Research and Fellowship Opportunities

The Department of Psychiatry at Columbia is one of the leading research departments in the country and annually ranks within the top three recipients of federally-funded research grants.  Part of the Department is the New York State Psychiatric Institute – a facility dedicated to research including over 25 funded research beds and up-to-date imaging capabilities.  The Department has over 450 Faculty, including two Nobel laureates, Drs. Eric Kandel and Richard Axel.  The range of research at Columbia is broad, encompassing divisions devoted to the neurobiology of learning and mental function, genetics, the psychobiology of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric diagnosis.  Treatment research includes one of the largest programs in the study of psychotherapy and pharmacological treatments for affective, anxiety, eating and psychotic disorders, as well as divisions studying brain stimulation techniques, mental health services and policy, law, ethics in psychiatry, substance abuse and many others.  Click for listing of research studies.

Research during Residency

Not surprisingly, many MD and MD/PhD applicants are attracted to Columbia because of the strength of the research program, and our residency is well-suited for applicants who plan to pursue a research career.  However, some Residents only become interested in research after taking advantage of the many opportunities during the residency program to participate in ongoing basic science or clinical research.  Substantial protected time is available for Residents with an interest in learning or maintaining research skills while developing their clinical knowledge base.  Residents can elect to spend three months on the Schizophrenia Research Unit in the PGY 1 year, spend two months on the General Clinical Research Unit in the PGY 2 year, devote up to 20% of the PGY 3 year to research and have up to eight months available for research electives during the PGY 4 year.  There is a monthly Research Options Seminar where research ideas are discussed and ongoing projects are presented, and regular Research Interest Dinners hosted at the home of Faculty.  The Department is committed to helping Residents develop and pursue research interests by matching them with Faculty mentors who are eager to involve Residents in a wide variety of projects.   In addition, internal, competitive grants are available to help Residents execute their research and fund travel to present work at national meetings.  

Research Fellowships

For Residents who arrive with or develop an interest in research, the next step in career development after residency is a research fellowship. Within the Department of Psychiatry there are eleven NIMH-funded, post-residency research training programs in the areas of affective, anxiety and eating disorders; schizophrenia; late-life neuropsychiatric disorders; child psychiatry; substance abuse; HIV infection; psychobiological sciences; genetic analysis; neurobehavioral sciences; psychiatric epidemiology; and neuropsychology and cognition in aging.  Fellows in these training programs are funded for two-to-four years to work with their mentor to develop research skills and a program of independent work.  The broad range and success of these fellowships provide an important stepping stone for the careers of our graduates.  Residency applicants already committed to a research career should consider the residency and research fellowship programs together and conceptualize entering the residency program and six years later emerging as Junior Faculty.

Clinical Fellowships