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Meet Us
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MEET US CON'T
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Barry D.
Lebowitz, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Barry
Lebowitz is Professor of Psychiatry and Deputy Director
of the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on
Aging at the University of California, San Diego. He
moved to UCSD in 2005 after a nearly 30-year career at
the National Institute of Mental Health where he served
as Chief of the Geriatrics Research Branch. A native of
Boston, Massachusetts, Dr. Lebowitz is a graduate of
McGill University and Cornell University. He was elected
a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and an
Honorary Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.
The recipient of a number of awards, Dr. Lebowitz was
most recently honored with the M. Powell Lawton Award of
the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Lebowitz’s
career-long commitment to mentorship and career
development have been recognized the Distinguished
Service Award from the International Psychogeriatric
Association for being the “mentor of mentors”. In 2005
the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
renamed its early career investigator award the “Barry
Lebowitz Junior Investigator Award” and lecture, to be
awarded annually. Dr. Lebowitz’s research interests
include: depression in late life, medical/psychiatric
comorbidity, clinical trials, research design and
methodology. |
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Laurie
Lindamer, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Lindamer
is a licensed clinical psychologist who is currently an
Assistant Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the
University of California, San Diego. Dr. Lindamer has a
strong commitment to research in the area of women with
schizophrenia. In 1997 she was awarded an NIMH Mentored
Clinical Scientist Award (K08) to study the effects of
estrogen augmentation on psychopathology and motor and
cognitive functioning in post-menopausal women with
schizophrenia. She also received a National Alliance for
Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Young
Investigator Award to study estrogen and psychotic
disorders, and a Veterans Medical Research Foundation
Young Investigator Award to investigate gender
differences in efficacy of atypical antipsychotic
medication. She is also a co-investigator on a VISN 22
MIRECC-funded pilot project examining estrogen, working
memory, and brain function in women with schizophrenia.
Dr. Lindamer completed a 3-year research fellow in
Geriatric Psychiatry under the supervision of Dilip
Jeste, M.D. in 1997 and subsequently joined the faculty
of UCSD as an Assistant Project Scientist. In 1999, she
was promoted to the Assistant Adjunct Professor series.
She has worked with the Geriatric Psychiatry
Intervention Research Center since 1994 participating in
the Clinical Core, and more recently the Health Services
Core. To date, she has 26 manuscripts or book chapters
that are published or in press. She has presented 29
abstracts. |
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James
Lohr, M.D. |
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Dr.
Lohr is a Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences in
Residence at the University of California, San Diego. He
was recently the Chief of Psychiatry Service at the
VASDHS and is now the Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs for
the UCSD Department of Psychiatry. Additionally, he is
the Associate Director of the VA-funded Desert Pacific
Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)
which focuses on improving functional outcome in chronic
psychoses. He is also the Medical Director of Community
Research Foundation which is a large non-profit
corporation that is responsible for approximately 40% of
the mentally ill population in San Diego County. |
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has been actively involved in psychopharmacology studies
of schizophrenia for over 15 years and offers his
expertise to the project. Dr. Lohr will provide his
valuable expertise in terms of consultation on new and
ongoing trials in the Center. |
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Jack
Maser, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Maser is a
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California,
San Diego. Prior to coming to UCSD in 2000, Dr. Maser
was on the faculty at Tulane University in the
Department of Psychology and then served a distinguished
career at the National Institute of Mental Health where
he was a Scientific Review Administrator, Chief,
Psychopathology and Clinical Methods Section (1981-85),
Assistant to Acting Chief, Mood, Anxiety and Personality
Disorders Research Branch (1985-90), Project
Coordinator, NIMH-Collaborative Program on the
Psychobiology of Depression (1990-97), Chief,
Integrative Neuroscience of Schizophrenia, Mood and
Other Brain Disorders Program, Division of Basic and
Clinical Neuroscience Research (1997-98) and Chief,
Clinical Review Branch, Division of Extramural
Activities (1998-99). Dr. Maser serves as a grant review
consultant for all investigators in the Department of
Psychiatry, particularly junior investigators. |
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Margaret
McCahill, M.D. |
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Dr. McCahill
is a Professor in the Departments of Family and
Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry at UCSD. Dr. McCahill
is also the Clinical Director of the St. Vincent de Paul
Village, a large clinic providing medical and mental
health care to homeless and indigent residents of San
Diego County and the Director of the UCSD Combined
Family Medicine/Psychiatry Residency Program. Dr.
