Anissa Abi-Dargham, M.D.

Dr. Anissa Abi-Dargham is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University, where she serves as Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. She completed her medical degree at St. Joseph University in Beirut, followed by a residency in Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee and fellowships at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Yale School of Medicine focusing on neuropathology and brain imaging. Dr. Abi-Dargham specializes in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging to investigate severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and addiction.

Dr. Abi-Dargham’s research has helped advance the understanding of dopamine transmission’s role in these disorders, including contributions to the development of preclinical animal models and translational studies. Her work highlights the complexities of dopamine interactions in the brain, particularly how alterations affect perception and contribute to psychosis. She has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has secured numerous grants, including from NIMH and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Currently, she is the principal investigator on several major studies, including investigations into cholinergic systems and the effects of deep transcranial magnetic stimulation on smoking behavior in schizophrenia.

Dr. Abi-Dargham has also held significant academic positions, including Associate Vice President for Clinical and Translational Science at Stony Brook University and President of ACNP. She has received multiple honors, including the Paul Hoch Distinguished Service Award, the Lieber award for Outstanding Research in Schizophrenia from the Brain and Behavior foundation and was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine.