Judson Alyn Brewer, MD/PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry; Medical Director, Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic
Biographical Info
I received my MD/PhD from Washington University in St.
Louis, where my thesis work focused on molecular mechanisms of stress hormone
regulation of the immune system using conditional knockout mouse models. After training in mindfulness meditation during medical and graduate school, I shifted my focus from animal models of stress, to the elucidation of
neurobiological mechanisms underlying the interface between stress, mindfulness
and the addictive process, and in developing effective means for the modulation
of these processes to better treat substance use disorders. Additionally, my laboratory is interested in improving
methods to assay mindfulness practice and acquisition. We are working to
delineate brain activation patterns during specific meditation techniques, and
to link these to physiological and behavioral measures. Ultimately, we hope to
be able to use this knowledge to not only more accurately measure
neurophysiological correlates of mindfulness, but to improve mindfulness
acquisition, leading to directly measurable effects on health outcomes.
Education & Training
- M.D.
- Washington University School of Medicine(2004)
- Ph.D.
- Washington University School of Medicine(2004)
- B.A.
- Princeton University(5/1996)
- Resident
- Yale University School of Medicine, Psychiatry
Honors & Recognition
- Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Fellow for excellence in research
Washington University School of Medicine (2002) - College on Problems of Drug Dependence Early Career Investigator Award
College on Problems of Drug Dependence (2008) - Seymour L. Lustman Research Award for distinction in research during residency
Yale University School of Medicine (2008)