McCahill has been recognized for her accomplishments and
is the recipient of several awards including Family
Medicine Teacher of the Year, the San Diego Psychiatric
Society President’s Award, and the San Diego County
Mental Health Person of the Year Award. |
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Christine
L., McKibbin Ph.D. |
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Dr. McKibbin
is an Assistant Project Scientist at the University of
California, San Diego. Dr. McKibbin completed her
doctoral training at the University of North Texas. As
part of her graduate studies, Dr. McKibbin was accepted
as an intern at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health
Care System. There she received extensive training in
gerontology and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
Following the completion of her graduate studies, Dr.
McKibbin was accepted as a post doctoral fellow at
Stanford University in the School of Medicine. There,
she conducted research examining the efficacy of CBT to
reduce distress among family caregivers. Specifically,
she worked with Dr. Dolores Gallagher-Thompson and
colleagues to develop and test a measure of caregiving
self-efficacy. She joined the Geriatric Psychiatry
Intervention Research Center in 1999 as a postdoctoral
fellow to receive additional training in geriatric
psychiatry and rehabilitation. In this role, Dr.
McKibbin has been instrumental in the submission of an
R01 to study the efficacy of a rehabilitation program to
enhance functioning among older patients with
schizophrenia. She has also developed a treatment manual
to accompany this proposal and has participated in scale
development efforts to develop performance-based
measures of functioning for older schizophrenia
patients. |
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John
McQuaid, Ph.D. |
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Dr. McQuaid is
an Assistant Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the
University of California, San Diego and a Staff
Psychologist at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. |
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David
Naimark, M.D. |
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Dr. Naimark is
a Staff Psychiatrist in the Forensic
Evaluation Unit of the AMHS and an Assistant Clinical
Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD. Dr. Naimark completed
formal clinical and research training at UCSD under the
direction of Dr. Jeste before joining the County in
1999. Dr. Naimark has published a number of
peer-reviewed papers on psychosis and its treatment. In
addition to working in the AMHS, Dr. Naimark maintains a
private practice in the local community where he largely
treats a number of older patients with psychotic
disorders. |
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Hoang
Nguyen, M.D. |
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Dr. Nguyen is
an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and
Co-Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinical
Fellowship at the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Nguyen has received the Certificate of Added
Qualifications in Geriatric Psychiatry from the American
Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Nguyen is
actively involved in the care of older patients with
psychosis at a number of sites including the University,
the VA San Diego Healthcare System and at a private
non-academic site in the community. Dr. Nguyen has
served as the PI of an industry-sponsored multicenter
study in older patients with psychotic disorders. |
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Lawrence
Palinkas, Ph.D. |
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Lawrence A. Palinkas is
Professor of Social Work, Anthropology and Preventive
Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los
Angeles, and Adjunct Professor of Family and Preventive
Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. A
medical anthropologist, his primary areas of expertise
lie within preventive medicine, cross-cultural medicine
and health services research. Dr. Palinkas is
particularly interested in health disparities,
implementation science, community-based participatory
research, and the sociocultural and environmental
determinants of health and health-related behavior with
a focus on disease prevention and health promotion. |
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Current research encompasses mental health services,
immigrant health, and global health. Specific projects
explore the mental health needs of older adults,
cultural explanatory models of mental illness and
service utilization, sociocultural change and chronic
disease risk in developing nations and in
immigrant/refugee communities, and the dissemination and
implementation of evidence-based practices for delivery
of mental health services to children, adolescents and
older adults. He also provides expertise to students and
colleagues in the use of qualitative and mixed research
methods. |
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Barton
W. Palmer, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Palmer is a Professor in Residence at the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Department of
Psychiatry. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1992. He has
authored or co-authored over 95 scientific articles, and
has particular expertise in the area of neuropsychological
aspects of late-life psychiatric disorders. His primary
research interests include neuropsychological aspects of
late-life schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions,
as well as the impact of these deficits on patients'
everyday functioning (including their capacity to consent
to treatment and research participation). He has is active
in the Center Bioethics Unit, has been PI or
co-Investigator on several federally funded research
grants, and currently has several ongoing studies to
examine patients’ decision making capacity, and means of
improving the consent process. He also has an ongoing
interest in general issues of neuropsychological
assessment. He is also active in the UCSD-SDSU Joint
Doctoral Clinical Psychology Training Program. |
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Kevin
Patrick, M.D., M.S |
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Dr.
