July 29, 2014 - Clinical Psychologist Nehal Vadhan, PhD joined the full-time faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University as a Research Assistant Professor on July 1, 2014. He is an accomplished researcher and a clinician, who spends half his time conducting research in the Center for Understanding Biology using Imaging Technology (CUBIT) and half providing clinical services in the outpatient department. He has been on the part-time faculty of CUBIT since March 6.
Dr. Vadhan’s expertise centers around substance abuse and comorbid psychiatric disorders. For the past decade he has been investigating the neuropsychology of substance use and psychosis as a faculty member at Columbia University and as a research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He was the principal investigator on a NIDA K01 award titled “Neuropsychological Effects of Binge-Smoked Cocaine”, a NARSAD Young Investigator Award titled “Acute Subjective and Neurocognitive Effects of Smoked Marijuana in Prodromal Psychosis,” and an Irving Scholars Award on “Decision-making and Reward Sensitivity in Cocaine Abusers.”
As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Vadhan specializes in neuropsychological evaluation of adults and children, and in the treatment of substance abuse disorders using cognitive behavioral therapy. His masters and PhD from Hofstra University are in Clinical and School Psychology. He completed a school psychology internship at West Islip High School and a clinical psychology internship at Hillside Hospital. He also has expertise in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and learning disabilities, as well as co-occurring psychiatric and neurological disorders.
At Stony Brook, Dr. Vadhan is assisting with the department’s on-going imaging studies of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, interviewing subjects and will begin analyzing data with Dr. Parsey to discern if the scan data of participants who abuse substances differ from those who do not.
“Dr. Vadhan’s research and clinical expertise will help us meet the demand for services for people with co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse disorders,” said Kristie Golden, PhD, Associate Director of Operations for the Neurosciences, “and his presence in the outpatient department will enhance our residency training program.” Pointing to the alarming rise in the abuse of heroin on Long Island and throughout the state, Dr. Golden described Dr. Vadhan’s appointment as “a tremendous opportunity for Stony Brook to work with local programs to contribute to the field of addiction medicine.”