Franklin Schneier, M.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Schneier is a graduate of Yale College and Cornell University Medical College, and he completed his residency in psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in Clinical Research at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, and has served as Associate Director of the clinic.  He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Dr. Schneier’s research has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.  He has conducted clinical trials establishing the efficacy of medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy treatments, and he has used brain imaging techniques of SPECT, PET, and fMRI to evaluate brain function in social anxiety and other disorders. He has also studied the relationship of social anxiety disorder to medical conditions, such as essential tremor, stuttering, and hyperhidrosis. He is the principal investigator of grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Schneier is author of more than 130 scholarly publications and a book for the general public, The Hidden Face of Shyness. 

Other selections from Dr. Schneier's published work can be found on the Resources page of the Social Anxiety website.

Liane Hunter, B.A. is the Research Assistant for the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Team at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is responsible for the management of all of the studies conducted by the OCD research team. Before joining the team, Liane received a B.A. from Tufts University. In the year following her undergraduate studies, Liane completed a pre-medical post- baccalaureate program at Bryn Mawr College. Liane plans to pursue MD/Ph.D. degrees, with a focus on anxiety disorders.

Anthony Pinto, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry), Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the recipient of a Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Pinto plans to use this funding to further understanding of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), beginning with the exploration of its phenomenology and neurocognition, and moving toward the development of treatments for the disorder. He is also particularly interested in elucidating the relationship of OCPD to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, Dr. Pinto has been involved in several NIMH-funded studies of OCD which examine the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for those on medication, the use of motivational enhancement therapy to improve treatment outcome, and brain regions associated with OCD and treatment outcome. Dr. Pinto has studied the symptom subtypes of OCD, the course of the disorder, and the phenomenology/treatment of related spectrum conditions such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. In the area of personality disorders, he is a contributor to the 10-year collaborative longitudinal study of personality disorders (CLPS).

Dr. Pinto was formerly on the research faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School for five years. He served as Research Psychologist in the OCD Program at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island where he was a co-investigator on NIMH studies of OCD, including a 10-year longitudinal study of the disorder, a multi-site genetics study, as well as an innovative treatment study for refractory cases applying deep brain stimulation. In addition to research, Dr. Pinto has a passion for teaching. He taught undergraduate statistics as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Hofstra University and psychopathology to advanced undergraduates and graduate students as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Connecticut College.

Carolyn Rodriguez, M.D. Ph.D. is a NIMH Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Blair Simpson. Her research focus is developing novel treatment strategies for patients suffering from OCD
by integrating neuroscience with clinical research.

After graduating from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science,
Dr. Rodriguez entered the MD-PhD program at Harvard Medical School. For her PhD, she
developed novel genetic techniques to track neuronal migration in the laboratory of Dr.
Susan Dymecki. After completing the MD-PhD program, she entered and completed the
internship and residency in psychiatry at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

During her residency, she was honored with the NIMH Outstanding Resident Award and elected chief resident by her peers and faculty. She was also selected as a Laughlin Fellow from The American College of Psychiatrists, Career Development Institute for Psychiatry Fellow, and was awarded the prestigious Barbara Anne Liskin Prize from
Columbia University Medical Center for her leadership in clinical, research, teaching, and community service.

Ashley Greene, B.A. is a Research Assistant involved with studies concerning Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). Before joining NYSPI, Ashley received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. For two years following her undergraduate studies, Ashley worked at the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the VA Boston Healthcare System with a research lab examining PTSD comorbidity, as well as the quality of veteran's relationships with their romantic partners. Ashley plans to pursue  A Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. 

Marcia Kimeldorf, Ph.D. is the Research Project Manager for OCD studies in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic of the New York State Psychiatric Institute.  In addition to biological and treatment studies of OCD, Dr. Kimeldorf also manages a study that uses performance on various neurobehavioral tasks to examine differences in underlying brain circuitry across three psychiatric disorders: OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Anorexia Nervosa.  

After graduating with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Arts in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University-Teachers College, Dr. Kimeldorf received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Miami.  She has worked in a variety of clinical settings using empirically supported treatments to help patients suffering from a wide range of disorders. After receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Kimeldorf completed a clinical postdoctoral fellowship involving intensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).  Dr. Kimeldorf maintains a private practice in Manhattan where she specializes in cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, and relationship dysfunction.

Anthony Puliafico, Ph.D. is a clinician at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) and an instructor in Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University-New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Puliafico specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia, as well as the treatment of children and adolescents with behavior problems, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). He has extensive experience in cognitive-behavioral therapy, systemic family therapy, and parent-child interaction therapy. Besides conducting individual therapy, Dr. Puliafico also provides group cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders. He also currently serves as co-director of psychology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute Children’s Day Unit.

Dr. Puliafico received his B.S. with Distinction from Cornell University, where he majored in Human Development, and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Temple University. Dr. Puliafico completed his clinical psychology internship at Bellevue Hospital Center/NYU Medical Center, during which time he served as a clinician at the NYU Child Study Center. Dr. Puliafico has trained at various other treatment facilities, including the Temple University Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic, Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, and Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. 

Dr. Puliafico has published in peer-reviewed journals including Psychological Assessment, Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, and Journal of Anxiety Disorders. He has also given numerous presentations on anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence and managing anxiety in school settings. Dr. Puliafico is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.  More information on Dr. Puliafico's work can be found here.

Donna Vermes, MS, NPP, B.C. is the Administrator of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), and Instructor in Clinical Nursing in the Department of Nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. Donna graduated from Columbia University School of Nursing Graduate School in 2000.  Donna has been working since 1993 in the areas of pathological gambling and anxiety disorders

Susanne Ahmari, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University, and Research Project Director V at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/ Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene. She is also an Attending Psychiatrist at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.

After graduating from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Honors Biology, Dr. Ahmari entered the MD-PhD program at Stanford University. For her PhD, she used advanced microscopy techniques to examine mechanisms underlying synapse formation in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Smith. After completing the MD-PhD program, she performed internship and residency in psychiatry at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Since 2007, Dr. Ahmari has worked in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, first as an NIMH Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Blair Simpson and Dr. Rene Hen, and now as an NIMH-funded investigator. She has also received research grants from the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Scholars Foundation, and the Gray Matters Foundation. Her research focuses on performing translational studies in OCD by integrating basic neuroscience findings with clinical studies in OCD patients. She is currently identifying translatable biomarkers corresponding to symptoms in OCD patients. In parallel, she is developing mouse models of OCD. The goal of her work is to discover the brain abnormalities that lead to OCD, ultimately developing new treatment approaches.