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.

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For more information, see Behavioral and Mental Health Care and Treatment-Resistant Depression.