SNF Brain Insight Lecture at The Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University by Dr. Helen Blair Simpson
19 September 2016

On September 19, psychiatrist Dr. Helen Blair Simpson discussed her acclaimed work on anxiety and related disorders (including obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD). Taken together, these are some of the most common psychiatric disorders in the world.

Anxiety disorders (including OCD) affect more people worldwide than any other group of mental illnesses and are the sixth leading cause of global disability according to the World Health Organization (WHO). During her lecture, Dr. Simpson will describe her current work both in improving the lives of today’s patients, while also working in concert with brain imagers, geneticists and others to develop revolutionary treatments for the patients of tomorrow.

Dr. Simpson — a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at the New York State Psychiatric Institute — is one of the world’s leading experts in anxiety. She helped to develop the first OCD treatment guidelines for the American Psychiatric Association, and has also advised the WHO on obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. 

This lecture was part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture series, offered free to the public to enhance understanding of the biology of the mind and the complexity of human behavior. The lectures are hosted by Columbia’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.