General Psychiatry Residency Program

Research in Residency

Brown offers outstanding research training opportunities for psychiatry residents.

Research in Residency

Brown offers outstanding research training opportunities for psychiatry residents.

The Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior provides outstanding research training opportunities for our psychiatry residents. Residents train alongside faculty mentors who conduct cutting-edge research on the causes, mechanisms, and novel treatments for a range of psychiatric conditions. We are known for our collaborative spirit, accessibility, dedication to launching successful research careers, and commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Brown is one of a small number of departments in the country with a R25 grant funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The R25 training goal is to lay the foundation for a successful independent research career through mentored research opportunities and training during residency. The NIMH R25 funding allows for substantial protected research time for selected residents. 

There are also excellent opportunities for residents who are interested in research experiences outside of the R25 through five federally-funded research training fellowships (T32s).

Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

The Brown Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (DPHB) has a long record of outstanding research training and excellence. With more than 140 academic track faculty members and $67 million in externally sponsored research, the department offers a wealth of opportunities through cutting-edge programs in clinical, basic, and translational research. The development and testing of novel treatments (psychosocial, behavioral, pharmacotherapy and device-based, including neuromodulation approaches) is a particular strength, as is research using technological approaches to study behavior, exposures, and symptoms, and develop effective interventions.

We engage community partners in our research to ensure that the design and execution are relevant and accessible to the people the work is intended to help, and we provide educational opportunities and clinical resources for the community. Expertise in both quantitative and qualitative methods allow sophisticated study design and analysis, and our Dissemination and Implementation Core provides guidance on translating and scaling up evidence-based findings into clinical practice.

Research on psychiatric conditions includes studies of Alzheimer’s disease, suicide, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance use disorders, and women’s mental health, among other domains and disorders. Behavioral medicine research investigates the relationships between behavioral, psychosocial, and biological pathways to prevent and treat psychiatric disorders and a wide variety of health conditions including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and asthma. Developmental work includes basic behavioral studies and research on risk and vulnerability, including biological predispositions and environmental risk and protective factors. Our department also conducts laboratory studies in basic neuroscience in such areas as Alzheimer’s disease and the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying autism.  For more information see the research conducted in our Research Centers, and by individual faculty members, and browse our Research Core Facilities and affiliated research resources.

Research Centers

Our faculty research centers foster new knowledge across the spectrum of mental health disorders.
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Research Core Facilities and Resources

Brown Psychiatry and Human Behavior's research infrastructure supports faculty and trainees as they pursue basic and translational discoveries in mental health.

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Research Affiliates

Brown Psychiatry and Human Behavior faculty lead, and collaborate with, numerous core facilities, programs, institutes, and centers at Brown and its affiliated hospitals.
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Research Opportunities for Residents

NIMH Research Training Program

Residents train alongside faculty mentors who conduct cutting-edge research on the causes, mechanisms, and novel treatments for a range of psychiatric conditions.