Susan G. Kornstein, M.D
Executive Director, Institute for Women's Health
Email: Susan.Kornstein@vcuhealth.org
Susan G. Kornstein, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the VCU Institute for Women's Health, designated a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She is Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Psychiatry and has served as Director of the VCU Mood Disorders Institute, Medical Director of the VCU Clinical Trials Office, Chair of the VCU Division of Outpatient Psychiatry, and VCU Health System Board Member, a gubernatorial appointment.
Dr. Kornstein is an internationally recognized researcher and thought leader with expertise in depression and women’s mental health. She has been a principal investigator on more than 90 research studies in the areas of depression, anxiety disorders, premenstrual syndrome, and sexual dysfunction. She is currently Principal Investigator on a $3 million ADVANCE-Institutional Transformation grant funded by the National Science Foundation focused on increasing recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse women faculty in STEM fields. She is also Principal Investigator of a $3.2 million NIH-funded Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) grant that funds the development of early career faculty into independent researchers in women’s health under the mentorship of senior investigators. Dr. Kornstein was an investigator in the landmark Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) depression study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and was a Regional Center Director for the NIH Depression Trials Network. She published the first large study showing sex differences in antidepressant treatment response for depression, and the first large study of an antidepressant for the treatment of peri- and postmenopausal depression, as well as the first large study of symptom-onset antidepressant dosing for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. She edited the first comprehensive textbook on women’s mental health (Women's Mental Health: A Comprehensive Textbook, Guilford Press), and recently co-chaired a task force for the National Network of Depression Centers and the North American Menopause Society that developed the first set of guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of perimenopausal depression. She has authored more than 200 scientific journal articles, chapters, and abstracts, and has given many invited presentations at national and international meetings.
Dr. Kornstein is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women's Health, Editor-in Chief of Women's Health Reports, Chair of the Health of Women Conference (formerly the Annual Congress on Women’s Health), and Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology. She is a past member of the NIH Advisory Council for Research on Women’s Health, Past President of the International Association for Women’s Mental Health, Past President of the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Past President of the Academy of Women's Health. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and a member of the American College of Psychiatrists. She has been a consultant to the U.S. Surgeon General, DHHS, and NASA on women’s mental health concerns and serves on a number of national advisory boards. She has given over 100 media interviews, including the New York Times, CNN, U.S. News and World Report, Science Magazine, and numerous women’s magazines.
Dr. Kornstein has been the recipient of many awards for her research, service, and leadership, including a Distinguished Service Award from the Psychiatric Society of Virginia, a Research Scientist Award from the MCV Foundation, the VCU Women in Medicine and Science Professional Achievement Award, the YWCA Outstanding Woman Award for Health and Science, Best Doctors in America, JWI’s Woman to Watch Award, the Lilly Welcome Back Award, MM&M’s HealthCare Transformer Award, and the American Medical Women’s Association’s Lila Wallis Award for lifetime contributions to the field of women’s health.
Dr. Kornstein attended college and medical school at Brown University and completed her residency training and a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at the Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a graduate of the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute and the Drexel Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program.