Joan Prudic, MD

Dr. Prudic is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Director of the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Service at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia campus. The ECT Service provides state-of-the-art treatment based on results of the latest results of clinical research in novel forms of ECT done at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI).

She is also Director of the Clinic for Innovations in Treatment Resistant Depression and a research psychiatrist in at the NYSPI. The clinic provides evaluations to patients seeking to participate in pioneering research in ECT and is developing clinical trials for other innovative treatments for depression, particularly in the area of brain stimulation.

Dr. Prudic is the Associate Editor of The Journal of ECT. She has been an invited presenter at national and international medical conferences. She has authored and coauthored numerous articles, chapters, reviews, and editorials concerning ECT, mood disorders, neurobiology, and brain imaging.

Her articles are published in prestigious scientific journals such as The American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology, Psychological Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, and The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Prudic has conducted clinical research in the areas of depression and ECT. She has been principal investigator on grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). She has received continuous support since 1985. Her research and clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of depression, including geriatric depression, ECT, and the improvement of community treatment in these areas through dissemination of research findings to clinical practice.