Research Areas

From its origins as the Pathological Institute of the New York State Hospitals in 1896 and with its more than 90-year-old affiliation with Columbia University and its partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia Psychiatry is an internationally recognized leader in mental health research, ranking #1 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. In fiscal year 2019, this Department supported 159 investigators with more than $110 million in grants awarded. Our research ranges from studies of molecular structures and brain circuitry to clinical trials that test novel treatments to understanding how to improve mental health care in the community. The goals are to discover how the brain works and what causes normal and abnormal human behavior, to develop new treatments, and to pave the way for preventions and cures for mental illness. Our 12 research areas are outlined below.