Jeffrey Lieberman

Jeffrey A. Lieberman
Born	1948
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	George Washington University Medical School, Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
Known for	Schizophrenia research, NIMH CATIE study
Children	2 sons
Awards	Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research from the National Association for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders; the Adolph Meyer Award from the American Psychiatric Association; the Research Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the Neuroscience Award from the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Scientific career
Fields	Psychiatry
Institutions	American Psychiatric Association, Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Hillside Hospital of Long Island Jewish Medical Center

Jeffrey Alan Lieberman is an American psychiatrist, physician and scientist chiefly known for his research into treatments for schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. He is an innovator of strategies for early detection and preventive intervention. Utilizing pharmacology, neuroimaging and genetics, he examines the pathophysiology and treatment of such illnesses to reduce their burden on individuals, their families and society.

Lieberman is a leader in his field, as well as a public spokesperson and advocate for increased research and improved treatments for mental illness. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book, SHRINKS: The Untold Story of Psychiatry (Little, Brown and Company, 2015) which was named an "Editor's Choice" by the New York Times at the time of publication. His leadership positions at numerous professional organizations include President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2013–14).

Since 2005, Lieberman has been the Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chair of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; and Director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute; and Psychiatrist-in-Chief of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center.

Professional Activities

Research into Early Detection and Intervention of Schizophrenia and Related Psychotic Disorders

Dr. Lieberman’s research on the natural history, pathophysiology and treatment of first episode psychosis, which began in the mid-1980’s, was instrumental in leading to the early detection and intervention strategies that resulted in seminal programs supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), including Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) and the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS). His research has also led to innovative clinical programs such as the Australian Youth Mental Health Initiative developed by Patrick McGorry and the OnTrackNY and OnTrackUSA Programs of the NYS Office of Mental Health directed by Lisa Dixon.

Research into Treatments for Schizophrenia

Clozapine

Dr. Lieberman was involved in the early development of the antipsychotic drug developed in the late 1980's: Clozapine. His contributions led to fundamental knowledge regarding the drug's efficacy in treating illnesses such as psychosis (ie., lack of superior efficacy in first episode psychosis and severe tardive dyskinesia neurological disorder resulting from long-term use of neuroleptic drugs and characterized by repetitive involuntary movements), and the genetic basis of vulnerability to the potentially fatal side effect, agranulocytosis (a deficiency in the blood resulting in increased vulnerability to infection).

CATIE Study

Dr. Lieberman was the principal investigator for the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) study—the largest study ever funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (1999 to 2009). In search of improved treatments for schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, it was designed to both examine existing drug therapies for psychoses and compare the effectiveness of existing typical antipsychotic drugs versus a new class of atypical antipsychotic drugs.

Experimental Medicine

Currently, Dr. Lieberman is the principal investigator of the NIMH-funded Fast-Fail Trials in Psychotic Spectrum Disorders (FAST-PS)—a study designed to develop novel therapeutic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia. Prior to this study, he carried out research on new medications intended to enhance the efficacy of pharmacologic treatments (e.g., alpha 7 nicotinic agonist and Dopamine receptor (D-1) agonist new molecular entities).

Clinical Services

Throughout his career Dr. Lieberman has been clinically active, directly providing and overseeing the care of patients with mental disorders. For this, he has received Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards from NAMI and has repeatedly been listed as one of America’s Best Doctors. In 2015, his employer, New York Presbyterian Hospital, was ranked #1 in Psychiatry by U.S. News and World Report.

DSM-5

As President of the APA, Dr. Lieberman presided over the completion and launch of DSM-5—the 2013 update to the encyclopedic medical reference guide set out to classify and diagnose mental disorders—and actively contributed to government policy and legislation including the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.

In the Media

Treatment Advocacy

Published by Little, Brown and Company in March 2015, SHRINKS (his critically acclaimed book intended for general audiences) offers an accurate unvarnished history of psychiatry—long questioned as to its credibility as a bona fide specialty within the realm of medicine. The book reveals compelling case studies of patients, vivid portraits of charlatans and ideologues who have misled the field, and the luminaries who challenged the status quo, drove progress and brought scientific legitimacy to the field. The book serves as an urgent call-to-arms in defense of treating mental illness as a physiological disease rather than simply a state of mind, while appealing to a diverse audience base.

Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon, hailed the work "a masterful behind-the-scenes examination of psychiatry—and, by extension, the human condition... [a] wise and gripping book that tackles one of the most important questions of our time: what is mental illness?”

