Our Team
Yuval Neria, PhD
- Director of PTSD Research Program
- Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry and Epidemiology) at CUMC
Dr. Neria is Professor of Medical Psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the PTSD Research and Treatment Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Neria grew up in Israel and personally experienced the effects of war. He is the recipient of the Medal of Valor, equivalent to a medal of honor. Dr. Neria has studied the effects of trauma across different contexts, including wars and disasters, and has been involved in developing and testing innovative treatments for PTSD.
John Caleb Markowitz, MD
- Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Dr. Markowitz is a Research Psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He is a psychiatrist specializing in research and clinical practice with nearly thirty years of experience, and is an expert in psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for mood, anxiety, and personality disorders.
Franklin R. Schneier, MD
- Special Lecturer
Franklin Schneier, M.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Schneier's research has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. He has conducted clinical trials establishing the efficacy of medication and cognitive- behavioral therapy treatments and has used brain imaging to evaluate brain function in anxiety disorders and depression.
Xi Zhu, PhD
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry)
Dr. Zhu is a research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University. Her current research focuses on utilizing resting state fMRI, structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and task fMRI to identify brain bio-markers of PTSD. She is also interested in integrating different types of large scale imaging and clinical datasets and using machine learning /artificial intelligence approaches to construct predictive network models and predict treatment outcome.
Amit Lazarov, PhD
Dr. Lazarov is a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University and an adjunct associate research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. His expertise is in obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder and PTSD. He is investigating basic attention processes, with emphasis on attention allocation over time to threat vs neutral stimuli in the environment.
Doron Amsalem, MD
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Dr. Amsalem is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University, and a Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Amsalem developed programs for medical students and psychiatry residents at Yale University and Sheba Medical Center in Israel. His research focus is stigma reduction, specifically in the areas of psychosis, depression and PTSD. Currently, he investigates interventions to reduce stigma and enhance treatment engagement in youth. He is interested in developing and implementing brief videos, aiming to direct at-risk youth into treatment earlier in the course of mental illness.
Maja Bergman, PhD
- Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry)
Dr. Bergman is an Assistant Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University and the lab’s Director of Clinical Training. In addition to her own research and clinical work she is responsible for training and supervision of the lab’s clinical staff. Maja has over fifteen years of clinical experience working with traumatized individuals and families, and her current research is focused on development and testing of mind-body interventions in the prevention and treatment of trauma related disorders.
J. Arturo Sanchez-Lacay, MD
J. Arturo Sanchez-Lacay, MD is a Research Psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Dr. Sanchez-Lacay joined the Anxiety Disorders Clinic in 1992 and has worked extensively in all research protocols and clinical projects, including trauma, depression and anxiety disorders.
Peter D. Goldie, MSEd, MA
Peter is an extern on the PTSD Research and Treatment Program team. He received his Bachelors degree from New York University, Masters degrees from University of Pennsylvania and Montclair State University, and is completing a PhD at Montclair State University in clinical psychology. They enjoy delivering clinical services and are interested in clinical and non-clinical research.
Vanessa Visquerra MSEd, MA, NCC
Vanessa is a 3rd year doctoral student at Touro University's Psy D program and an clinical extern on the team. She received her masters degree in mental health counseling from St. Johns University and her bachelors from Long Island University Post Campus. She is passionate about working with the LGBTQ community and trauma survivors.
Bradley Tao MA
Bradley is the Clinical Research Assistant on the PTSD Research and Treatment Program team. He graduated from University of Michigan with a BA in Psychology and German and a MA in General Psychology from NYU. While at NYU, he completed a master’s thesis focused on the association between motivational cognitive procedures and patterns of visual attention among runners. Bradley hopes to pursue an Ph.D. in the future.
Joseph Wrobleski, MA
Joe is an extern on the PTSD Research and Treatment Program team and is currently a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program at William Paterson University. He graduated summa cum laude from Hofstra University with a BA in psychology and later earned his MA in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Joe's clinical and research interests include issues of trauma, identity, and transition stress associated with major life events, such as in populations navigating recent separation from the military.
Adeen Izzathullah, MA
Adeen is a clinical assessor as well as research assistant on the PTSD Research and Treatment Program team. She graduated from Wayne State University with a BS in Psychology and an MA in general psychology from NYU, with a clinical focus. At NYU, she completed a thesis exploring the benefits from autonomy support in romantic relationships across cultures. She hopes to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology in the future.
Matthew Ryba, BS, USMC (ret.)
Matthew is the Community Outreach Director and Project Manager for the NYP-Columbia Military Wellness Center, Man o’ War Project, and other research studies in the lab. Matthew maintains the labs community relationships, networking, study recruitment, fundraising and grant writing. He is a decorated Marine Corps combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with over a decade experience in military trauma and psychology research. Matthew has degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from Fordham University.
