Research

As an addiction psychiatrist who also conducts research, I work at the interface of statistics, computer science, neuroscience and general and addiction psychiatry. What I am interested in is the question of why and how. Why does a psychotropic medication work for one patient but not for another? How can we make predictions about whether someone will respond to a psychotherapeutic treatment? The approach I am taking is one that leverages large datasets and pattern recognition methods derived from research in artificial intelligence and machine learning, methods that also allow the new ATMs to read your handwriting and Google Car to drive itself. My hope is that these algorithms that enable computers to learn from large datasets can eventually illuminate pathways with which we can find psychiatric treatments that are more personalized and reveal underlying brain circuit abnormalities that are both fascinating and informative.

The data sources my colleagues and I are examining now involve a number of research modalities including neuroimaging, large-scale genetics/pharmacogenetics, large multi-center randomized clinical trial data and longitudinal epidemiological data. I am applying existing methods and developing new analytic strategies.

In addition, I am interested in evidence-based policy and implementation work. If we (and our smarter algorithms) can estimate individual responses in a more precise, quantitative way, we can make policy recommendations that are intelligent and adaptive, customizable to macroscopic trends in demographics and etiologic shifts, and in turn substantially improve outcome and alleviate suffering.

For a full synopsis of my research, including publications and on-going studies, please visit my academic site.

Do you enroll patients from your private practice into your research studies?

For ethical reasons and to avoid conflict of interest, I do not enroll any of my private practice patients into current research studies. However, I can use my knowledge of available clinical trials within the greater New York community to advise patients to potentially enroll into a research study if it is determined that the appropriate treatment plan can incorporate these elements.

How can I learn more about your research studies?

Please refer to my academic site for further information on ongoing studies.