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Transforming the understanding
and treatment of mental illnesses.

Experimental Therapeutics & Pathophysiology Branch

Training Opportunities

The NIH offers a rich training environment, in addition to graduate course work at NIH's Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) . The ETPB is dedicated to training the next generation of clinical translational researchers. This goal is accomplished via the recruitment of young researchers from the Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA), post-Doctoral IRTAs, Visiting Fellows, and the Summer Internship Program.  Dr. Zarate has been recognized for his accomplishments in mentoring at the NIH, including receiving the Ruth L. Kirschstein Mentoring Award in 2015 and being nominated for the Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award.

Facilities

Trainees have access to a wide range of world-class clinical and research facilities. Our research studies utilize a broad range of resources including neuroimaging, electrophysiological, and biochemical facilities (PET, MRI, MRS, MEG, polysomnography, proteomics, metabolomics, biochemical and genetics). The ETPB recently developed a biomarker and biobank (BioBNK) Laboratory that will serve as a core for biological specimens for networks involving proof of concept clinical trials within the branch and throughout intramural NIMH.

Opportunities

Our trainees have presented research and posters at numerous professional conferences, including the annual conferences of the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Society for Biological Psychiatry, and the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder.

The NIMH Office of Fellowship Training offers a range of fellowship and training opportunities for individuals at various stages of their education. These opportunities, which last between one and five years, provide an opportunity to further the education and professional development of Fellows and Trainees. For more information on this program, visit the NIMH Fellowship & Training Programs website. Information on specific opportunities can be found below.

Training and Educational Opportunities for Physicians and Medical Students

  • Clinical Fellowship Program
  • PGY4 Psychiatry Residency Program

NIMH Intramural Research Training Awards

  • Postdoctoral Intramural Research and Training Award
  • Pre-doctoral Intramural Research and Training Award / Pre-doctoral Visiting Fellow
  • Post baccalaureate Intramural Research and Training Award
  • Student Intramural Research and Training Award

UCL-NIMH Joint Doctoral Training Program in Neuroscience

Additionally, we have established collaboration between the NIMH and the University College of London (UCL), called the Joint Doctoral Training Program in Neuroscience. This is an accelerated graduate program for students in neuroscience at both the UCL and the NIMH. It offers students the opportunity to conduct collaborative research between two laboratories, one at UCL, the other at the NIMH.

Alumni

Alumni of the ETPB, formerly a part of the NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Unit, have gone on to excel in psychiatric and psychological clinical research and psychopharmacological development, as well as becoming members of university faculty.

Clinical Fellows

  • Jorge A. Quiroz, MD: Neuroscience Translational Medicine, Roche Pharmaceuticals
  • Jaskaran B.Singh, MD: Central Nervous System/Pain Therapeutic Area, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
  • Philip Kronstein, MD: Division of Psychiatry Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Paul Carlson, MD: Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah)
  • Andrew Newberg, MD: Department of Psychiatry, UNC Chapel Hill
  • Lisa Catapano, MD, PhD: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University Medical Center
  • Giacomo Salvadore, MD: Neuroscience Experimental Medicine, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
  • Sami Khalife, MD: Department of Psychiatry, NYU Medical Center
  • Nancy DiazGranados, MD: Section of Clinical Assessment & Treatment Evaluation, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)
  • Anibal Cravchik, MD, PhD: Private Psychiatric Practice
  • Lobna Ibrahim, MD: Inpatient Psychiatry, Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center
  • Jose Franco Chaves, MD: Outpatient Care, Veteran Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
  • Daniel C. Mathews, MD: Medical Affairs, H. Lundbeck A/S Pharmaceuticals
  • Jennifer Vande Voort, MD: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology
  • Erica Richards, MD, PhD: NIMH Office of the Clinical Director

Post-Baccalaureate Fellows

Graduate Programs

  • The Catholic University of America
  • Columbia University (New York, NY)
  • The George Washington University
  • Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
  • The University of California (Irvine)
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of North Texas
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine

Medical Schools

  • Alpert Medical School, Brown University
  • Emory University School of Medicine
  • The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • The Medical University of South Carolina
  • University of Michigan Medical School
  • University of Virginia School of Medicine
  • Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
  • Yale School of Medicine

Awards & Honors

ADAA Alies Muskin Career Development Leadership Program
2018: Bashkim Kadriu, MD
2018: Zhi-De Deng, PhD

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) Travel Award
2016: Mark Niciu, MD PhD
2016: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD
2015: Erica Richards, MD, PhD

American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology New Investigator Award
2018: Jennifer Evans, PhD
2017: Bashkim Kadriu, MD
2015: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD
2015: Erica Richards, MD, PhD
2015: Dawn Ionescu, MD
2013: Niall Lally, PhD
2010: Giacomo Salvadore, MD
2004: Jaskaran Singh, MD
2003: Jennifer Payne, MD
2003: Jorge Quiroz, MD

APA Division 38, Society for Health Psychology Anniversary Task Force Presidential Award
2016: Valeria Martinez-Kaigi, MS

APA Research Colloquium for Junior Investigators
2017: Bashkim Kadriu, MD
2012: Dawn Flosnik Ionescu, MD

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Gerald Klerman Young Investigator Award
2013: Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, MD, PhD

International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology, New Investigator Award
2018: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD

NARSAD/BBRF, Young Investigator Award
2017: Zhi-De Deng, PhD
2015: Mark J. Niciu, MD, PhD
2010: Giacomo Salvadore, MD
2004: Jorge A. Quiroz, MD

NIH Career Development Institute for Psychiatry
2017: Bashkim Kadriu, MD
2016: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD
2015: Erica M. Richards, MD, PhD
2015: Jennifer Vande Voort, MD
2014: Dawn Flosnik Ionescu, MD
2013: Mark J. Niciu, MD, PhD
2009: Nancy DiazGranados, MD, MS

NIH Pathway to Independence Award
2015: Mark J. Niciu, MD, PhD

NIMH Outstanding Resident Award
2010: Mark Niciu, MD, PhD - Yale University
2006: Anibal Cravchik, MD, PhD - George Washington University

NIMH Seymour S. Kety Memorial Fellowship Training Award
2016: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD
2014: Mark J. Niciu, MD, PhD

Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) Early Career Investigator Travel Award
2018: Bashkim Kadriu, MD
2016: Mark Niciu, MD, PhD
2016: Elizabeth Ballard, PhD