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  Berlin Lab
DR. HEATHER BERLIN - OCD RESEARCH - MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
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For more information about our clinic or to schedule an appointment:

Tel.: 212-659-8823
Fax: 212-996-8931


Mount Sinai Division of Tics, OCD, and Related Disorders (DTOR)

The Mount Sinai Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Treatment Center uses evidence-based science to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) across the lifespan. We specialize in treating patients of all ages suffering from all ranges of severity – from mild to severe – as well as treatment-resistant forms of OCD. We offer expert consulations, comprehensive evaluations, and ongoing treatment. The long-term goal of the Mount Sinai Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Treatment Center is to discover the causes of OCD, so that new and better treatments can be developed.

http://mountsinai.org/dtor

Meet the Team:


PROGRAM DIRECTOR:

Wayne Goodman, MD
Klingenstein Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Goodman joined Mount Sinai in 2009 as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. He is a pioneer in research on the neurobiology and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Dr. Goodman is the principal developer of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the gold standard for evaluating OCD, and he co-founded the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation, serving as Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board for 10 years. Additionally, Dr. Goodman is an expert in the development and application of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment-resistant OCD.

Dr. Goodman served as Director of the Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development at the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was also Chair of the Food and Drug Administration’s Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee. Prior to joining NIMH in 2007, Dr. Goodman served as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine for eight years. Dr. Goodman was an undergraduate at Columbia University, received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine, and completed his residency and fellowship in psychiatry at Yale University, where he remained on the faculty until 1993.


CLINICAL TREATMENT TEAM:

Matthew Hopperstad, MD
Medical Director
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

As a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist, Dr. Hopperstad specializes in treating psychiatric disorders across the lifespan. He currently serves as the Medical Director of the Mount Sinai OCD Center and is the Unit Chief of an inpatient psychiatric unit at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Hopperstad completed his undergraduate education at the University of Washington where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. He later attended the Post Baccalaureate Premedical Program at Columbia University and worked as a researcher in the Department of Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, publishing in the area of membrane channel biophysics.

A graduate of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Hopperstad was awarded the Dr. M. Ralph Kaufman Prize for Excellence in Psychiatry and was inducted into the Arnold P. Gold Society for Humanism in Medicine. He continued his training at Mount Sinai as a resident in the program for General Psychiatry and completed his fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at The NYU Child Study Center where he is currently on faculty as an adjunct assistant professor.


Dorothy Grice, MD
Senior Faculty, Psychiatry

Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies. Dr. Grice did not report having any of the following types of financial relationships with industry during 2012 and/or 2013: consulting, scientific advisory board, industry-sponsored lectures, service on Board of Directors, participation on industry-sponsored committees, equity ownership valued at greater than 5% of a publicly traded company or any value in a privately held company. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences. Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website at http://icahn.mssm.edu/about-us/services-and-resources/faculty-resources/handbooks-and-policies/faculty-handbook. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.


Barbara Coffey, MD
Professor of Psychiatry

Dr. Coffey is an internationally known specialist in Tics and Tourette’s Disorder and related problems. She is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Chief of the Tics and Tourette’s Clinical and Research Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She also serves as a Research Psychiatrist at the Nathan S. Kline Institute of Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, New York. Prior to her move to the School of Medicine, Dr. Coffey was Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine, and Director of the Tics and Tourette’s Clinical and Research Program at the NYU Child Study Center. Dr. Coffey received her B.A. in Biology and Psychology from the University of Rochester, her M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine and her M.S. in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed a residency in general psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Coffey held past positions as Director of Pediatric Psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital and Director of the Tourette's Clinics at McLean and Massachusetts General Hospitals in Boston between 1992 and 2001, and remained on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School as a Clinical Associate at Massachusetts General Hospital until January 2007. Dr. Coffey has repeatedly been recognized by America’s Best Doctors, Boston’s Best Doctors, and New York’s Best Doctors. Dr. Coffey has served in major national leadership positions in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and was recently appointed as North American representative on the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section of the World Psychiatric Association. As a former member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA), and recipient of a TSA Massachusetts Chapter award, Dr. Coffey has served on the Speakers’ Bureau of the joint TSA-CDC Partnership for educational programs throughout the US, and has received ongoing research funding from the organization. Dr. Coffey served on the Committee on Written Examination in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Steering Committee on Certification in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. In addition, Dr. Coffey has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Child and AdolescentPsychopharmacology.


