Maria A. Oquendo is Professor of Psychiatry, Training Director for the Residency Program, and Vice-Chair for Education at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute.
She is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the American College of Psychiatrists. She is secretary of the APA, president-elect of the International Academy of Suicide Research and past President of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatrists.
She is also Vice President of the Board of Directors of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and is a member of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Advisory Council.
Research Focus
Her expertise is in the diagnosis, pharmacologic treatment, and neurobiology of Bipolar Disorder and Major Depression with a special emphasis on suicidal behavior and in Global Mental Health.
Dr. Oquendo is principal investigator on a NIMH-funded prospective study of suicidal behavior in affective disorder, the Clinical Core for the Conte Center on the Neurodevelopmental Model of Suicidal Behavior, an R25 funding a research track in the residency-training program and a T32 and a D43 to train research fellows in Global Mental Health in the US and in Mozambique, respectively.
She has authored or co-authored over 280 peer-reviewed articles. She is an examiner for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She was associate editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry and serves on multiple editorial boards.
Select Awards
- Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (1993)
- Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill for Commitment to Multicultural and Underserved Communities (2002)
- Gerald Klerman Award from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (2005)
- National Hispanic Medical Association Hispanic Health Leadership Award (2009)
- Sociedad Espanola de Psiquiatria’s Miembro de Honor (2009)
- Simon Bolivar Award, APA (2010)
- Rafael Tavares Award, Association of Hispanic Mental Health Providers (2010)
- Honorary Professor at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru (2011)
- Stengel Award from the International Academy of Suicide Research (2013) and
- Honorary Member of the Sociedad Colombiana de Psiquiatria Biologica (2014)
Select Publications
1. Oquendo, MA; Mann, J.J. The biology of impulsivity and suicidality. The Psychiatric clinics of North America. 2000; 23(1):11-25. PMID: 10729928
2. Brodsky, BS; Oquendo, MA; Ellis, SP; Haas, GL; Malone, KM; Mann, JJ. The relationship of childhood abuse to impulsivity and suicidal behavior in adults with major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2001 Nov;158(11):1871-7. PMID: 11691694
3. Parsey, RV; Oquendo, MA; Simpson, N; Van Heertum, R; Arango, V; Mann, JJ. Effects of sex, age, and aggressive traits in man on brain serotonin 5-HT1A receptor binding potential measured by PET using [C-11]WAY-100635. Brain Research. 2002; 954(2):173-182. PMID: 12414100
4. Oquendo, MA; Placidi, GPA; Malone, KM; Campbell, C; Keilp, J; Brodsky, B; Kegeles, LS; Cooper, TB; Parsey, RV; Van Heertum, RL; Mann, JJ. Positron Emission Tomography of Regional Brain Metabolic Responses to a Serotonergic Challenge and Lethality of Suicide Attempts in Major Depression. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2003; 60(1):14-22. PMID: 12511168
5. Oquendo, MA; Echavarria, G; Galfalvy, HC; Grunebaum, MF; Burke, A; Barrera, A; Cooper, TB; Malone,KM; Mann, JJ. Lower cortisol levels in depressed patients with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003; 28(3):591-598. PMID: 12629542
6. Sher, L; Oquendo, MA; Galfalvy, HC; Cooper, TB; Mann, JJ. Age effects on cortisol levels in depressed patients with and without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder, and healthy volunteers. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2004; 82(1):53-9. PMID: 15465576
7. Huang, Y; Cate, SP; Battistuzzi, C; Oquendo, MA; Brent, D; Mann, JJ. An Association Between a Functional Polymorphism in the Monoamine Oxidase A Gene Promoter, Impulsive Traits and Early Abuse Experiences. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2004; 29(8):1498-505. PMID: 15150530
8. Oquendo, MA; Krunic, A, Parsey, RV; Milak M; Anderson, A; Van Heertum, RL; Mann, JJ: Positron Emission Tomography of Regional Brain Metabolic Responses to a Serotonergic Challenge in Major Depressive Disorder with and without Borderline Personality Disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005;30(6):1163-72. PMID: 15770239
9. Oquendo, MA; Russo, SA; Underwood, MD; Kassir, S; Ellis, SP; Mann, JJ; Arango, VA. Higher Postmortem Prefrontal 5HT2A Receptor Binding Correlates with Lifetime Aggression in Suicide. Biological Psychiatry. 2006; 59(3):235-43. PMID: 16140277
10. Baca-Garcia, E; Oquendo, MA; Saiz-Ruiz, J; de Leon, J; Mann, JJ. A Pilot Study on Differences in Aggression in New York City and Madrid, Spain, and their Possible Impact on Suicidal Behavior. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2006; 67(3):375-380. PMID: 16649822 PMID: 16959059
11. Keilp, JG; Gorlyn, M; Oquendo, MA; Brodsky, B; Ellis, SP; Stanley; B; Mann, J. Aggressiveness, Not Impulsiveness or Hostility, Distinguishes Suicide Attempters with Major Depression. 2006; 36(12):1779-88.
12. Grunebaum, MF; Galfalvy, HC; Nichols, CM; Caldeira, NA; Sher, L; Dervic, K; Burke, AK; Mann, JJ; Oquendo, MA. Aggression and Substance Abuse in Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorders. 2006; 8(5 pt 1):496-502. PMID: 17042888
13. Wilson, ST; Stanley, B; Oquendo, M; Goldberg, P; Zalsman, G; Mann, JJ. Comparing Impulsiveness,Hostility, and Depression in Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar II Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2007; 68(10):1533-1539. PMID: 17960968
14. Kinnally, EL; Huang, YY; Haverly, R; Burke, AK; Galfalvy, HC; Brent, DP; Oquendo, MA; Mann, JJ.Parental Care Moderates the Influence of MAOA-uVNTR Genotype and Childhood Stressors on Trait Impulsivity and Aggression in Adult Women. Psychiatric Genetics. 2009; 19(3):126-133. PMID: 19357553
15. Keilp, JG; Oquendo, MA; Stanley, BH; Burke, AK; Cooper, TB; Malone, KM; Mann, JJ. Future Suicide Attempt and the Response to Serotonergic Pharmacologic Challenge. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2010; 35(5):1063-1072. PMID: 18354392
16. Oquendo, MA; Sullivan, G; Sudol, K; Baca-Garcia, E; Stanley, B; Sublette, E; Mann, JJ. Toward a biosignature for suicide. American Journal of Psychiatry. In press.
17. Oquendo, MA; Perez-Rodriguez, MM; Poh, E; Sullivan, G; Burke, AK; Sublette, ME; Mann, JJ; Galfalvy, H. Life Events: a complex role in the timing of suicidal behavior among depressed patients. Molecular Psychiatry. 2013.
18. Oquendo, MA; Miller, JM; Sublette, ME. Neuroanatomical correlates of childhood sexual abuse: identifying biological substrates for environmental effects on clinical phenotypes. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2013;170(6):574-577.
19. Oquendo, MA; Baca-Garcia, E; Artes, A; Perez-Cruz F; Galfalvy HC; Blasco-Fontecilla, H; Madigan, D; Duan, N. Data Mining and Machine Learning: Strategies for Hypothesis Generation. Molecular Psychiatry. 2012; 17(10):956-9.
20. Oquendo, MA; Galfalvy, HC; Currier D; Grunebaum, MF; Sher, L; Sullivan, GM; Burke, AK; Harkavy-Friedman, J; Sublette, ME; Parsey RV; Mann, JJ. Treatment of Suicide Attempters with Bipolar Disorder: a randomized clinical trial comparing lithium and valproate in the prevention of suicidal behavior. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2011; 168(10):1050-6.