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 has also served as Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Psychiatry, Chair of the Division of Outpatient Psychiatry, Medical Director of the VCU Clinical Trials Office, VCU Health System Board member (a gubernatorial appointment), and currently serves on the MCV Foundation Board of Trustees.
Dr. Kornstein is an internationally recognized researcher and thought leader with expertise in depression and women’s health. She has received over $30 million in funding from various sponsors including National Institutes for Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services, and industry. She has been a principal investigator on more than 90 clinical research studies in the areas of depression, anxiety disorders, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and sexual dysfunction. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women's Health, Editor-in Chief of Women's Health Reports, and Associate Editor of the Archives of Women’s Mental Health. 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 Chair of the annual Health of Women Conference (formerly the Annual Congress on Women’s Health), board member of the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology, and a lead organizer of the World Congress on Women’s Mental Health.
Dr. Kornstein is currently Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 grant, which funds the development of early career faculty into independent researchers in women’s health under the mentorship of senior investigators. She is Principal Investigator of an 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 an NIH-funded National Coordinating Center for Advancing Gender Inclusive Excellence, a U24 grant to improve retention and advancement of women faculty and women leaders in STEMM fields. She 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, 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.
Dr. Kornstein has authored 169 scientific journal articles, 24 book chapters, and over 200 scientific abstracts. 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 is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, and an invited 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 has served on numerous national scientific advisory boards.
Dr. Kornstein has been the recipient of many awards for her research, service, and leadership. She was recently the recipient of the American Medical Women’s Association’s Lila Wallis Award for lifetime contributions to the field of women’s health. She also received 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, and Medical Marketing & Media’s HealthCare Transformer Award.
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.