Stephan H. Heckers MD MSc

Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

3601 The Vanderbilt ClinicNashville, TN 37232
Phone+1 615-936-2000
Fax+1 615-343-7825

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Education & Training

Harvard UniversityM.S., 2000
Mass General Brigham/Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean HospitalResidency, Psychiatry, 1993 - 1997
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterPost-Doctoral Fellowship, 1990 - 1993
Univ Cologne- Fac MedClass of 1988

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Certifications & Licensure

TN State Medical License 2005 - 2026
MA State Medical License 1995 - 2006
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Psychiatry

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

Exemplary Psychiatrist Award NAMI, 2018
Humanitarian Award NAMI Davidson County, 2014
Philip Isenberg Teaching Award (Teacher of the Year) MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Class, 2006

Clinical Trials

Psychiatric Genotype/Phenotype Project Repository
ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
Pharmacological Modulation of Hippocampal Activity in Psychosis 2 Start of enrollment: 2020 Sep 23
COMPLETED
PHASE2
Roles: Principal Investigator, Contact

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Contributions of worry and social anxiety to paranoia in clinical and non-clinical samples: Cross-sectional and longitudinal results.
Brandee Feola, Hao Wu, Stephan Heckers, Jennifer U Blackford, Neil D Woodward
The British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2026-08-17
Validation of the Catatonia Quick Screen in the Original Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale Cohort.
James Luccarelli, Joshua Ryan Smith, Mark Kalinich, Jo Ellen Wilson, Jonathan P Rogers
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2026-08-14
Subtyping psychotic disorders using a data-driven approach reveals divergent cortical and cellular signatures.
Lauren D Hill, Xi-Han Zhang, Baxter P Rogers, Anna S Huang, Victoria Fox
Molecular Psychiatry. 2026-07-23

Journal Articles

Caring for the Patient with Catatonia
Stephan Heckers, MD, JAMA Psychiatry
Regionally Specific Volume Deficits Along the Hippocampal Long Axis in Early and Chronic Psychosis
Stephan Heckers, Pratik Talati, Neil D Woodward, ScienceDirect
Hippocampus at 25
Eichenbaum H, Amaral DG, Buffalo EA, Buzsáki G, Cohen N, Davachi L, Frank L, Heckers S, Morris RG, Moser EI, Nadel L, O'Keefe J, Preston A, Ranganath C, Silva A, Witter M, Hippocampus, 1/1/2016

Books/Book Chapters

Handbook of Neurochemistry and Molecular Biology: Schizophrenia
Chapter: Hippocampus
Page 315 - 330Heckers SEditors: Javitt D, Kantrowitz JT, Lajtha A.Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany2009
Update on the conflict of interest policy for the ARCHIVES
Coyle JT, Heckers S2006
Current Diagnosis & Treatment
Chapter: Schizophrenia
Page 261 - 288Meltzer H, Bobo W, Heckers S, Fatemi HEditors: Ebert M, Loosen P, Nurcombe B, Leckman J..McGraw HillEdition 2nd,2006

Abstracts/Posters

Brain structure in neuropsychologically defined subgroups of schizophrenia and psychotic bipolar disorder
Woodward N, Heckers S, Biological Psychiatry, 1/1/2015
Associative inference impairment in non-affective early psychosis
Armstrong K, Heckers S, Biological Psychiatry, 1/1/2015
Hippocampal volume and blood flow in the early stage of psychosis
Talati P, Rane S, Donahue MJ, Heckers S, Biological Psychiatry, 1/1/2015

Lectures

Hippocampal dysfunction in psychotic disorders
Multiple Locations, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 - 1/1/2016
The early stage of psychosis: Diagnosis & treatment
Chattanooga, TN - 1/1/2015
How can we make progress in psychiatric research?
Boston, MA - 1/1/2015

Press Mentions

Lesions in Common Brain Circuit a Cause of Psychosis?February 14th, 2025
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Celebrates 75 YearsNovember 14th, 2022
New Clinician Spotlight: Aaron BrinenMarch 26th, 2021

Grant Support

Imaging Hippocampal Function in PsychosisVANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER2005–2026
Imaging Hippocampal Function in PsychosisVANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER2005–2026
The General Factor of Psychopathology in Psychosis and Severe Mental IllnessVANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER2019–2025
The General Factor of Psychopathology in Psychosis and Severe Mental IllnessVANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER2019–2025
Hippocampus In Schizophrenia And Bipolar DisorderNational Institute Of Mental Health2007–2008