Research

The tradition at UC San Diego, both on the general campus and within the medical school, is that of academic excellence. The Department of Psychiatry shares in this tradition of excellence in research. We have established world class scientific programs in basic and clinical neuroscience, mood and affect disorders, panic and anxiety disorders, alcoholism and substance abuse, molecular genetics, cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology, AIDS research, schizophrenia, psychopharmacology and neuropsychoendocrinology to highlight a few of our research programs. The UCSD Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is closely associated with a large NIMH Clinical Research Center Program in Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC) located at Children's Hospital. A complete description of research opportunities and ongoing research projects within CASRC is included on the website www.casrc.org. Faculty within the division have diverse research interests including mental health services research, resilience, traumatic brain injury, autism and developmental disorders, substance abuse, mood disorders, psychosis, maternal depression, mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD as well clinical psychopharmacology in children and adolescents. Residents in our program have the unique opportunity to collaborate with our nationally recognized faculty as they develop and pursue their individual research projects. Resident projects are presented during Psychiatry Grand Rounds and can be presented in a department-wide housestaff competition for the annual Chairman's Prize for Research. A research track has been developed for qualified residents who wish to participate in child and adolescent psychiatric research throughout their training.