Psychiatrists
Paolo Cassano, M.D.
Paolo Cassano received his Ph.D. in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and his M.D. from the University of Pisa in Italy. He completed a Clinical Research Fellowship at St. Pierre Hospital in Brussels in the Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and then went on to completed a Clinical Fellowship at S.Chiara-Hospital at the University of Pisa. In 2001 Dr. Cassano started his research fellowship at the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Cassano has been awarded several honors including an NCDEU New Investigator Award in May 2003, as well as being the author of several articles on depression and treatment-resistant depression. He has been awarded a number of current research grants, and his primary research interests include the spectrum of anxiety disorders, specifically panic symptoms and social phobia in major depression.
Greg Chandler, M.D.
Dr. Chandler is a research fellow in the DCRP and BCRP. He comes to us by way of Canada. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Physiology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He completed his medical degree at McGill University in 2003. After that, he went to the University of Toronto for his Residency in Psychiatry, which he completed in 2008. In his fourth year, he served as Chief Resident at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Chandler has a particular interest in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the care of mood disorder patients.
Trina Chang, M.D., M.P.H.
Trina Chang, M.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant in Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She studied psychology as an undergraduate at Harvard College and received her M.D. and M.P.H. from Columbia University, where she was awarded a Josiah Macy scholarship. She completed her residency in adult psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, serving as chief resident in public and international mental health; she also was the recipient of an American Psychiatric Association/Bristol Myers-Squibb fellowship in public psychiatry. Dr. Chang’s research interests include minority mental health disparities, ways to improve the care of depression for underserved populations, and international mental health. Her research is funded by a Dupont Warren Fellowship, a Livingston Fellowship, and the American Psychiatric Association’s Program for Minority Research Training in Psychiatry (PMRTP).
John W. Denninger, M.D., Ph.D.
John W. Denninger, M.D., Ph.D. is a staff psychiatrist in the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a fellow in the Clinical Investigator Training Program at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard University and went on to complete his M.D. and Ph.D. (in Biological Chemistry) at the University of Michigan. Dr. Denninger completed his internship and residency in the MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Training Program and served as Chief Resident in Psychopharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Denninger studies unipolar depression and is especially interested in its biological basis, focusing on biological markers, animal models and evolutionary constraints.
Christina M. Dording, M.D.
Christina Dording studied as an undergraduate at Drew University, and then went on to receive her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. Prior to coming to the Psychiatry Department at Mass General, she worked as a medical-legal consultant for the Program in Law and Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. She then completed a clinical fellowship in adult psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School. She is currently an instructor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a staff psychiatrist for the Depression Clinical and Research Program and Beverly Hospital. She is author and co-author of numerous original articles and abstracts, and has given several teaching presentations. Her research interests include female sexual dysfunction induced by SSRI-treatment and features of psychotic depression.
Nadia Iovieno, M.D.
Nadia Iovieno received her M.D. from the University of Pisa, Italy, in 2003, attending her residency program in Psychiatry at Santa Chiara Hospital, Pisa. Her research in Italy has mainly focused on clinical features and pharmacological treatment of Eating and Anxiety Disorders, as well as on Antipsychotics-related Metabolic Syndrome. She has joined the Depression Clinical and Research Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital as a PhD research fellow and is primarily involved in the CO-MED (Combining Medications to Enhance Depression Outcomes) study.
Dan V. Iosifescu, M.D., M.Sc.
Dan V. Iosifescu is Director of Neurophysiology Studies in the Depression Clinical and Research Program and Site Director of the Bipolar Trials Network at Massachusetts General Hospital; he is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. After receiving his M.D. from the Institute of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania and a Master of Science from Harvard University, Dr. Iosifescu completed an internal medicine internship and a residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as Chief Resident in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. He later completed a fellowship in psychopharmacology at MGH. In his research Dr. Iosifescu uses neuroimaging and neurophysiology techniques to investigate structural, biochemical, and functional brain abnormalities in mood disorders, and their impact on clinical treatment. Dr. Iosifescu is also studying cognitive deficits (memory, attention) in mood disorders (depression, bipolar disorder). Another focus of his research has been the impact of comorbid medical illness, especially vascular disease, on the treatment of mood disorders.
