Residency Program in Psychiatry

Physician-Scientist (Research) Track

The Physician Scientist (Research) Track, which has a separate match number in the National Residency Matching Program (1490400C2), is designed for applicants who have a demonstrated interest and aptitude in psychiatric research. Note that this track is not limited to M.D./Ph.D. candidates. All students who have participated in substantial research activities are welcome to apply. We anticipate two positions in each entering class.

The Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine is one of the top 10 psychiatric research departments in the United States as ranked by federal research support. A large and diverse faculty drives an extensive research portfolio. Information on federal grants to the Mount Sinai Department of Psychiatry can be viewed here:
Current NIH Grants
Current VA Merit Grants

Additional information regarding foundation grants, such as The Seaver and Greater New York Autism Center is available by request from Dr. Rieder.

The purpose of the Physician Scientist Track is to provide protected time for research during each year of residency education. In the PGY 1 and 2 years, this is a two month block of such protected time. During the PGY-III year, when residents treat outpatients longitudinally, a block research assignment is replaced by a longitudinal allocation, which we plan as 30% time, but could be as high as 50 % time, if some outpatient clinical training is moved to the PGY 4 year. The PGY 4 year then allows for even more time for research, and is meant to provide for the execution of research projects that could be continued following graduation from residency.

Applicants interested in the Physician Scientist Track should indicate their interest to Dr. Rieder and Dr. Simon, in advance of interviews if possible. Additional meetings with potential mentors are encouraged and will be arranged during the application season.

The Physician-Scientist Track began in 2008. Below are descriptions of the PGY1 experience of the two residents in the track.

Maria de las Mercedes Perez Rodríguez, M.D., Ph.D.
During the first year of residency, I have worked with Drs. Antonia New and Larry Siever in the Mood and personality Disorders research group. I have participated in the drafting and critical revision of a research grant analyzing the neural circuitry that may underlie the abnormal social functioning in individuals with borderline personality disorder, specifically focusing on empathy and affective priming (the outcome measures include both behavioral responses as well as fMRI BOLD response and startle response). I have co-written a paper on an association between a tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH-2) risk haplotype and borderline personality disorder diagnosis, which we plan to submit to Biological Psychiatry. I am currently working on a grant proposal to examine the tolerability and effect of different doses of Suboxone and placebo for a two-week trial in patients with borderline personality disorder with no prior abuse history of opiates. This is a dose-finding trial that will be followed by a longer project for assessing the effect of Suboxone as a novel treatment for borderline personality disorder. I regularly participate in research meetings, and I meet weekly with my mentors, Drs. New and Siever, from whom I receive constant feedback and advice. Besides the specific projects described above, I have also performed several reviews of the literature that have resulted in presentations and discussions with other members of the research group. During the second year of residency, I will be involved in the three projects described above, particularly the one assessing the effect of Suboxone as a novel treatment for borderline personality disorder. I will participate in data analysis and scientific discussion of the results, and in writing and critically revising the publications that will be derived from these projects. In summary, I will continue learning and growing as a researcher in an intellectually stimulating and nurturing environment

Panagiotis Roussos, M.D., Ph.D.
As a PGY-I, I worked in the Neuroscience PET Laboratory with Dr. Monte Buchsbaum. During the two months of my elective time, I had the opportunity to work on volumetric changes in patients with schizophrenia. More specifically, MRI of the whole brain was obtained from first-episode and chronic patients and their matched controls. Volumetric anatomical changes, including gray matter deficits and increased white matter volume, were evident from the onset of schizophrenia. These changes were more widespread in chronic than acute patients, supporting a progression of anatomical changes over the course of illness. Moreover, in both groups of schizophrenia patients, symptomatic severity of the illness was inversely associated with gray matter volumes and directly associated with white matter volumes. Interestingly, while the total WM volume remains unchanged between patients and healthy participants, significant regional expanses of WM are observed in schizophrenia. I presented this work as a poster at the Society of Biological Psychiatry meeting in Vancouver. Also over the past year I have also been able to finish work done before residency, and submitted 2 first-author publications. As a PGY-II, I am planning to work on postmortem tissue from patients with schizophrenia and analyze genes and proteins involved in pathways that have been associated with the aetiopathogenesis of schizophrenia.