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The Anxiety Disorders Clinic (ADC) is an established clinical research facility located in New York City at the Columbia University Medical Center. The ADC staff consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, a research nurse, a receptionist, research assistants, and a data management team. Founded in 1982, the Anxiety Disorders Clinic was the first in the nation devoted to research and treatment of anxiety problems. For more information about our center, click here or call #212-543-5367. For directions to our center, click here---- or call #212-543-5367.
 Helen Blair Simpson, MD, PHD--Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic (ADC) and OCD Research Program |
 Blair Simpson is Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic (ADC) and OCD Research Program in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is also an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the College of Physician and Surgeons at Columbia University and an Attending Psychiatrist at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
After graduating from Yale College with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Dr. Simpson entered the MD-PhD program at The Rockefeller University/Cornell University Medical College. For her PhD, she worked on the brain basis of bird song vocalizations in the laboratory of Dr. Fernando Nottebohm. After completing the MD-PhD program, she entered and completed the internship and residency in psychiatry at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
Since 1996, Dr. Simpson has worked in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, first as a NIMH Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Liebowitz and now as an independent researcher and Director of the OCD Research Program. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health and private foundations such as the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD). Her interdisciplinary work ranges from clinical trials comparing the effects of medication and therapy in OCD to brain imaging studies examining the brain basis of OCD. The goal of her work is to improve the outcome of patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
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| Michael Liebowitz, MD |
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 Michael R. Liebowitz MD is the former director of the ADC. Having conducted many clinical trials at the forefront of OCD treatment, he is now an active collaborator and consultant to the ocd program.
Dr. Liebowitz was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale College and earned a doctor of medicine degree from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. He completed an internship and medical residency at Harlem Hospital in New York and psychiatric residencies at Medical Center Hospital of Vermont and New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Dr. Liebowitz holds memberships in the American Psychopathological Association, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, the Anxiety Disorder Association of America Scientific Advisory Board, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Psychiatric Research Society and the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Liebowitz is also Managing Director of The Medical Research Network LLC, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders and Anxiety. Dr. Liebowitz has published numerous journal articles, books, and chapters on topics in psychiatry.
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| Michael Maher, Ph.D. |
 Michael Maher, PhD is a Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at NYSPI, Columbia University Medical Center. He is currently working on studies of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which examine the use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for those on medication, the use of motivational enhancement therapy to improve treatment outcome, and brain regions associated with OCD and treatment outcome. This work has in common the goal of improving treatments for those who suffer from OCD. Additional interests include the use of mindfulness meditation to enhance treatment as well as methods to improve the training and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders.
Dr. Maher has lectured on the neurobiology and treatment of anxiety disorders to undergraduates and doctoral students in psychology as well as to medical residents in psychiatry. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from Rutgers University and has received training in cognitive behavioral therapies from a range of experts that include Dr. Edna Foa and colleagues, Dr. Terry Wilson, Dr. Bill Sanderson, Dr. Alec Miller, Dr. Gail Steketee, and Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Dr. Maher maintains a private practice in New York City where he specializes in the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders, OCD, and health related anxiety. |
| Rena Staub, B.A. |
 Rena Staub is the Research Assistant for the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Team at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is responsible for the management of all of the studies run by the OCD research team. Before joining the team, Rena received a B.A. from Barnard College, at Columbia University, with a major in American Studies and a minor in Psychology. Rena is thrilled for this opportunity to contribute to clinical research and develop her understanding of anxiety disorders. She looks forward to continue her education in a Ph.D. program
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| Anthony Pinto, Ph.D |
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Anthony Pinto, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the recipient of a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Pinto plans to use this funding to further understanding of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), beginning with the exploration of its phenomenology and neurocognition, and moving toward the development of treatments for the disorder. He is also particularly interested in elucidating the relationship of OCPD to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, Dr. Pinto has been involved in several NIMH-funded studies of OCD which examine the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for those on medication, the use of motivational enhancement therapy to improve treatment outcome, and brain regions associated with OCD and treatment outcome. Dr. Pinto has studied the symptom subtypes of OCD, the course of the disorder, and the phenomenology/treatment of related spectrum conditions such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. In the area of personality disorders, he is a contributor to the 10-year collaborative longitudinal study of personality disorders (CLPS).
Dr. Pinto was formerly on the research faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School for five years. He served as Research Psychologist in the OCD Program at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island where he was a co-investigator on NIMH studies of OCD, including a 10-year longitudinal study of the disorder, a multi-site genetics study, as well as an innovative treatment study for refractory cases applying deep brain stimulation. In addition to research, Dr. Pinto has a passion for teaching. He taught undergraduate statistics as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Hofstra University and psychopathology to advanced undergraduates and graduate students as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Connecticut College. |
| Carolyn Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D. |
Dr. Rodriguez is a NIMH Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Blair Simpson. Her
research focus is developing novel treatment strategies for patients suffering from OCD
by integrating neuroscience with clinical research.
After graduating from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science,
Dr. Rodriguez entered the MD-PhD program at Harvard Medical School. For her PhD, she
developed novel genetic techniques to track neuronal migration in the laboratory of Dr.
Susan Dymecki. After completing the MD-PhD program, she entered and completed the
internship and residency in psychiatry at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
During her residency, she was honored with the NIMH Outstanding Resident Award and
elected chief resident by her peers and faculty. She was also selected as a Laughlin
Fellow from The American College of Psychiatrists, Career Development Institute for
Psychiatry Fellow, and was awarded the prestigious Barbara Anne Liskin Prize from
Columbia University Medical Center for her leadership in clinical, research, teaching,
and community service.
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| James Bender Jr., Psy.D. |
James Bender Jr., Psy.D. is a Research Project Manager in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He currently participates in several National Institute of Mental Health-funded studies of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) examining the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and alternative medication treatments to improve outcome, and studying brain regions associated with OCD and treatment outcome. Dr. Bender maintains a private practice in New York City where he specializes in cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and mood
disorders
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