Bio

My path toward psychiatry began early in life, inspired by experiences within my own family that showed me how vital it is for people to feel heard, supported, and cared for.

Before medical school, I worked for several years as an educator in a community mental health program for children and their families. That work taught me the value of therapeutic approaches and the importance of tailoring care to each person. With a strong foundation in the biological sciences, I decided that understanding the human body was critical to providing the best mental health care.

While earning my MD at SUNY Upstate Medical University, I became interested in how research could directly improve patient care. I then completed psychiatry residency and chief residency at Zucker Hillside Hospital/Northwell Health, one of the nation’s leading centers for psychiatric research and treatment. I gained broad experience working with diverse patients and learned how to translate scientific advances into everyday practice. This foundation guided my work as a faculty member at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine. There, I led academic initiatives and mentored trainees, while also contributing to research on psychosis, treatment-resistant illness, and recovery-focused models of care.

These experiences deepened my commitment to combining the best available research with clinical expertise and each patient’s values. They continue to ground the way I work with patients. I stay informed by the latest data, critically evaluate which treatments are most likely to help, and adapt them thoughtfully to each individual I work with.