Sanjaya Saxena, M.D.

ACADEMIC TITLE:
Associate Professor in Residence, UCSD Department of Psychiatry
Director, UCSD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Program
Director, La Jolla VA Anxiety Disorders Clinic
                                   
E-MAIL ADDRESS:  ssaxena@ucsd.edu
PHONE #:  (858) 642-3472 FAX #:  (858) 642-6442
More information on Dr. Saxena here.

Watch Dr. Saxena's Webcast on the Neurobiology of Compulsive Hoarders.

Research Focus (100 words):  Dr. Saxena is the Director of the UCSD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Program.  His research focuses on the neurobiology and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders.  He uses functional and structural brain imaging to understand the brain circuits that mediate OCD symptoms, to reveal how effective treatments work in the brain, and to predict response to different types of treatments.  Recently, Dr. Saxena has been studying specific subtypes and variants of OCD, such as Compulsive Hoarding, to understand their neurobiology and develop better treatments for these disabling conditions.  He has received research grants from the NIMH and the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation. ...

ACADEMIC PROFILE:
Biography (100 words):  Dr. Saxena received his Bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College, and his medical degree (Alpha Omega Alpha) from University of Minnesota Medical School.  He did his psychiatry residency at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, then completed a research fellowship in neuroimaging in neuropsychiatric disorders, receiving a Charles A. Dana Foundation Scholarship.  He was on the faculty of the UCLA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences for nine years, before coming to UCSD and VA San Diego Healthcare System in November, 2005.  He has won awards from the American Psychiatric Association and American Neuropsychiatric Association, and was selected into Best Doctors in America in 2005-2006.

Clinical Focus (100 words):  Dr. Saxena directs both the UCSD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Clinic and the La Jolla VA Medical Center Anxiety Disorders Clinic, which provide specialized assessment and treatment of patients with OCD, OC-Spectrum Disorders, and anxiety disorders, with both medications and cognitive-behavioral therapy.  They are the only programs of their kind in the San Diego area.  Dr. Saxena leads a multi-disciplinary faculty of clinicians and supervisors who see patients and teach psychiatry residents and psychology trainees rotating through the clinics.  He is heavily involved in teaching of residents and medical students, and also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation.

Selected Publications (5):

Saxena S, Brody AL, Schwartz JM, Baxter LR.  Neuroimaging and frontal-subcortical circuitry in obsessive-compulsive disorder.  Brit J Psychiatry 173 (suppl. 35): 26-38, 1998.

Saxena S, Maidment KM, Vapnik T, Golden G, Rishwain T, Rosen RM, Tarlow G, Bystritsky A.  Obsessive-compulsive hoarding: symptom severity and response to multi-modal treatment.  J Clin Psychiatry 63: 21-27, 2002.

Saxena S, Brody AL, Ho ML, Alborzian S, Maidment KM, Zohrabi N, Ho MK, Huang SC, Wu HM, Baxter LR.  Differential cerebral metabolic changes with paroxetine treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder versus major depression.  Arch Gen Psychiatry 59:250-261, 2002.

Saxena S, Brody AL, Ho ML, Zohrabi N, Maidment KM, Baxter LR.  Differential brain metabolic predictors of response to paroxetine in obsessive-compulsive disorder versus major depression.  Am J Psychiatry 160: 522-532, 2003.

Saxena S, Brody AL, Maidment KM, Smith EC, Zohrabi N, Katz E, Baker SK, Baxter LR.  Cerebral glucose metabolism in obsessive-compulsive hoarding.  Am J Psychiatry 161: 1038-1048, 2004.