Patrick is the Director of Student Health Services and
Adjunct Professor of Public Health at San Diego State
University, and Associate Clinical Professor of Family
and Preventive Medicine at the University of California,
San Diego. He is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal
of Preventive Medicine, past president of the
Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine, and from
1989 to 1992 served on the Secretary's Council for
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention of the US
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). From 1993
to 1995 Dr. Patrick was a Senior Advisor for
Communication Technology Policy in the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Health of HHS. In this capacity
he Co-chaired the National Information Infrastructure
Task Force's Sub-Committee on Consumer Health
Information and was instrumental in convening the HHS
Science Panel on Interactive Communications and Health.
Dr.
Patrick has a background in both Preventive Medicine and
Family Practice and is engaged in clinical practice,
health services administration, teaching and research.
He has been PI or Co-PI on more $15 million in public
and private research and training grants and has
authored over 90 scientific articles, book chapters,
commentaries and abstracts on a broad range of topics
including school, student and public health, infectious
diseases, clinical counseling to improve behavioral
health, communication technology, and consumer health
information. He has served as a consultant to several
organizations including Pacific Bell, the Hartford
Foundation, SmithKline Beecham Healthcare, Novartis,
HealthCentral.com and the Institute for Alternative
Futures. |
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Thomas
L. Patterson, Ph.D. |
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Dr.
Patterson is a Professor of Psychiatry in Residence at
the University of California, San Diego who has been
conducting psychosocial research with schizophrenia
patients for a decade. He has expertise is measuring
quality of life, everyday functioning, and outcome in
patients with schizophrenia as well as other patient
populations. His expertise is in the area of outcomes
measurement and HIV risk reduction interventions. Dr.
Patterson developed the UCSD Performance-based Skills
Assessment (UPSA) scales. Currently, he is the principal
investigator of the NIMH-funded Psychosocial Outcomes
Core of the IRC, and the NIMH funded brief targeted
behavioral intervention to reduce high-risk sexual
practices of HIV+ individuals. |
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is the principal investigator of a newly funded R01,
“Functional Skills Training for Late Life
Schizophrenia” (2001-2006). Dr. Patterson has been the
P.I. of several other large-scale studies including a
treatment outcome intervention to enhance functioning
among older schizophrenia patients. He has published
many papers and in the schizophrenia field, is co-editor
of Psychology and Health, and has served on a number of
NIH review committees. |
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Mihaela
Petersen, M.D. |
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Dr. Petersen
is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the
University of California, San Diego. Dr. Petersen
has received the Certificate of Added Qualifications in
Geriatric Psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry
and Neurology. Dr. Petersen completed formal training in
geriatric psychiatry at UCSD and now sees patients in
the VA San Diego Healthcare System as well as the Scripps
Clinic. |
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Jorge Porras, M.D. |
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Dr. Jorge Porras is an
Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Graduate of the
Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at UCSD School of
Medicine and an attending for the Clinical Fellowship.
He received the Certificate of Added Qualifications in
Geriatric Psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry
and Neurology. He is involved in the care of older adult
patients with mental illness through the VA San Diego Healtcare system, as well as treatment of adults through
the County of San Diego Mental Health System where he also
serves as the Consultant for Geriatric Psychiatry issues.
