Jeremy M. Veenstra-VanderWeele, MD

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Psychiatry
More specialties
Treats Children
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Overview

Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, MD, is the Suzanne Crosby Murphy Professor of Developmental Neuropsychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center; Director of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), and Columbia University; and Co-Director of both the NIMH T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship for Translational Research in Child Psychiatric Disorders and the Whitaker Scholar Program in Developmental Neuropsychiatry at NYSPI/Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Veenstra-VanderWeele is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who uses molecular and translational neuroscience research tools in the pursuit of new treatments for autism spectrum disorder and pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. He trained in human molecular genetics in the laboratory of Edwin H. Cook at the University of Chicago. Following his child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, he expanded his research experience with a postdoctoral research fellowship in molecular neuroscience with Randy Blakely and Jim Sutcliffe at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia in 2014, Dr. Veenstra-VanderWeele was director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University, where he was also an associate professor and medical director for the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Veenstra-VanderWeele’s laboratory at Columbia University and NYSPI focuses on the serotonin and glutamate systems in genetic mouse models with abnormal social or repetitive/compulsive-like behavior. His clinical/translational research program at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Center for Autism and the Developing Brain studies potential treatments for autism spectrum disorder and related genetic syndromes. His long-term goal is to be able to develop novel approaches in the molecular laboratory that can then be tested in children. Dr. Veenstra-VanderWeele’s work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the 2017 Blanche Ittelson Award for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association. He is dedicated to helping train and develop the next generation of child psychiatrists and scientists who can generate an improved understanding of childhood neuropsychiatric disorders and deliver new treatments to the clinic.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Autism
  • Autism and Pervasive Develop Disorder
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Pediatric Autism

Academic Appointments

  • Ruane Professor for the Implementation of Science for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (in Psychiatry)
  • Professor of Pediatrics

Administrative Titles

  • Co-Director, NIMH T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship for Translational Research in Child Psychiatric Disorders
  • Co-Director, Whitaker Scholar Program in Developmental Neuropsychiatry
  • Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry
  • Interim Executive Director, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  • Interim Psychiatrist-in-Chief, NewYork Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center

Gender

  • Male

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Location(s)

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • NYP Employee Plan

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

UnitedHealthcare

  • Behavioral Health (Columbia University Employee Plan)

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

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Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MD, 2001 Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago
  • Residency: University of Chicago Hospitals
  • Fellowship: University of Chicago Hospitals
  • Fellowship: University of Chicago Hospital & Clinics

Board Certifications

  • Psychiatry
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Research

The Veenstra-VanderWeele lab is dedicated to helping children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and their families. We are approaching this goal using a variety of techniques, from animal models to research in adults with ASD. The majority of our efforts go toward developing and studying mouse models to understand the relationship between ASD or OCD risk factors and the resulting changes in brain and behavior. We are also working to translate laboratory research findings into novel treatments for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders or related genetic syndromes.

Research Interests

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Selected Publications

  • Fernandes, D.J., Ellegood, J., Askalan, R., Blakely, R.D., Dicicco-Bloom, E., Egan, S.E., … Lerch, J.P. (2017). Spatial gene expression analysis of neuroanatomical differences in mouse models. NeuroImage, 163, 220-230. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.065
  • Muller, C.L., Anacker, A.M.J., Rogers, T.D., Goeden, N., Keller, E.H., Forsberg, C.G., … Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2017). Impact of maternal serotonin transporter genotype on placental serotonin, fetal forebrain serotonin, and neurodevelopment. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42(2), 427-436. doi: 10.1038/npp.2016.166
  • Anagnostou, E., Aman, M.G., Handen, B.L., Sanders, K.B., Shui, A., Hollway, J.A., … Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2016). Metformin for treatment of overweight induced by atypical antipsychotic medication in young people with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(9), 928-937. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.123
  • Muller, C.L., Anacker, A.M.J., & Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2016). The serotonin system in autism spectrum disorder: From biomarker to animal models. Neuroscience, 321, 24-41. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.11.010
  • Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., & Warren, Z. (2015). Intervention in the context of development: pathways toward new treatments. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40, 225-237.
  • Erickson, C.A., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Melmed, R.D., McCracken, J.T., Ginsberg, L., Sikich, L., … King, B.H. (2014). STX209 (Arbaclofen) for autism spectrum disorders: An 8-week open-label study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44, 958-964.
  • Dove, D., Warren, Z., Taylor, J.L., Sathe, N., McPheeters, M.L., & Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2012). Medication treatments for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 130, 717-726.
  • Hammock, E.A., Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Yan, Z., Kerr, T.M., Morris, M., Anderson, G.M., … Jacob, S. (2012). Examining autism spectrum disorders by biomarkers: Example from the oxytocin and serotonin systems. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 712-721.
  • Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Muller, C.L., Iwamoto, H., Sauer, J.E., Owens, W.A., Cohen, J., … Blakely, R.D. (2012). Autism gene variant causes hyperserotonemia, serotonin receptor hypersensitivity, social impairment, and repetitive behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 109, 5469-5474.