Arshya Vahabzadeh

Arshya Vahabzadeh, M.D. (@VahabzadehMD) is a global mental health advocate, a Harvard-trained neuropsychiatrist, and innovator who lives at the intersection of academic medicine and neuro-technological advances. Dr. Vahabzadeh believes that a convergence of clinical neuroscience, data science, and exponential technologies can result in transformational change for global mental health. He is faculty, and the Innovation Officer at the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy, and Chairman of the Council on Communications of the American Psychiatric Association. Furthermore Dr. Vahabzadeh is the Director of Digital Health for Brain Power, a neuro-technology company with a wearable smart glass system for people with autism. Dr. Vahabzadeh is trained in family medicine, psychiatry, and child psychiatry by the Royal College of General Practitioners, Emory University, and Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital respectively. An avid academic scholar, he has been widely published in authoritative texts on cognitive enhancement, neurobiology, neurocircuitry, neuromodulation, and psychopharmacology, and peer-reviewed scientific journals including the American Journal of Psychiatry, The New England Medical Journal, JAMA, Brain Research, Neuropsychiatry, and the Journal of Psychiatric Practice. He is the former editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Psychiatry Residents Journal. He has been an invited event speaker at Harvard Medical School, Health 2.0, Stanford Medicine X, Partners Connected Health Symposium, The Digital Health Summit, Google, MedTechBoston, and Autism Speaks. Over the last five years, he has been the recipient of over 20 national and international awards including the ACP Laughlin Fellowship, the AMA Foundation Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award, and the APA Leadership Fellowship. He has been federally supported through a NIMH/AADPRT BRAIN Scholarship, and a SAMSHA/APA grant focusing on autism. He has been honored as a “40 under 40” healthcare innovator by MedTechBoston, and was one of only ten people globally to win the Khan Academy/American Association of Medical Colleges/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation MCAT Video competition. Dr. Vahabzadeh is also a strong proponent of mental health innovation and education, serving on the advisory board to the Special Needs Network. Additionally, he has written editorials and been featured by numerous media outlets including CNN, Psychology Today, The Huffington Post, APA Healthy Minds, Boston Magazine, MedTechBoston, the Health Care Blog, Medscape, the Atlantic, Psychiatric News, and the Boston Globe. He is also a consultant to Anthem Inc, Khan Academy, the Harvard Innovation Lab, and NeuroLaunch.