Steven A Kushner, MD, PhD

Psychiatry
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Overview

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Psychiatry

Administrative Titles

  • Co-Director, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Center for Precision Psychiatry & Mental Health

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Gender

  • Male

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Insurance Accepted

Medicare

  • Railroad

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Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MD, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
  • PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine
  • Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University / New York State Psychiatric Institute

Board Certifications

  • Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Research

My research is focused on elucidating the genetic and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying psychiatric and related neurodevelopmental disorders, through a combination of clinical, translational, and fundamental neuroscience approaches, in an effort to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of severe mental illness. Our ongoing work involves genetic discovery studies of psychiatric and related neurodevelopmental disorders, in addition to fundamental neuroscience approaches to investigating the underlying biological mechanisms. More recently, our group has been leveraging machine learning and deep learning approaches for predicting mental health outcomes from genomic sequencing and electronic health records (Clinical Outcome Prediction of Psychosis from EHRs, COPPER). In addition, we have recently launched a large-scale clinical implementation of precision psychiatry in partnership with the New York State Office of Mental Health through an expanded diagnostic workup for individuals with severe mental illness (Advanced Statewide Psychiatric Illness Re-Evaluation, ASPIRE).

Selected Publications

Steenkamp LR, Blok E, Muetzel RL, White T, Hillegers MHJ, Blanken LME, Bolhuis K, Tiemeier H, Kushner SA (2022). Hallucinations and Brain Morphology Across Early Adolescence: A Longitudinal Neuroimaging Study. Biological Psychiatry, 92(10):781-790.

Bolhuis K, Steenkamp LR, Blanken LME, Neumann A, Jansen PR, Hillegers MHJ, Cecil CAM, Tiemeier H, Kushner SA (2022). Schizophrenia polygenic risk is associated with child mental health problems through early childhood adversity: Evidence for a gene-environment correlation. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(3): 529-539.

van Hilten A, Kushner SA, Kayser M, Arfan Ikram M, Adams HHH, Klaver CCW, Niessen WJ, Roshchupkin GV (2021). GenNet framework: interpretable deep learning for predicting phenotypes from genetic data. Communications Biology, 4(1): 1094.

Rao-Ruiz P, Couey JJ, Marcelo IM, Bouwkamp CG, [...], Costa RM, van den Oever M, Kushner SA (2019). Engram- specific transcriptome profiling of contextual memory consolidation. Nature Communications, 10(1): 2232.

Stedehouder J, Brizee D, Slotman JA, Pascual-Garci?a M, Leyrer ML, Bouwen BLJ, Dirven CMF, Gao Z, Berson DM, Houtsmuller AB, Kushner SA (2019). Local axonal morphology guides the topography of cortical interneuron myelination. eLife, 8: e48615.

Avagliano Trezza R, Sonzogni M, Bossuyt SN, [...], Kushner SA, Distel B, Elgersma Y (2019). Loss of nuclear UBE3A causes electrophysiological and behavioral deficits in mice and is associated with Angelman syndrome. Nature Neuroscience, 22(8): 1235-1247.

De Vrij FM, Bouwkamp CG, Gunhanlar N, […], White T, Bonifati V, Kushner SA (2019). Candidate CSPG4 mutations and induced pluripotent stem cell modeling implicate oligodendrocyte progenitor cell dysfunction in familial schizophrenia. Molecular Psychiatry, 24(5): 757-771.

Bouwkamp CG, Afawi Z, Fattal-Valevski A, [...], Vernooij MW, Bonifati V, Kushner SA (2018). ACO2 homozygous missense mutation associated with complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia. Neurology Genetics, 4(2): e223.

Stedehouder J, Brizee D, Shpak G, Kushner SA (2018). Activity-dependent myelination of parvalbumin interneurons mediated by axonal morphological plasticity. Journal of Neuroscience, 38(15): 3631-3642.

Gunhanlar N, Shpak G, van der Kroeg M, […], Gribnau J, de Vrij FM, Kushner SA (2018). A simplified protocol for differentiation of electrophysiologically mature neuronal networks from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Molecular Psychiatry, 23(5): 1336-1344.

Van Esbroeck ACM, Janssen APA, Cognetta AB 3rd, […], Cravatt BF, Kushner SAξ, van der Stelt Mξ (2017). Activity-based protein profiling reveals off-target proteins of the FAAH inhibitor BIA 10-2474. Science, 356(6342): 1084-1087.

Stedehouder J, Couey JJ, Brizee D, Hosseini B, Slotman JA, Dirven CMF, Shpak G, Houtsmuller AB, Kushner SA (2017). Fast-spiking parvalbumin interneurons are frequently myelinated in the cerebral cortex of mice and humans. Cerebral Cortex, 27(10): 5001-5013.

Aleknaviciute J, Tulen JHM, De Rijke YB, Bouwkamp CG, van der Kroeg M, Timmermans M, Wester VL, Bergink V, Hoogendijk WJG, Tiemeier H, van Rossum EFC, Kooiman CG, Kushner SA (2017). The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device potentiates stress reactivity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 80(6): 39-45.

Gouty-Colomer LA, Hosseini B, Marcelo IM, Schreiber J, Slump DE, Yamaguchi S, Houweling AR, Jaarsma D, Elgersma Y, Kushner SA (2016). Arc expression identifies the lateral amygdala fear memory trace. Molecular Psychiatry, 21(3): 364-375.

Bergink V, Armangue T, Titulaer M, Markx S, Dalmau J, Kushner SA (2015). Autoimmune encephalitis in postpartum psychosis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172: 901-908.

Silva-Santos S, van Woerden GM, Bruinsma CF, Mientjes E, Jolfaei MA, Distel B, Kushner SA, Elgersma Y (2015). Ube3a reinstatement identifies distinct treatment windows in Angelman syndrome model mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 125(5): 2069-2076.

Bergink V, Burgerhout KM, Koorengevel KM, Lambregtse-van den Berg MP, Kushner SA (2015). Treatment of psychosis and mania in the postpartum period. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172: 115-123.

Bergink V, Bouvy PF, Vervoort JS, Koorengevel KM, Steegers EA, Kushner SA (2012). Prevention of Postpartum Psychosis and Mania in Women at High Risk. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169: 609-615.

Han JH, Kushner SA, Yiu AP, Hsiang HL, Buch T, Waisman A, Bontempi B, Neve RL, Frankland PW, Josselyn SA (2009). Selective erasure of a fear memory. Science, 323(5920): 1492-1496.

Han JH*, Kushner SA*, Yiu AP, Cole CA, Matynia A, Brown RA, Neve R, Guzowski JF, Silva AJ, Josselyn SA (2007). Neuronal competition and selection during memory formation. Science, 316(5823): 457- 460.

Kushner SA, Elgersma Y, Murphy GG, Jaarsma D, van Woerden GM, Hojjati MR, Cui Y, LeBoutillier JC, Marrone DF, Choi ES, De Zeeuw CI, Petit TL, Pozzo-Miller L, Silva AJ (2005). Modulation of presynaptic plasticity and learning by the H-ras / extracellular signal-regulated kinase / synapsin I signaling pathway. Journal of Neuroscience, 25(42): 9721-34.

Kushner SA, McElgin WT, Kung M-P, Mozley PD, Plo?ssl K, Meegalla SK, Mu M, Dresel S, Vessotskie J, Lexow N, Kung HF (1999). Kinetic Modeling of [99mTc]TRODAT-1: A Novel Compound for Imaging the Dopamine Transporter. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 40(1): 150-158.