Siddartha Mukherjee, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Emperor of All Maladies, described SHRINKS as "[a]n astonishing book: honest, sober, exciting, and humane. Lieberman writes with the authority of an expert, but with the humility of a doctor who has learned to treat the most profound and mysterious forms of mental illnesses. ... This book brings you to the very forefront of one of the most amazing medical journeys of our time."

Reviews by leading book critics at The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post and Kirkus were similarly laudatory.

In November 2015, Dr. Lieberman delivered a TEDx Talk on “What If There Was No Stigma to Mental Illness”.

Dr. Lieberman has appeared on 60 Minutes, CBS This Morning, Charlie Rose, PBS’s Nightly News, NPR's Weekend Edition, NBC's The Today Show with Matt Lauer to discuss the controversial idea of a real-life "Limitless" and FOX News' Gray Matters Mission ("Solving the Mystery Behind Drain Disorders") with Martha MacCallum and Patrick Kennedy, among other outlets, to discuss his work as well as current topics/news items that intersect with mental illness, mental health care and psychiatry.

Information on Dr. Lieberman can be found in his personal and professional websites, on Facebook and Twitter (@DrJlieberman).

Skeptics and Critics

Dr. Lieberman's visibility as leading expert and spokesperson for the field of psychiatry and mental health care led to inevitable scrutiny within his profession and the public at large. His response was that all of his activities—and specifically those involving his interaction as an academic scientist with the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies (interactions which are indispensable to the progress in therapeutics) -- comply with university and government policies and are reviewed regularly by an institutional Ethics Advisory Board.

Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI)

As of June 2013, as disclosed in Annals of Internal Medicine, the British Journal of Psychiatry, and JAMA, Lieberman’s disclosure of financial conflict of interest is on file with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). ICMJE disclosure and review includes FCOI categories: research grants/industry ties, consulting and honorarium, participation in Data Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMB), provision of research meds or equipment, writing/royalties, administrative support, expert testimony, speakers bureaus, patents, stocks and stock options, travel.

A note on "competing interests" for contributors to hisEssentials of Schizophrenia (2011) stated that Lieberman received no direct financial compensation for his research, consulting and advisory board activities other than Intra-Cellular Therapies.

In May 2013, Dr. Lieberman accepted an invitation from Scientific American to contribute a guest blog on DSM-5. In it, he challenged the small but virulent "anti-psychiatry" movement, who “are against the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses--which improves, and in some cases saves, millions of lives every year--and "against" the very idea of psychiatry, and its practices of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.”….“Like most prejudice, this one is largely based on ignorance or fear-no different than racism, or society's initial reactions to illnesses from leprosy to AIDS.” ….“We have, as a nation, aggressively taken on racism, sexism, homophobia and other prejudices. Perhaps the occasion of this new DSM revision (and in the aftermath of the passage of the Mental Health and Addiction Parity Act) is the right time to grapple with the prejudice against mental illness and its caretakers--which every day makes it a little harder for people suffering from mental illnesses to live their lives, and makes it harder for those of us who treat mental illnesses to do our jobs.”

In response to his article psychiatry critic, Judy Stone, responded.

Criticism

Writing in her blog at Scientific American, Judy Stone called Lieberman "self-promotional and condescending" in his guest blog. She also claimed that Lieberman was responsible for ethical breaches in the CAFE study, funded by AstraZeneca, which caused the death of Dan Markingson who was enrolled in that study by the University of Minnesota.

Such claims were entirely without merit. The CATIE study was a landmark investigation that the demonstrated the comparative and cost effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs devoid of the marketing spin of pharmaceutical companies. In the Comparison of Atypicals in First Episode Psychosis (CAFÉ) study, the circumstances of the tragic death of Dan Markingson were specific to the University of Minnesota site and bore no relationship to the overall study or its principal investigators.

On December 15, 2014, Scientific American eliminated Judy Stone's blog, which was announced as a re-organization.

Background, Education and Post-Graduate Training

Jeffrey Alan Lieberman was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Cleveland Heights High School, where he played varsity football and basketball. On a football scholarship, he attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, graduating in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

He went on to George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, where he received his medical degree in 1975. His postgraduate training included an internship and residency in psychiatry at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center of New York Medical College, and a research fellowship at the Bronx Psychiatric Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Professional Positions Held

[1980-1982]: Director, Day Hospital Programs in the Ambulatory Psychiatry Service, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.

[1982-1990]: Research Psychiatrist, Hillside Hospital division of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, NY.

[1985-1995]: Faculty appointments leading to Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

[1990-1995]: Director of Research and Co-Director of the Mental Health Clinical Research Center, Hillside Hospital division of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, NY.

