Weill Cornell Medicine psychiatric research encompasses a variety of distinguished institutes and cutting-edge programs.
Aaron Stern, M.D., Ph.D., Program in Psychodynamic Psychiatry
Substance Use & Stigma Addiction Program
Dr. Avery's primary academic focus has been to examine and help develop interventions to improve clinicians’ attitudes towards patients with substance use disorders. He is also focused on educating all physicians on how to treat individuals with co-occurring substance use disorders and mental illness.
Basic and Translational Research
Weill Cornell Medicine psychiatrists utilize a unique research approach that advances psychiatric care through highly integrated studies of human subjects and animal models. In this approach, human genetic variants that affect behavior are introduced into the genome of animals, allowing for precise analysis of their effects on neural function, cerebral circuitry and behavior. This information is then used to guide testing for similar effects in humans who carry the same variants, in order to, ultimately, understand the role that genes play in the risk of psychiatric disorders and target specific treatments for patients most likely to respond to them. To implement this vertically integrated translational approach, investigators with expertise in the areas of animal neurobiology and behavior, human genetics and neuroimaging and developmental neurobiology work closely to design experiments that allow close translation of animal results to humans. This approach has led to the identification of genetic variants as predictors of treatment response for psychiatric disorders.
Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology
Sackler Institute researchers investigate cerebral development, using new techniques to study developing children in order to transform clinical methods. The institute's program of research and training emphasizes functional neuroimaging as well as genetic and behavioral influences on cognitive and emotional development. The Sackler Institute is both wide-ranging and influential in its technical approaches to the study of children. In just a few years, it has become one of the best research centers in the world for the neurocognitive study of children.
Program for Anxiety & Traumatic Stress Studies (PATSS)
Headed by nationally recognized expert JoAnne Difede, Ph.D, PATSS is a specialized Weill Cornell Medicine psychiatry program with an innovative research portfolio that facilitates expert treatment for anxiety disorders including phobia, panic, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PATSS research studies are designed specifically to treat individuals suffering from burn injuries, terrorist attacks, motor vehicle accidents and interpersonal violence. Free clinical services and research studies are offered for military service members and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Weill Cornell Medicine Program for Anxiety & Traumatic Stress Studies
Center for Autism and the Developing Brain (CADB)
The CADB is jointly sponsored by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, in partnership with New York Collaborates for Autism. Led by founding director Dr. Catherine Lord, an internationally recognized Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) assessment and treatment expert, the CADB provides comprehensive, expert assessment and care in an elegant, state-of-the-art setting for individuals living with ASD and other developmental disorders of the brain. CADB faculty members are engaged in cutting-edge research and provide clinical, educational and investigative training for professionals of all levels.
DeWitt Wallace Institute for the History of Psychiatry
The DeWitt Wallace Institute for the History of Psychiatry enables Weill Cornell Medicine psychiatrists to carry out, encourage and advise scholarship concerning a broad range of historical and political topics relevant to the present day theory and practice of psychiatry. Housed within the institute is the Diethelm Library, one of the greatest libraries in the world, with over 35,000 books, some of which are rare and historically significant. A comprehensive website also offers access to these works for scholars all over the world. This unique resource distinguishes Weill Cornell Medicine psychiatric education and attracts academic faculty, scholars and trainees.
NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) Personality Disorder Institute
The NYP Personality Disorder Institute is a center internationally recognized for the study of personality disorders, with a wide range of borderline personality disorder projects. Weill Cornell Medicine clinical investigators have long been leaders in the institute's studies of phenomenology, dynamics, diagnostic methodology and treatment of patients with severe personality disorders. Biological and comparative therapy approach studies are currently underway at the institute, which features a variety of full-time and voluntary faculty positions and offers extensive training opportunities.
