Bio

I graduated summa cum laude with a dual MD/PhD degree from Semmelweis University in 2013. As a neuroscience PhD fellow I worked for the SCHIZOBANK initiative of Richter Gedeon Pharmaceutical, the co-creator of second generation antipsychotic cariprazine, approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in 2015. In my role as a PhD fellow I learned to use a variety of psychiatric clinical diagnostic interviews, as well as neurological and psychiatric rating scales, ultimately developing an interest in evidence-based, measurement-based and precision psychiatry. In this role I also studied the psychiatric manifestations of mitochondrial and other rare neurogenetic disorders and published findings in a variety of peer-reviewed journals. 

I completed my general adult psychiatry residency at The Zucker Hillside Hospital/ Northwell Health system in New York as a research track resident. As one of the 4 national NIH research centers for schizophrenia, the program provided in-depth training not only in general adult psychiatry but also in ECT, clozapine, perinatal psychiatry, cultural psychiatry and other, more specialized areas of the field. During my residency I published in top peer-reviewed journals including JAMA Psychiatry as well as the American Journal of Psychiatry. I also wrote for popular outlets such as MSN.com, Psychology Today, Reader’s Digest and Talkspace. 

After graduation in 2017 I stayed on faculty with Northwell as an Attending Psychiatrist for Emergency, Consultation/Liaison and Geriatric Psychiatry. An avid fan of talk therapy, I was on faculty as a Visiting Scientist at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research between 2017-2020 where I worked on creating evidence-based online psychotherapy programs.  I also completed courses with the Institute of Functional Medicine which shaped my view of the body-mind connection.

In 2018, I founded an innovative telepsychiatry group practice, Pearl Behavioral Health, providing accessible, affordable, quality mental health services to residents of New York City, directly to their homes, paving the way for the Covid-19 pandemic-triggered telehealth “explosion”.  Pearl won the Innovations in Healthcare Award by Long Island Business News in 2018. In 2019, in collaboration with Castle Connolly Private Health Partners present in 7 states, a unique concierge model was rolled out to provide access to same-day behavioral health services to the concierge clientele of CCPHP. Pearl Behavioral Health enrolled several thousand clients and got acquired by LifeStance Health in 2020 where I subsequently managed a caseload of about 700 clients for 2.5 years. In 2023- I was offered to lead the Mental Health service line (Nurx.com) of highly successful virtual specialty care startup Thirty Madison that serves about 1 million clients across the US.

I enjoy being at the forefront of innovation, having done video psychiatry even before the pandemic and developing asynchronous (texting) psychiatry now that is still very much of a trailblazing.

I welcome patients 18 years old and up, from all walks of life.

Please note, according to telehealth regulations and licensure requirements, you must be in located in the states of New York or South Carolina for all your appointments with me.