Veterans Medical Research Foundation

Sidney Zisook

Credentials: 

• M.D.

Current Position(s): 

•          Research Scientist (WOC), VASDHS

•          Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, UCSD, Psychiatry

•          Director, UCSD Healer Education, Assessment and Referral (HEAR) Program

Personal Statement: 

Sidney Zisook, M.D., is a Research Scientist (WOC) at the San Diego VA Healthcare System, a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD and Director of the University of California, San Diego Healer Education, Assessment and Referral (HEAR) program. Dr. Zisook received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley and his medical degree from Stritch-Loyola, Chicago. He completed his residency in Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and was a clinical fellow of Harvard Medical School. Most recently, he has served as PI on a multi-site NIMH research study assessing treatment of

Complicated Grief, PI on a American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) interventions study

providing grief-focused psychotherapy for individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide, Co-Chair of a

VA Cooperative Study on Treatment Resistant Depression, PI of the John A. Majda MD Memorial Fund

dedicated to facilitating research related to de-stigmatizing physician depression and prevention of physician

suicide. His academic interests include treatment of mood disorders, suicide prevention, bereavement and

psychiatric education.

Professional History:

•  1973 - 1974 Medical Director, Mental Hygiene Consultation Service, Ft. Bliss, TX

•  1974 – 1975 Chief, Inpatient Psychiatry Service, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX

•  1975-1977 Assistant Professor & Director, Outpatient Psychiatric Services, University of Texas Medical School at                            Houston

•  1977 – 1981 Associate Professor, University of Texas Medical School at Houston

•  1981-1995 Associate Professor and Associate Residency Training Director, UC San Diego

•  1981-1995 Director, UC San Diego Outpatient Psychiatric Clinical Research Center

•  1987-2013 Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Diego

•  1995-Pres. Research Scientist, San Diego Veteran Medical Research Foundation

•  1995-Pres. Director, Residency Training Program, UC San Diego

•  2013-Pres. Distinguished Professor, UC San Diego

Education:

• University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA      B.A. 1965

• Stritch-Loyola, Chicago, IL      M.D. 1969

• Michael Reese Medical Center, Chicago, IL 1970

• Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 1973

Honors/Awards:

•  1973 Chief Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital

•  1974 Army Commendation Award

•  1981 Outstanding Journal Award, Academic Psychosomatic Medicine

•  1992 Nancy C.A. Roeske Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Medical Student Education

•  1994 Distinguished Professor Award from Psychiatric Medicine

•  1996 Outstanding Research Article, the Academy of Clinical Psychiatry

•  1999 George Winokur Clinical Research Award

•  2003-Pres America’s “Best” and San Diego’s “Top Doctors’ Awards”

•  2003 San Diego’s Physicians Award of Exceptional Excellence, San Diego County Medical Society

•  2004 San Diego Psychiatric Society Teaching Award

•  2005 UCSD Annual Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching

•  2007 Top 20 Doctor for Men Award from “Men’s Health” magazine

•  2007-Pres. Scientific Review Board of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

•  2014 Best Doctors in America: top 5% of US physicians

•  2015 Honorary Member, Society of Neurology, Psychiatry and Neurosurgery (SONEPSYN), Chile.

 

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