Practice Locations

  • UC San Diego Health Psychiatry
    8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMClosed Today Closed Today
    8950 Villa La Jolla Drive
    Suite C101
    San Diego, CA 92037
    US
  • UC San Diego Health Psychiatry – 4S Ranch
    8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 8:00 AM - 5:00 PMClosed Today Closed Today
    16918 Dove Canyon Road
    Suite 100
    San Diego, CA 92127
    US
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About Zafiris "Jeff" Daskalakis, MD, PhD, FRCP

Zafiris "Jeff" Daskalakis, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist and internationally recognized expert in treating severe psychiatric disorders with magnetic brain stimulation, also known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

He uses TMS to help patients with treatment-resistant depression and is the director of UC San Diego Health's Interventional Psychiatry Clinic, the region's largest clinic dedicated to treating severe depression with brain stimulation approaches.

As chair of the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Daskalakis is leading research on the use of TMS in people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, suicidal thoughts and obsessive compulsive disorders. Treatment-resistant diseases are those that may not be resolved adequately through traditional medications and talk therapy alone.

Dr. Daskalakis says the most rewarding aspect of his clinical practice is being able to help people who have not found relief through conventional approaches. This is why his research focuses on novel approaches such as brain stimulation for treating mental health conditions.

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health in 2020, he was a professor of psychiatry at University of Toronto, co-director of the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention and chief of the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division, both at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.

CAMH is Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital. The Temerty Centre is one of the world's hubs for brain stimulation treatment, research and training.

Dr. Daskalakis has published more than 390 peer-reviewed journal articles in the Lancet, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Archives of General Psychiatry and JAMA Psychiatry, among others. He is an editorial board member of Biological Psychiatry and associate editor for Clinical Neuropsychiatry.

Dr. Daskalakis has received numerous awards, including the Laidlaw Prize from the Institute of Medical Research, the Young Investigator Award from the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the Samarthji Lal Award in Mental Health Research from the Graham Boeckh Foundation.

Dr. Daskalakis, who was born and raised in Toronto, completed residency training in psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He was a research fellow in the schizophrenia program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and earned his doctorate degree at the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He earned his medical degree at Queen's University.

Outside of work, he enjoys cycling, reading, soccer and hockey.

UC San Diego Health Links
For more information, see Behavioral and Mental Health Care and Treatment-Resistant Depression.

Insurance Information
UC San Diego Health accepts most major health insurance plans, but you should verify that your plan covers this provider and all services and locations. The information in the link below does not apply to affiliate providers, who are not employed by UC San Diego Health.
Health Insurance Plans Accepted
Open Payments Program Notification
For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospitals be made available to the public.
View Open Payments data for Dr. Daskalakis

Medical Degree

  • Queen’s University School of Medicine, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Residency

  • University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Ontario, Canada

Fellowship

  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario, Canada

Doctoral Degree

  • University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Gender

  • Male

Languages

  • Greek

Date Joined Staff

  • 2021-03-03

Board Certifications

  • Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

Conditions and Treatments

  • Depression
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Insurance Information
UC San Diego Health accepts most major health insurance plans, but you should verify that your plan covers this provider and all services and locations. The information in the link below does not apply to affiliate providers, who are not employed by UC San Diego Health.
Health Insurance Plans Accepted
Open Payments Program Notification
For informational purposes only, a link to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments web page is provided here. The federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires that detailed information about payment and other payments of value worth over ten dollars ($10) from manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics to physicians and teaching hospitals be made available to the public.
View Open Payments data for Dr. Daskalakis

News

  • Video: TMS therapy used to treat severe depression UC San Diego Health

    Video: Meet Teresa Lindhardt

    After six weeks of daily treatments with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at UC San Diego Health, Lindhardt said she was free of the symptoms of depression that disrupted, and twice nearly ended, her life.