Psychiatry Faculty Research Interests

The research section of the psychiatry department continues to expand the collaborations within the State of Georgia in:

  • Gateway: Brunswick
  • AmericanWork, Inc.: Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­, Savannah, Albany, Columbus, and Taccoa
  • Highland Rivers Centers: Dalton and Rome
  • Serenity Behavioral Health Systems
  • East Central Regional Hospital
  • Homeless Shelters: Garden City Rescue Mission, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Salvation Army, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ Rescue Mission, Mercy Ministries, and Head of the Giant Ministry

The Department has multiple competitively funded projects in the area of psychotic disorders:

Dr. McCallW. Vaughn McCall, MD, Chair, Department of Psychiatry & Health Behavior

  • Treatment of depression.
  • Insomnia: causes and treatments.
  • Therapeutic brain stimulation: ECT and TMS.
  • Suicide
Dr. Rosenquist

Peter B Rosenquist, Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry & Health Behavior

  • Therapeutic brain stimulation: Electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation.
  • Autonomic dysregulation in psychiatric disorders, including heart rate variability and pupillometry.
  • Treatment of mood disorders.
  • Insomnia: Causes and treatments.
  • Suicide

Dr. HouseAmy House, PhD

  • Psychological flexibility as it relates to change processes in psychotherapy.
  • Predictors of change in DBT skills group participants.
  • Predictors of change in ACT group participants.
Dr. Miller

Brian Miller, MD, PhD, MPH

  • Immunologic dysfunction in schizophrenia, including inflammation and cytokines.
  • Infections in acute psychosis.
  • Clinical trials of adjunctive immunotherapy in schizophrenia.
  • Insomnia and suicidal ideation in schizophrenia.
Dr. McEvoy

Joseph McEvoy, MD

  • Biology and treatment of severe mental illness (SMI).
  • Severe mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder).
  • Pharmacological treatment of SMI.
  • General health maintenance among patients with SMI.
Dr. Pillai

Anilkumar Pillai, MD

  • Neurotrophins in schizophrenia.
  • BDNF signaling in depression.
  • Gender differences in autism spectrum disorder.
  • Maternal stress and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Dr. Stepleman

Lara M. Stepleman, PhD., Professor; Co-Director of the Educational Innovation Institute

  • Health disparities in marginalized populations including LGBTQ, HIV-positive, and African American individuals, especially women.
  • Quality of life for individuals and their care partners affected by one or more chronic medical illnesses (HIV and Multiple Sclerosis, in particular).
  • Interprofessional health professions training in sexual health across the learner continuum.
  • Integrated behavioral health services.
Dr. Youssef

Nagy Youssef, MD

  • Primary disorders/areas studied:
    Mood disorders (including major depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and suicide prevention).
    Trauma, PTSD, and resilience against trauma and psychopathology.
  • Primary treatment modalities or tools for the mechanistic understanding of pathophysiology:
    Brain stimulation modalities, especially ECT and novel forms of seizure therapy.
    Genomics, including epigenetics.