of Disasters” (Cambridge University Press, 2009), and published a war-novel “Fire” (Zmora Bitan, Hebrew). He is the 2007 recipient of the Klerman NARSAD Award for outstanding Clinical Research, Honorable Mention.
John Markowitz, M.D. is a Research Psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. He received his medical degree from Columbia in 1982 and completed psychiatric residency training at the New York Hospital-Payne Whitney Clinic in 1986. He was trained in cognitive behavioral therapy at the Center for Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia and in interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) by the late Gerald L. Klerman, M.D. at Cornell.
Dr. Markowitz has conducted clinical research involving psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy of mood, anxiety, and personality disorders. He collaborated with James Kocsis, M.D. on chronic depression research and with the late Drs. Klerman and Samuel Perry on HIV-related research at Cornell. Since moving to Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute in 2001, he has also focused on personality disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. He is currently funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to study the efficacy of psychotherapies for chronic PTSD and is also working on other NIMH grants for neuroimaging of PTSD and for IPT treatment of women with depression and breast cancer. Dr. Markowitz is the author, co-author, or editor of 18 books and has published more than two hundred seventy-five peer-reviewed articles and chapters.
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Franklin Schneier, MDProfessor of Clinical Psychiatry Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Research Psychiatrist, Anxiety Disorders Clinic New York State Psychiatric Institute Office: 212-543-5368 frs1@columbia.edu
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Franklin Schneier, M.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Schneier is a graduate of Yale College and Cornell University Medical College, and he completed his residency in psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in Clinical Research at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, and has served as Associate Director of the clinic. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America and the Editorial Board of Anxiety and Depression.
Dr. Schneier’s research has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. He has conducted clinical trials establishing the efficacy of medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy treatments in PTSD and other disorders, and he has used brain imaging techniques of SPECT, PET, and fMRI to evaluate brain function in anxiety disorders and depression. He is the principal investigator of grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has authored more than 140 scholarly publications.
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Larry Amsel, MD Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology Department of Psychiatry Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Research Psychiatrist, Anxiety Disorders Clinic New York State Psychiatric Institute Office: 212-543-5367
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Larry Amsel, MD graduated Columbia University in 1978, where he studied mathematics. He then attended graduate school and taught mathematics before completing medical training at Yale University School of Medicine in 1988. He received residency training in psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and Cornell University, and a Masters in Public Health in Bio-Statistics at Columbia University, as well as completing a Research Fellowship in Child Psychiatry at Columbia University. Subsequently, he joined the faculty of Columbia University doing research in suicide prevention and applications of Decision Science and Game Theory to psychiatry. In 2003 Dr. Amsel organized the first ever American Psychiatric Association symposium on applications of Game Theory to psychiatry, and he has published articles and given posters on Game Theory modeling of suicide, OCD, and PTSD.
After 9/11, Dr. Amsel joined the Trauma Studies and Services division at the New York Psychiatric Institute, and has been involved in treating victims of 9/11 and their families, in training community clinicians in cutting edge treatments for PTSD and Complicated (Traumatic) Grief, as well as in doing research on optimal methods of disseminating this training. He was recently involved in preparing the training materials for the National VA PTSD CBT training program in conjunction with Edna Foa’s group at University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Amsel has extensive clinical expertise within psychiatric practice and research related to PTSD, as well as expertise in applying decision science tasks in psychiatric research settings.
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Greg Sullivan, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Research Psychiatrist New York State Psychiatric Institute Office: 212-543-6760
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Gregory M. Sullivan, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. His areas of expertise include the diagnosis, treatment, and neurobiology of anxiety and mood disorders.
Dr. Sullivan received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and in 1992 he received his medical doctorate from the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia University. He remained at Columbia for residency training in psychiatry, completed a two-year NIH-sponsored research fellowship in anxiety and affective disorders, and, in 1999 he joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Sullivan has a particular interest in translational studies of anxiety and depressive disorders, incorporating the knowledge base of brain functioning identified through basic neuroscience research. His studies focus on the use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for determination of key circuitry and neurochemistry underlying anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and comorbid depression and anxiety. Dr. Sullivan has authored or co-authored over 25 articles and chapters. He is a recipient of faculty research grants from the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, and the Dana Foundation; and he was awarded K08 career award from the National Institute of Mental Health to pursue PET studies in panic disorder.
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J. Arturo Sanchez-Lacay, MDAssistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry College of Physicians and Surgeons Research Psychiatrist, Anxiety Disorders Clinic New York State Psychiatric Institute Office: 212-543-6521 arturo@nyspi.cpmc.columbia.edu
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J. Arturo Sanchez-Lacay, MD is a Research Psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New YorkCity. Dr. Sanchez-Lacay completed General Psychiatric residency and a Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Puerto Rico and Affiliated Hospitals. He also completed a Master degree in Psychiatric Epidemiology from the School of Public Health at Columbia University.