Dr. Iosifescu has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific publications and book chapters. He received a series of prestigious prizes: the NARSAD Young Investigator Award (which he received twice), the Kaplen Award and the Livingston Award from Harvard Medical School, the APA Young Investigator Award, the NCDEU New Investigator Award, and a National Institute for Mental Health K23 Career Development Award. Dr. Iosifescu was also designated among the “Top Doctors in Boston” by Boston Magazine (2006 and 2008) and among the “Best Doctors in America” for 2005 - 2008 by peer survey conducted by Best Doctors, Aiken, SC.
John D. Matthews, M.D.
Dr. Matthews is the Director of Inpatient Research and Training at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assitant Professor at Harvard Medical School. He received his M.Sc. from the University of Michigan, and his M.D. from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California. He completed his residency training at the University of Michigan Medical Center, where he was the overall chief resident from 1979-1980. He then went on to become a research fellow at the same university and a visiting fellow at Duke University's Medical Center. Prior to accepting a position at Massachusetts General Hospital's inpatient psychiatry department in 1994, he was the associate medical director and the Director of the Mood Disorders Program at Pembroke Hospital. He has received numerous awards for excellence in patient care, including the MGH "Excellence in Action" award. Dr. Matthews is a founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and is especially interested in medical/psychiatric problems, mood disorders, addictions psychiatry, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. He is a well-respected speaker and researcher, and is the author or co-author of numerous original articles, reviews, book chapters and editorials. His current research projects include cognitive deficits in patients with depression, treatments for bipolar disorder, treatments for psychotic depression, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and metabolic syndrome. Dr. Matthews' career reflects excellence in leadership, research, patient care, and resident training.
David Mischoulon, M.D., Ph.D.
David Mischoulon, MD, PhD is an Assistant in Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School,and the Director of Alternative Remedy Studies at the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his combined MD-PhD at Boston University School of Medicine in 1994 before interning in preliminary medicine at Carney Hospital until 1995. From 1995-1998 he completed his residency in adult psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests/specialties include alternative remedies in psychiatry, biological mechanisms of Major Depressive Disorder, treatment of depression in the primary care setting, treatment of depression in minority populations, and cross-cultural psychiatry. Dr. Mischoulon has received two NARSAD Young Investigator awards (in 1998 and 2000). He was awarded a five-year K-23 mentored award from NCCAM in 2001 to study omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of depression. In addition to his research activities, he teaches and supervises residents and medical students at MGH, and lectures in the MGH Psychiatry Continuing Medical Education Program. He also devotes time to caring for patients at the MGH Outpatient Psychiatry Division. Dr. Mischoulon is fluent in Spanish and French.
George I. Papakostas, M.D.
George I. Papakostas is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Treatment-Resistant Depression Studies in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is also a Staff Physician and Psychiatric Consultant for the Neuroendocrine Unit in the Department of Medicine, and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Mallinckrodt General Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. The focus of Dr Papakostas’ research includes the pharmacotherapy of major depressive disorder including treatment-resistant depression with an emphasis on the use of adjunctive treatment strategies (augmentation), the study of the placebo effect and it’s relevance to clinical trial design in depression, and the study of neuroendocrine and metabolic issues in depression, with a particular emphasis on their relevance to clinical improvement during pharmacotherapy. Dr Papakostas has received numerous national and international research awards from sources including the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologium, the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit of the National Institute of Mental Health, the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry, the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
He is an author or co-author of over 100 clinical and scientific publications and book chapters, and is an author of the book entitled: “Pharmacotherapy for Depression” (Currently In Press). His publications have appeared in Biological Psychiatry, the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, and the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, among other journals. He is also on the editorial board of the journal “Psychiatry Research”, and has served as a reviewer for more than 40 journals, including the Archives of General Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Dr. Papakostas is often invited to lecture on a wide range topics pertaining to the treatment of depression throughout the United States and abroad.
Dr. Papakostas attended Medical School at the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in adult Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital, and a fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychopharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital that was funded by the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
Roy Perlis, M.D.
Roy Perlis, MD studied neuroscience at Brown University and earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School . He completed an internship in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital serving as Chief Resident in Psychopharmacology. He is currently a staff psychiatrist at the Bipolar Program and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. His interests include psychiatric genetics and treatment-refractory mood disorders.
