Maryland Pao, MD
Entry Id: TP-72

Eligibility Criteria
The National Institute of Mental Health Division of Intramural Research Program (NIMH DIRP) offers a unique training experience accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for PGY-4 residents.  In addition, it offers a clinical research fellowship for PGY-5’s and beyond.  Applicants for the PGY-4 training year must successfully complete three years (including all clinical requirements for certification) in an ACGME-approved general psychiatry residency prior to matriculation.

Overview
The Clinical Associates Program of the NIMH DIRP offers extensive training opportunities in clinical and basic psychiatric research for PGY-4 residents and beyond.  The core training program is mentorship-driven and focuses on the acquisition and refinement of research skills including the evaluation and clinical care of research subjects, development of research protocols, performance of clinical and/or laboratory research, and preparation and presentation of study results.  Clinical Associates join specialty research groups that study the mechanisms or treatments of major psychiatric illnesses.  Emphasis in these programs is on psychopharmacology, behavioral endocrinology, psychosomatic medicine, child psychiatry, brain imaging, molecular biology, and neurogenetics.

Structure of the Clinical Training Program Clinical and research training are integrated during the three-year psychiatry training program at the NIMH DIRP.  Residents and Fellows assume responsibility for the evaluation and clinical care of inpatient and/or outpatient research subjects in addition to providing psychiatric consultation to NIH patients.  The trainee is encouraged to develop areas of research that may be translated into clinical protocols.  Research design, methodology, statistical analysis, and data presentation skills are developed through interaction with mentors, didactic sessions, and practical experiences. Trainees are exposed to specialized coursework including for example the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, Neurobiology of Mental Illness, Grant-Writing and Clinical Research Bioethics. For trainees with primarily laboratory interests, basic research training opportunities are also available.

Program Faculty and Research Interests

Office of the Clinical Director
Maryland Pao, M.D., Clinical Director
Deborah Snyder, MSW Special Assistant to the Clinical Director

Office of Fellowship Training
Barry Kaplan, Ph.D., Director
Margarita Valencia, Assistant Director

Clinical Investigators
Peter Bandettini, Ph.D., Chief, Section on Functional Imaging Method
Karen Berman, M.D., Chief, Section on Integrative Neuroimaging, Chief, Section on Neuroimaging, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program
James Blair, PhD Chief of the Unit on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program
Jay Giedd, M.D., ChiefUnit on Brain Imaging, Child Psychiatry Branch
Christian Grillon, M.D., Chief Unit on Neurophysiology and Behavior
Robert Innis, M.D., Acting Director Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program (MAP) Chief, Molecular Imaging Branch
Joel Kleinman, M.D., Chief Neuropathology Section
Ellen Leibenluft, M.D., Chief Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience
Alex Martin, Ph.D., Chief Section on Cognitive Neuropsychology
Francis McMahon, M.D., Chief Unit on Genetic Basis of Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Dennis Murphy, M.D., Chief Laboratory of Clinical Sciences
Daniel Pine, M.D., Chief Emotion and Development Branch
Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., Chief Child Psychiatry Branch Section on Pharmacolog
Peter J. Schmidt, M.D., Chief Section on Behavioral Endocrinology Branch
Carolyn Smith, Ph.D., Chief Section on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism Esther Sternberg, M.D., Chief Section on Neuroimmunology and Behavior
Susan E. Swedo, M.D., Chief Pediatric Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch
Leslie Ungerleider, Ph.D., Chief Laboratory of Brain and Cognition
Daniel Weinberger, M.D., Director Genes, Cognition and Psychosis Program (GCAP) Chief, Clinical Brain Disorders Branch
Carlos Zarate, MD, Chief Experimental Therapeutics , Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program

Applicants must successfully complete three years in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved general psychiatry residency (including all clinical requirements for certification) prior to matriculation.  Interested applicants are encouraged to apply during their PGY-2 or
PGY-3 training years.  The expected length of stay for residents participating in the program is three years (an additional year of fellowship following the conclusion of residency training).

Electronic Application
The quickest and easiest way to find out more about this training program or to apply for consideration is to do it electronically.

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