Rachel Yehuda, PhD
- PROFESSOR | Psychiatry
- PROFESSOR | Neuroscience
Research Topics:
Behavioral Health, Brain, Brain Imaging, Epidemiology, Epigenetics, Gene Expressions, Gene Regulation, Hormones, Lymphocytes, MRI, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Memory, Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, Positron Emission Tomography, Stress, Translation, TraumaRachel Yehuda, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, is the Director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research. She is also Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine which includes the PTSD clinical research program and the Neurochemistry and Neuroendocrinology laboratory at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Yehuda is a recognized leader in the field of traumatic stress studies. She has authored more than 450 published papers, chapters, and books in the field of traumatic stress and the neurobiology of PTSD. Her current interests include the study of risk and resilience factors, psychological and biological predictors of treatment response in PTSD, genetic and epigenetic studies of PTSD and the intergenerational transmission of trauma and PTSD. She has an active federally-funded clinical and research program that welcomes local and international students and clinicians.
Dr. Yehuda's research on cortisol and brain function has revolutionized the understanding and treatment of PTSD worldwide and has been awarded the renowned Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry (Munich, Germany) 2004 Guest Professorship. The appointment signifies a special recognition of the outstanding research she has been performing in the field of neuroscience in the context of studies on causality of psychiatric disorders over the years. In 2019, Dr. Yehuda was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her seminal contributions to understanding the psychological and biological impact of traumatic stress.
Dr. Yehuda received her PhD in Psychology and Neurochemistry and her MS in Biological Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and completed her postdoctoral training in Biological Psychiatry in the Psychiatry Department at Yale Medical School.
Multi-Disciplinary Training Area
Neuroscience [NEU]Many of our programs are funded by national agencies such as the National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Our programs are designed to gain a better scientific understanding of the biology of stress reactions, and how to treat them better. Through this funded research we have been able to gain a better understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and stress responses.
Stress Response
When confronted with extreme stress, the body initiates many chemical reactions to facilitate a quick escape from stress. The amygdala is the brain region that alerts the body to danger and activates hormonal systems. Activation of the hormones noradrenaline and adrenaline results in accelerated breathing, pulse, and heart rate, and increased release of energy to muscles and other organs, which literally helps people run faster from stress or mobilize a response that requires coping with the stressor head-on. Once the immediate danger has passed, other hormones, particularly the hormone cortisol, help terminate stress-activated reactions. Usually, the more stress there is, the more cortisol is needed to contain the stress response. Our work has demonstrated that trauma survivors with PTSD have higher levels of noradrenaline1,2 and lower levels of the hormone cortisol.3,4,5
Hormonal Studies of Trauma Survivors
Studies of Memory
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies.
Dr. Yehuda did not report having any of the following types of financial relationships with industry during 2021 and/or 2022: consulting, scientific advisory board, industry-sponsored lectures, service on Board of Directors, participation on industry-sponsored committees, equity ownership valued at greater than 5% of a publicly traded company or any value in a privately held company. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.