Ottavio Vitolo, M.D.
Ottavio Vitolo is a neuropsychiatry fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s hospital and a research fellow in the DCRP. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in Italy, he joined the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University in New York for a post-doctoral training program. There he studied the neurobiology of synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. He then completed a psychiatry residency program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis. During his residency he was awarded the Outstanding Resident Award from the NIMH and the Eli Robins Award for excellence in academic psychiatry at Washington University. In July 2008 Dr. Vitolo joined the DCRP as part of his neuropsychiatry fellowship. He is interested in researching the mechanisms that underlie cognitive dysfunction in depression using both basic science tools and clinical research.
Janet Witte, MD, MPH
Dr. Witte is a Staff Psychiatrist at the Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP) of Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School. She is also a second-year Candidate at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Witte completed her undergraduate degree in 1991 at Middlebury College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude with a major in Russian and Soviet Area Studies. Prior to attending medical school, she worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the Office of Global Health. Dr. Witte was a Woodruff Scholar at Emory Medical School, and a Thomas Sellers Scholar at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. She graduated with her MD and MPH degrees in 2002. Dr. Witte completed Residency in Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital program in 2006. In her fourth year of residency, she served as Chief Resident in Psychopharmacology at MGH. She has received travel awards to attend conferences in psychopharmacology, group psychotherapy, and international mental health. Following graduation, she joined the DCRP, where she has a clinical practice that includes psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and combined treatments. She also conducts depression research funded by a Dupont Warren Fellowship, a Livingston Fellowship, and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award.
John J. Worthington, M.D.
Dr. Worthington is a Staff Psychiatrist in the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He received his M.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., completed his residency at the University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill, N.C. and did a research fellowship in Clinical Psychopharmacology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently he is an investigator on several National Institutes of Mental Health studies involving the course of treatment-refractory panic disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and the predication of outcome during antidepressant discontinuation. His areas of clinical interest include the effects of alcohol and substance use on mood and anxiety disorders, acute and long-term treatment plans of patients with panic disorder and depression, development of novel pharmacologic agents for mood and anxiety disorders, and uses of combined cognitive-behavioral and pharmacologic therapies for treatment-refractory patients. He is also an investigator in numerous phase II and phase III clinical trials sponsored by several pharmaceutical companies. He has published over 110 articles, reviews and posters and he lectures in national and international forums.
Huaiyu Yang, M.D.
Huaiyu Yang, MD, is a research fellow in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. She received her MD from West China University of Medical Sciences, and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Dr. Yang has been a Freeman Fellow at Harvard Medical School's Department of Social Medicine, and an assistant professor at First Teaching Hospital, Institute of Mental health West China University of Medical Sciences (WCUMS) where she participated as an investigator in clinical trials related to depression, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Dr. Yang joined the Depression Clinical and Research Program in the Spring of 2003 and is primarily involved in the STAR*D study and its ancillary Child STAR*D project. Her main interests are pharmacotherapy for major depression, cross-cultural psychiatry and health policy.
Albert Yeung, M.D.
Dr. Yeung obtained his medical degree from National Taiwan University, and competed his psychiatric residency training at the same University. He then attended Harvard School of Public Health and obtained a Doctor of Science degree with major in epidemiology. In 1992-1994, he was assistant professor (research) at Brown University in Rhode Island. In 1994, he enrolled in residency training in psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He has been working as a staff psychiatrist at MGH since he completed his residency training. Dr. Yeung's major research interests have been integrating mental primary care and mental health services to improve treatment of depression, as well as improving mental health services to under-served populations. He has received both travel award and post-doctoral research training award from the Program for Minority Research Training in Psychiatry (PMRTP) of the American Psychiatric Association Office of Research. He is also a recipient of a K Award (Career Development Award) from the National Institute Mental Health. In 2002-2004, he has been the medical director of an initiative in the Partners Health Care, Inc. to improve treatment of depression in primary care. In 2003, he was awarded a "Partners in Excellence Award" from the Partners Health Care, Inc. for his contributions to this project. He has authored or co-authored 25 original articles in referenced medical journals. Dr. Yeung is currently the Director of Primary Care Research at the Depression Clinical and Research Program at MGH, and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yeung is also co-medical director of South Cove Community Health Center in Boston serving Asian Immigrants.