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Ronald Cowan, MD, Psychiatry, Memphis, TN, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

RonaldCowanMDPhD

Psychiatry • Memphis, TN

Psychopharmacology

Harrison Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology; Co-Director, Center for Addiction Science; Medical Director UT Addiction Medicine Clinic: College of Medicine Professor, Department of Health Promotions and Disease Prevention College of Nursing; University of Tennessee Health Science Center Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, VUMC

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Summary

  • I completed my PhD at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology with a focus on in vivo intracellular neurophysiology of neocortex. I am a graduate of the Weill Cornell Medical School and completed my internship in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and residency in Psychiatry at The McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. There, I received the Livingston Award and the Dupont-Warren Fellowship to support training and research in neuroimaging. I led a program in neuroimaging research at Vanderbilt University prior to my current role where I was most recently Vice-Chair for Education and Director of the Psychiatry Residency Training program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. I am currently the Harrison Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis (https://www.uthsc.edu/psychiatry/index.php). I serve as a member of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Scientific Council, in the area of Addiction. The Department of Psychiatry at UTHSC is actively recruiting new clinical and research faculty and is well poised to embrace emerging advances in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, genetics, evolutionary psychiatry, and structural and social determinants of health. The department places strong value on compassion and empathy, and patient-centered approaches to care, and greatly values diversity across all areas. My clinical interests include psychosomatic medicine, depression, substance use, obesity and LGBTQI mental health. My research interests have focused on the neurobiology of motivated behavior, including basic mechanisms and clinical mechanisms of substance and process addiction, investigated primarily with functional and structural MRI and PET methods. Recent work has included psychophysical studies of pain processing in aging and dementia.

    • Department of Psychiatry

    Established in 1911, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center aims to improve human health through education, research, clinical care and public servic

Education & Training

  • Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital
    Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean HospitalResidency, Psychiatry, 1995 - 1998
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
    Massachusetts General HospitalInternship, Internal Medicine, 1994 - 1995
  • Weill Cornell Medicine
    Weill Cornell MedicineClass of 1994
  • University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences
    University of Tennessee Center for the Health SciencesPhD, Neuroscience, 1984 - 1990
  • Christian Brothers University
    Christian Brothers UniversityBS, Biology, 1980 - 1984

Certifications & Licensure

  • TN State Medical License
    TN State Medical License 2000 - 2026
  • MA State Medical License
    MA State Medical License 1996 - 2005
  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Psychiatry
  • American Board of Preventive Medicine Addiction Medicine
  • American Board of Psychiatry and NeurologyPsychiatry

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Press Mentions

  • UTHSC Launches Resources Website to Support Health Care Workers Battling COVID-19
    UTHSC Launches Resources Website to Support Health Care Workers Battling COVID-19September 3rd, 2021
  • UTHSC Leaders Receive UT President’s Awards
    UTHSC Leaders Receive UT President’s AwardsJune 25th, 2021
  • Researcher Identifies Potential New Measure for Alzheimer's Risk
    Researcher Identifies Potential New Measure for Alzheimer's RiskFebruary 25th, 2021
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Hospital Affiliations

External Links

Dr. Ronald Cowan, Dr. Ronald Cowan, MD, Dr. R Cowan