Vilma Gabbay, MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Associate Professor of Neuroscience

Dr. Gabbay serves as Chief of the Pediatric Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. One of the nation's leading experts on pediatric mood disorders, Dr. Gabbay is also a renowned researcher with a focus on the neurological and immunological mechanisms that contribute to the development and maintenance of mood disorders in youth. At the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, she will develop and direct a research program investigating the neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents with emphasis on the dimensional investigation of specific symptoms such as anhedonia - the capacity to experience pleasure. The goal of the program is to utilize a multidisciplinary approach to enhance understanding of the disorders, which will lead to early identification, diagnostic refinements, and novel treatments. Her research efforts utilize an array of sophisticated, cutting-edge techniques, including functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, MR spectroscopy, immunological and genetic assays, and comprehensive clinical evaluations. She also investigates the efficacy and neurochemical effects of Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils) in the treatment of adolescent depression and Tourette's disorder. Dr. Gabbay's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Tourette Syndrome Association, the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, and the National Association for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Dr. Gabbay has received numerous awards and honors and has been published extensively in top-tier scientific journals. Dr. Gabbay received her BMedSc in human sciences and her MD from Tel Aviv University in Israel. She completed a residency in general psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a residency in child and adolescent psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine, where she received the Resident Research Excellence Award and, in 2008, earned her MS in Translational Medicine Research.


Alicia Hirsch, PsyD
Clinical Director
Instructor, Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Hirsch is a clinical psychologist with an expertise in the treatment of OCD and related disorders in adults and children. She joined the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2001 as a psychologist and study therapist for the Traumatic Stress Studies Program. In 2005, Dr. Hirsch became the Director of Clinical Services for the Mount Sinai Eating and Weight Disorders Program. An expert in cognitive-behavioral therapy and its application to multiple psychiatric disorders, Dr. Hirsch uses a range of techniques to provide comprehensive care that meet the unique needs of each patient.

In addition to her role with The Mount Sinai Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Treatment Center, Dr. Hirsch is also Co-Director of the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Program at Mount Sinai. In honor of her compassion and skill as a clinician, in 2009, Dr. Hirsch received the Gold Doc award from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.


Ariz Rojas, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Rojas joined the Department of Psychiatry as a post-doctoral fellow in September 2011. Her clinical interests include the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Her clinical research has focused on evidence-based treatments for pediatric OCD, parent-child interventions, and the role of acculturation in the mental health of Hispanic youth.

She is trained in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Habit Reversal Training (HRT), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Mindfulness. Dr. Rojas has also provided clinical services in schools, community, and hospital settings, including telehealth modalities such as telephone coaching and internet-delivered treatment.

Dr. Rojas received her undergraduate degree, master’s degree and doctoral degree from the University of South Florida. She was awarded numerous scholarships and fellowships during her graduate training, including the prestigious Ford Foundation Diversity Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Academies of Science. She also completed an American Psychological Association accredited internship in Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology at Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School.


RESEARCH TEAM:

Heather Berlin, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Berlin’s research focuses on understanding the neural basis of compulsivity, impulsivity, and emotion in an effort to develop more targeted treatments for patients. By conducting neuroimaging and neuropsychological and psychopharmacological testing of the brain lesion, she hopes to identify better ways to evaluate and treat patients with compulsive, impulsive, and personality disorders. In addition, Dr. Berlin is interested in exploring the neural basis of consciousness and dynamic unconscious processes. Dr. Berlin has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including a Young Investigator Award from the American Neuropsychiatric Association, a Young Investigator Award from the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder, and the Clifford Yorke Prize from the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society. She is a visiting scholar at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and previously served as a visiting assistant professor at Vassar College, as a visiting lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)/University of Zurich, and at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She received her master’s degree in public health from Harvard University and her doctorate from the University of Oxford.


Emily R. Stern, PhD
Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Dr. Stern joined the Mount Sinai faculty in 2011. Her research is focused on understanding the neurobiological substrates of aberrant appraisal and decision processes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders. The overall goal of her research is to identify behavioral and biological markers of anxiety vulnerability and resilience that can be used as targets for treatment.

Dr. Stern received her doctoral degree in experimental psychology from Columbia University. During her postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan, she conducted research investigating neural mechanisms of altered decision-making and error hypersensitivity in OCD. Her findings have been published in the Journal of Neuroscience and Biological Psychiatry, and she has received funding from several major organizations, including an NIMH National Research Service Award and a Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Foundation.


ADDITIONAL KEY MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM:

Samuel Zhang, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator I, Psychiatry
Mr. Zhang graduated from New York University with a degree in psychology and a focus in the premedical track. At NYU, he conducted research on the cognitive effects of fear and disgust using a distance perception paradigm. He is currently interested in looking at the neural correlates of these emotions and specifying his research interests to a clinical population with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Alexandra Muratore, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator II, Psychiatry
Ms. Muratore works with Dr. Stern on projects looking at cognitive processing in OCD. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Skidmore College in 2011, and plans to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology.

Laura Ibanez
Clinical Research Coordinator I, Psychiatry

Amira Hanna
Clinical Research Coordinator II, Psychiatry

Resham Gellatly
Clinical Research Coordinator II, Psychiatry

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