[1995-2005]: Thad and Alice Eure Distinguished Professor and Vice Chairman for Scientific Affairs of the Department of Psychiatry, and Director of the Mental Health and Neuroscience Clinical Research Center and Director for the Division of Clinical Research at the Dorothea Dix Hospital, Raleigh, NC.

[2005–Present]: Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman of the Psychiatry Department at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Psychiatrist-in-Chief of New York Presbyterian Hospital -‐ Columbia University Medical Center New York, NY.

Honors, Awards and Memberships

2013-2014 President, American Psychiatric Association (APA)
2011 Scientific Research Award, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
2010 Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2007 Adolph Meyer Award, American Psychiatric Association
2007 The George Washington University’s Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award
2006 Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research, NARSAD
2004-2005 President, Society of Biological Psychiatry
2000-2004 National Advisory Mental Health Council, National Institute of Mental Health
2000 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine
2000 Stanley Dean Award, Schizophrenia Research, American College of Psychiatry
2000 Ziskind-Somerfield Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry
2000 Kempf Fund Award, Research in Psychobiological Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association

Publications

Dr. Lieberman has authored or co-authored over 600 papers and articles published in scientific literature. In addition, he has written or edited 11 books on mental illness, psychopharmacology and psychiatry. Some representative citations and titles follow.

Bargmann CI, Lieberman JA: What the BRAIN initiative means for psychiatry. Am J Psychiatry 2014; 171(10):1038-1040.

Schobel SA, Chaudhury NH, Khan UA, Paniagua B, Styner MA, Asllani I, Inbar BP, Corcoran CM, Lieberman JA, Moore H, Small SA: Imaging patients with psychosis and a mouse model establishes a spreading pattern of hippocampal dysfunction and implicates glutamate as a driver. Neuron 2013; 78(1):81-93.

Miyamoto S, Miyake N, Jarskog LF, Fleischhacker WW, Lieberman JA: Pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia: a critical review of the pharmacology and clinical effects of current and future therapeutic agents. Molecular Psychiatry 2012; 12:1206-1227.

Girgis RR, Phillips MR, Li X, Li K, Jiang H, Wu C, Duan N, Niu Y, Lieberman JA: Clozapine v. chlorpromazine in treatment-naïve, first-episode schizophrenia: 9 year follow-up results from a randomized clinical trial. Br J Psychiatry 2011; 199(4):281-288.

Lieberman JA, Stroup TS: The NIMH-CATIE schizophrenia study: what did we learn? Am J Psychiatry 2011; 168(8):770-775.

Lieberman JA, Stroup TS, McEvoy JP, Swartz MS, Rosenheck RA, Perkins DO, Keefe RS, Davis SM, Davis CE, Lebowitz BD, Severe J, Hsiao JK: Effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs in patients with chronic schizophrenia. New England Journal of Medicine 2005; 353(12):1209-1223.

Lieberman Ja, Tollefson Gd, Charles C, Zipursky R, Sharma T, Kahn Rs, Keefe Rs, Green Ai, Gur Re, Mcevoy J, Perkins D, Hamer Rm, Gu H, Tohen M: Antipsychotic Drug Effects On Brain Morphology In First-Episode Psychosis. Archives Of General Psychiatry 2005; 62(4):361-370.

Volavka J, Czobor P, Sheitman B, Lindenmayer JP, Citrome L, McEvoy J, Cooper T, Chakos M, Lieberman JA: Clozapine, Olanzapine, Risperidone, and Haloperidol in patients with chronic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 2002; 159(2):255-262.

Lieberman JA, Chakos M, Wu H, Alvir J, Hoffman E, Robinson D, Bilder R: Longitudinal study of brain morphology in first episode schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry 2001; 49(6): 487-499.

Lieberman JA, Perkins D, Belger A, Chakos M, Jarskog F, Boteva K, Gilmore J: The early stages of schizophrenia: Speculations on pathogenesis, pathophysiology and therapeutic approaches. Biological Psychiatry 2001; 50(11):884-897.

Bilder RM, Goldman RS, Robinson D, Reiter G, Bell L, Bates JA, Pappadopulos E, Wilson DF, Alvir JM, Woerner MG, Geisler S, Kane JM, Lieberman JA: Neuropsychology of first-episode schizophrenia: Initial characterization an clinical correlates. American Journal of Psychiatry 2000; 157(4):549-559.

Lewis DA, Lieberman JA: Catching up on schizophrenia: Natural history and neurobiology. Neuron 2000; 28:325-334.