His interests are in the area of Latino Issues as he is
Bilingual. |
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Elyn
Saks, J.D. |
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Elyn
R. Saks is Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law and
Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University
of Southern California Law School. She teaches
mental health law to law students, undergraduates, and
psychiatry fellows. Her research is in the area of law
and psychiatry, with a specialization in the ethics of
psychiatric research. She has recently focused most
specifically on capacity to consent to psychiatric
research. Professor Saks is also a Ph.D. candidate at
the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society and Research. |
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Daniel
Sewell, M.D. |
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Dr. Sewell is
an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the
University of California, San Diego. He is also the
Director of the UCSD Senior Beahvioral Health Program.
Dr. Sewell has received his Certificate of Added
Qualifications in Geriatric Psychiatry from the American
Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Sewell has done
research in psychosis and its treatment for more than 10
years and is actively involved in the care of older
patients with this patient population. |
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Ronald
Thomas, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Thomas is
a Professor and Chief of the Division of Biostatistics
in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at
the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Thomas is
also the Director of the Biostatistics and Data
Management Core of the NIA-funded Alzheimer’s Disease
Cooperative Study (ADCS) based at UCSD. Dr. Thomas
brings experience of running a bisotatistics and data
management core of a large multi-site study to the ACISR
CROPP as the ADCS provides support to more than 80 study
sites across the United States and Canada. |
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Elizabeth
Twamley, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Twamley
is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego
and is Associate Director for Training for the ACISIR.
She obtained her undergraduate degree in Social Ecology
at the University of California, Irvine in and her Ph.D.
in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University.
After completing her psychology internship at UCSD, she
began a postdoctoral fellowship in the Division of
Geriatric Psychiatry under the mentorship of Drs. Jeste,
Palmer, Heaton, and Bondi. Dr. Twamley's research
focuses on bridging neuropsychology and interventions
for individuals with schizophrenia and other severe
mental illnesses. Her current intervention studies
involve cognitive training and supported employment. Dr.
Twamley’s research also includes studies of everyday
functioning in schizophrenia and the genetics of
cognition in schizophrenia. |
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Julie
Wetherell, Ph.D. |
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Dr. Wetherell
is a postdoctoral fellow at the UCSD Intervention
Research Center. She began her fellowship in October,
2001. Dr. Wetherell received her Ph.D. in Psychology
from USC. During her doctoral studies, Dr. Wetherell
received several honors and awards including a USC
Predoctoral Merit Fellowship, American Psychological
Association (APA) Clinical Geropsychology Section Travel
Award, the Ellin Bloch |
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Pierre Ritchie Honorary Scholarship from the APA, the
USC Kellerman Scholarship in Psychology, the APA
Clinical Geropsychology Section Student Research Award,
and the USC Department of Psychology Dissertation Award.
Dr. Wetherell has already published several papers on
anxiety disorders in older adults as well as
Alzheimer’s disease. She is particularly interested in
research on behavioral interventions for late life
mental disorders. |
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Sidney
Zisook, M.D. |
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Dr. Zisook is
Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Residency
Training in the Department of Psychiatry at the
University of California, San Diego. Dr. Zisook is the
principal investigator of a newly funded R01,
“Citalopram Augmentation in Later Life
Schizophrenia” (2001-2006). He is the Director of the
Clinical Core of the NIMH-funded Intervention Research
Center (IRC) focused on evaluating psychosocial and
psychopharmacologic interventions among older patients
with psychosis. He has directed numerous
psychopharmacologic trials in young and older adults,
focusing on patients with depression, schizophrenia,
PTSD, and bereavement. In addition, Dr. Zisook has
extensive expertise in psychiatric nosology and
phenomenology, having completed studies on depression,
as well as on depression in patients with HIV, with back
pain, and with schizophrenia. Recently, he completed and
published a study on the prevalence and potential
implications of depressive symptoms in patients with
schizophrenia. |
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