Overview
Jonathan M Wai, MD, is an addiction psychiatrist and research scientist in the Division on Substance Use Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In his clinical work, he sees individuals who have problems with addiction and mental illness in the inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings. He is also experienced with the brain stimulation methods of transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy.
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Gender
- Male
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Insurance Accepted
UnitedHealthcare
- Behavioral Health (Columbia University Employee Plan)
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- MD, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
- BA, Neuroscience and Behavior, Columbia University
- Residency: Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Fellowship: Columbia University Irving Medical Center / New York State Psychiatric Institute
Board Certifications
- Psychiatry
Honors & Awards
- Chief Resident of Medical Education, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Research
Dr. Wai is interested in neuromodulation and translational neuroimaging for the treatment of substance use disorders. Using different neuroimaging modalities such as positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, he has been focused on using non-invasive methods to evaluate changes in neurotransmitters in disease states and the effect of treatments on these diseases. Dr. Wai also has experience in implementation research, taking part in the large HEALing Communities Study as a physician clinical lead.
Grants
K23AA028295 Wai (PI) 6/2021-2/2026 NIAAA $951,914
The Effect of High Frequency rTMS to the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Alcohol Use Disorder
Role: Principal Investigator
Selected Publications
1) Wai, J. M., Blevins, D., Hunt, T., Gilbert, L., Campbell, A. N., Levin, F. R., ... & Nunes, E. (2024). An Approach to Enhancing Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the HEALing Communities Study. Psychiatric Services, 75(6), 580-588.
2) Wai, J. M., & Martinez, D. (2019). Dopamine, Opioids, and Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of the Human Brain: Contrasting Findings in Opioid Use Disorder and Healthy Volunteers. Biological psychiatry, 86(5), 328-329. PMCID: PMC6892395.
3) Wai, J. M., Grassetti, A., Slifstein, M., Matuskey, D., Nabulsi, N., Ropchan, J., ... & Martinez, D. (2019). Binge alcohol use is not associated with alterations in striatal dopamine receptor binding or dopamine release. Drug and alcohol dependence, 205, 107627. PMCID: PMC6893096.
4) Wai, J. M., Aloezos, C., Mowrey, W. B., Baron, S. W., Cregin, R., & Forman, H. L. (2019). Using clinical decision support through the electronic medical record to increase prescribing of high-dose parenteral thiamine in hospitalized patients with alcohol use disorder. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 99, 117-123. PMCID: PMC6541495.
5) Levin, C. J., Wai, J. M., Jones, J. D., & Comer, S. D. (2019). Changes in cardiac vagal tone as measured by heart rate variability during naloxone-induced opioid withdrawal. Drug and alcohol dependence, 204, 107538. PMCID: PMC7017784.
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov