Our Team

  • Yuval Neria, PhD

    • Director of PTSD Research Program
    • Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry and Epidemiology) at CUMC

    Dr. Neria is Professor of Medical Psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the PTSD Research and Treatment Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Neria grew up in Israel and personally experienced the effects of war. He is the recipient of the Medal of Valor, equivalent to a medal of honor. Dr. Neria has studied the effects of trauma across different contexts, including wars and disasters, and has been involved in developing and testing innovative treatments for PTSD.

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  • John Caleb Markowitz, MD

    • Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

    Dr. Markowitz is a Research Psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He is a psychiatrist specializing in research and clinical practice with nearly thirty years of experience, and is an expert in psychotherapy  and pharmacotherapy for mood, anxiety, and personality disorders.

  • Franklin R. Schneier, MD

    • Special Lecturer

    Franklin Schneier, M.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Schneier's research has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. He has conducted clinical trials establishing the efficacy of medication and cognitive- behavioral therapy treatments and has used brain imaging to evaluate brain function in anxiety disorders and depression.

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  • Xi Zhu, PhD

    • Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry)

    Dr. Zhu is a research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University. Her current research focuses on utilizing resting state fMRI, structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and task fMRI to identify brain bio-markers of PTSD. She is also interested in integrating different types of large scale imaging and clinical datasets and using machine learning /artificial intelligence approaches to construct predictive network models and predict treatment outcome.

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  • Amit Lazarov, PhD

    Dr. Lazarov is a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University and an adjunct associate research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. His expertise is in obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and PTSD. He is investigating basic attention processes, with emphasis on attention allocation over time to threat vs neutral stimuli in the environment.

  • Doron Amsalem, MD

    • Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

    Dr. Amsalem is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University, and a Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Amsalem developed programs for medical students and psychiatry residents at Yale University and Sheba Medical Center in Israel. His research focus is stigma reduction, specifically in the areas of psychosis, depression and PTSD. Currently, he investigates interventions to reduce stigma and enhance treatment engagement in youth. He is interested in developing and implementing brief videos, aiming to direct at-risk youth into treatment earlier in the course of mental illness.

  • Maja Bergman, PhD

    Dr. Bergman is a postdoc clinician and researcher on the team. She received her advanced Masters degree from the professional psychology program at Stockholm University and completed her PhD in Fordham University’s Counseling Psychology Doctoral program. She has over fifteen years of clinical experience working with families and individuals impacted by trauma.

  • Shilat Haim-Nachum, PhD

    • Postdoctoral Fellow

    Dr. Haim-Nachum is a postdoctoral researcher in the PTSD Research and Treatment Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She completed her PhD in educational counseling at Bar-Ilan University, where she focused on the relationship between types of flexibility and PTSD and depression in trauma-exposed firefighters. Her current research focuses on reward processes, PTSD, depression, and child trauma. She has been awarded scholarships from the Haruv Institute for the research of child maltreatment, the BIU Women Postdoctoral Career Development, and the Rothschild Fellowship for excellent postdoctoral research scholars.

    Shilat
  • J. Arturo Sanchez-Lacay, MD

    J. Arturo Sanchez-Lacay,  MD is a Research Psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Dr. Sanchez-Lacay joined the Anxiety Disorders Clinic in 1992 and has worked extensively in all research protocols and clinical projects, including trauma, depression and anxiety disorders.

  • Chana T. Fisch, BA

    Chana is the Clinical Research Coordinator on the PTSD Research and Treatment Program team. She graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College with a BA in psychology and minors in religion and philosophy. While there, she completed a research thesis examining associations between religious group affiliation and suicidal ideation and attempt. Chana hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology in the future. 

  • Neal Prasad, BA

    Neal is the Clinical Research Assistant on the PTSD Research and Treatment Program team. He graduated cum laude from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BS in psychology. While there, he completed a research thesis focused on the effects of mindfulness meditation on well-being among low-income middle schoolers in urban areas.  Neal hopes to pursue an MD in the future.

    Neal Prasad
  • Matthew Ryba, BS, USMC (ret.)

    Matthew is the Outreach and Education Coordinator for the Military Wellness Center. He is a decorated Marine Corps combat veteran, with a background in military and veteran outreach and traumatic stress studies with degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from Fordham University.