Lieberman JA, Fenton WS: Delayed detection of psychosis: Causes, consequences, effect on public health. American Journal of Psychiatry 2000; 157:1727-1734.

Lieberman JA: Is schizophrenia a neurodegenerative disorder? A clinical and neurobiological perspective. Biological Psychiatry 1999; 46(6):729-739.

Robinson DG, Woerner MG, Alvir JMa.J, Bilder R, Goldman R, Geisler S, Koreen A, Sheitman B, Chakos M, Mayerhoff D, Lieberman JA: Predictors of relapse following response from a first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry 1999; 56(3):241-247.

Robinson DG, Woerner MG, Alvir JMa.J, Geisler S. Koreen A, Sheitman B, Chakos M, Mayerhoff D, Bilder R, Goldman R, Lieberman JA: Predictors of treatment response from a first episode of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 1999; 156(4):544-549.

Lieberman JA, Sheitman B, Kinon BJ: Neurochemical sensitization in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia: Deficits and dysfunction in neuronal regulation and plasticity. Neuropsychopharmacology 1997; 17(4):205-229.

Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Gatley SJ, Ding YS, Logan J, Dewey SL, Hitzemann R, Lieberman J: Relationship between psychostimulant induced high and dopamine transporter occupancy. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences 1996; 93:10388-10392.

Chakos MH, Lieberman JA, Alvir J, Bilder R, Ashtari M: Caudate nuclei volumes in schizophrenic patients treated with typical antipsychotics or clozapine. The Lancet 1995; 345(8947):456-457.

Corzo D, Yunis JJ, Salazar M, Lieberman JA, Howard A, Awdeh Z, Alper CA, Yunis EJ: The major histocompatibility complex region marked by HSP70-1 and HSP70-2 variants is associated with clozapine-induced agranulocytosis in two different ethnic groups. Blood 1995; 86(10):3835-3840.

Chakos MH, Lieberman JA, Bilder RM, Lerner G, Bogerts B, Degreef G, Wu H, Ashtari M: Increased caudate nuclei volumes of first episode schizophrenics taking antipsychotic drugs. American Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 151(10): 1430-1436.

Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Logan J, Schyler D, Hitzemann R, Lieberman J, Angrist B, Papas N, Mac Gregor R, Burr G, Cooper T, Wolf AP: Imaging endogenous dopamine competition with (11C) raclopride in the human brain. Synapse 1994; 16:255-262.

Alvir JMJ, Lieberman JA, Safferman AZ, Schwimmer JL, Schaaf JA: Clozapine induced agranulocytosis: Incidence and risk factors in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine 1993; 329:162-167

Bogerts B, Lieberman JA, Ashtari M, Bilder R, Degreef G, Lerner G, Johns C, Masiar S: Hippocampus-amygdala volumes and psychopathology in chronic schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry 1993; 33(4):236-246.

Loebel AD, Lieberman JA, Alvir JMJ, Mayerhoff DI, Geisler SH, Szymanski SR: Duration of psychosis and outcome in first episode schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 1992; 149:1183-1188.

Lieberman JA, Saltz BL, Johns CA, Pollack S, Borenstein M: Effects of Clozapine on Tardive Dyskinesia. British Journal of Psychiatry 1991;158:503-510.

Lieberman JA, Yunis J, Egea E, Kane JM, Yunis EJ: HLA-B38, DR4, DQW3 and Clozapine Induced Agranulocytosis in Jewish Patients with Schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry 1990; 47:945-948.

Books

Tasman A, Kay J, Lieberman JA, First MB, Riba MB (eds.), Psychiatry, Two Volumes, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., West Sussex, UK, 2015.

Lieberman JA, Murray R (eds.): Comprehensive Care of Schizophrenia: A Textbook of Treatment, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA, 2012.

Stroup TS, Lieberman JA (eds.): Antipsychotic Trials of Schizophrenia: The CATIE Project, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 2010.

Lieberman JA, Stroup TS, Perkins DO (eds.): Textbook of Schizophrenia, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., Washington, DC, USA, 2006.

Pincus HA, Lieberman JA, Ferris S (eds.): Ethical Issues in Psychiatric Research: A Resource Manual on Human Subjects Protection, American Psychiatric Press, Inc., Washington, DC, USA, 1998.

Personal life

He resides with his wife and two sons in New York City.

Sources

• Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
• New York State Psychiatric Institute
• Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center
• Faculty Profile for Jeffrey A. Lieberman, M.D.