Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Resources: 2023

Megan Shen is a social psychologist and an Associate Professor at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. She received her PhD from Baylor University, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and faculty appointment at the Center for Research on End-of-Life Care at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. Her research focuses on health communication and decision-making, looking at how our cultural and social environments influence how we interpret information and make decisions around advance care and end-of-life planning. Much of her research focuses on understanding and developing tools to support patients and families in making informed healthcare decisions at the end of life and coping with advanced illness. She has received numerous NCI awards as PI, including a K07 Career Award, R01/R37 MERIT award, numerous R21s, and a SBIR R44 Fast Track. Her work and contributions have been recognized by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) as a Research Scholar. Dr. Shen has a strong passion for communicating her science to the public, and her writing has appeared in multiple outlets such as HuffPost, the Hill Reporter, Invisible Magazine, and the Thinking Republic. She is a regular contributor to Harvard's Bill of Health Blog and has a column at Psychology Today entitled, "How to Grow Hope."

Julia Kulikowski, MD is a clinical fellow in Psycho-Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She pursued medical school at Ross University School of Medicine and went on to complete residency in psychiatry at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Throughout residency, she contributed to textbooks with chapters on various topics including psychiatric disorders within the renal patient, differentiating serotonin syndrome, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and catatonia as well as physician wellness and gender considerations in medicine

Farah Tabaja, MD is a clinical fellow in Psycho-Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Farah completed medical school at the American University of Beirut in 2016, then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at the same institution, focusing on implementing a CBT-based program for building emotional resilience in middle school students.

Dr. Bjerre Real is psychiatrist and psycho-oncologist. Danish Ecuadorian, Dr. Bjerre Real earned his M.D. at the Catholic University of Guayaquil in Ecuador. He then attended Duke University, where he completed his psychiatry residency, served as chief resident, and obtained a graduate degree in Management and Clinical informatics. He also pursued a clinical and research fellowship in Psycho-Oncology/Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Bjerre Real has published and presented on palliative care, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, psycho-oncology, and delirium. Showing significant promise to impact the fields of psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine, he has earned both the Laughlin and Webb fellowships from the American College of Psychiatrists and the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, respectively. Dr. Bjerre Real recently founded the Psycho-Oncology outpatient clinic “Alta Psychiatry PLLC”, where he provides psychological and psychiatric interventions to alleviate suffering in the cancer population. He serves as a consultant and advisor in the implementation and education relating Psychedelic assisted psychotherapy in several academic and private institutions.

Jagannath Nayak, MD is a clinical Fellow in Psycho-Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Jaga completed medical school at the University of California San Diego in 2018. He went on to complete residency in Psychiatry at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, CA. Jaga served as chief resident during his final year of residency. He took special interest in forensics and substance abuse treatment during his final year of residency.

Amit Batta, MD completed his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from the University of Southern California before attending medical school at Touro in Harlem. He completed his psychiatry residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn where he participated in research on trauma in patients with aortic disease. As chief resident, Amit focused on physician wellness and medical student education. He completed the two-year psychotherapy training program at the Psychoanalytic Association of New York. Amit is an active member of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, including its regional chapter in NYC, the SLP. Currently, he serves as a consultation-liaison psychiatry fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering. His interests include music, reading, food, travel, and supporting the Lakers (even when they’re disappointing).

Richard F Brown Ph.D. is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy in the School of Medicine at VCU. Dr Brown has researched communication interventions to aid both physicians and patients during oncology consultations. His patient focused work has included developing and testing patient interventions such as questions prompt lists and decisions aids. His oncologist-focused work has involved communication skills training development and implementation. Dr Brown has developed specific research programs that explore patient-physician interactions around clinical trial and health disparities that exist for minoritized cancer patients including inequities that exist for African American cancer patients, Sexual and Gender Minorities cancer patients and rural cancer patients.