Dr. Sanchez-Lacay joined the Anxiety Disorders Clinic in 1992 and has worked extensively in all research protocols and clinical projects, including trauma, depression and anxiety disorders.
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Eun Jung Suh, PhD Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology Department of Psychiatry Research Scientist, Anxiety Disorders Clinic New York State Psychiatric Institute Office: 212-543-5376
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Eun Jung Suh, PhD. is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons and a Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Dr. Suh received her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at McGill University in 2000 and completed NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at Columbia University in 2002. She was a research fellow at the Asch Center for Ethnopolitical Conflict at University of Pennsylvania and received formal training in cognitive behavioral therapy at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Dr. Suh has been a faculty at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute as a researcher, educator, and clinician for over seven years. She is a Supervising Psychologist for Trauma and PTSD Program at Columbia University and NYSPI. Dr. Suh’s area of expertise is in treating trauma-related psychopathology and in fostering resilience in the face of stress and adversity. Her practice is guided by her knowledge and sensitivity to ethnocultural and gender issues. Dr. Suh has trained and supervised hundreds of clinicians and trainees in the treatment of trauma-related disorders and has investigated dissemination of evidence-based treatments in New York as well as in South Africa.
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Erel Shvil, PhD. Anxiety Disorders Clinic
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Erel Shvil, PhD. is a Post Doctoral Researcher at the Trauma and PTSD Program at Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He received his Bachelors degree in Philosophy from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College of Columbia University. Dr. Shvil is currently studying the neurobiological basis of fear conditioning and extinction memory. He is also focused on the identification of biomarkers of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to identify brain circuits underlying PTSD. Currently, Dr. Erel Shvil is working under the mentorship of Dr. Yuval Neria, Director of Trauma and PTSD program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
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Michael Weinberg, PhD. Anxiety Disorders Clinic
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Michael Weinberg, PhD. is a certified social worker who recently completed a doctoral thesis in social work on post traumatic reactions due to terror attacks. He is also an Israeli attorney with years of experience as a legal advisor for terror victims. Dr. Weinberg has been able to combine his psychological and legal expertise by serving for many years as a member or consultant for various organizations and committees dealing with public well being and education. He also served on the Institutional Review Board of the Psychiatric Hospital--Sha’ar Menashe in Israel and was a consultant for the northern branch of ZAKA, humanitarian voluntary organisation responding to tragic incidents. Dr. Weinberg is presently a post doctoral researcher at the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.
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Helena Rosenfeld, BA Project Manager Office: 212-543-6747 helena@pi.cpmc.columbia.edu
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Helena Rosenfeld, B.A. is the Project Manager for the Trauma and PTSD program in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She joined the Anxiety Disorders Clinic in 2000 and has worked extensively coordinating research protocols and clinical projects aimed at providing treatment for a range of anxiety disorders with a focus on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Helena received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from San Francisco State University in California in 1999.
Within the Trauma and PTSD Program, she currently coordinates the Combination Treatment of PTSD Among 9/11 Victims protocol, the Psychotherapies for Chronic PTSD protocol and the Treatment of Chronic Insomnia Induced by Trauma protocol. Helena also provides editorial support for research publications and was the Editorial Coordinator in New York City for the recently published book titled "9/11: Mental Health in The Wake of Terrorist Attacks" (Cambridge U. Press, 2006). She is fluent in Spanish and provides medical interpreter services in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic as well as at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
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Donna Vermes, MS, NPP, BC Research Administrator Office: 212-543-6534 donna@nyspi.cpmc.columbia.edu |
Donna Vermes, MS, NPP, B.C. is the Administrator of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), and Instructor in Clinical Nursing in the Department of Nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. Donna graduated from Columbia University School of Nursing Graduate School in 2000. Donna has been working in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic since 1993. She was involved in conducting training workshops for clinicians in the treatment of PTSD. She is a therapist for Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Cognitive Behavior Group Therapy (CBGT) groups for Social Phobia, Individual Psychotherapy, and Problem Gambling Behavior Therapy.
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Miriam Campeas, BA Research Assistant Office: 212-543-5681 campeas@nyspi. columbia.edu |
Miriam Campeas, B.A. is a Research Assistant for the Trauma and PTSD program in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She joined the Anxiety Disorders Clinic in 2011 and is currently working with Dr. Yuval Neria in the identification of biomarkers of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They are using fMRIs to examine the neurological changes associated with successful exposure treatment for PTSD. She received her B.A from Rutgers University with a double major in Psychology and Political Science in May 2011. Miriam plans to pursue a PhD. degree in Clinical Psychology.