Dr. Glenn Saxe

     Glenn Saxe, M.D., received his medical degree from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1988.  Dr. Saxe arrived in Boston, MA, in 1989 in order to begin his residency at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center at Harvard University.  Since that time, Dr. Saxe has played several roles in the medical field which have contributed to his wealth of experience with the trauma community, including his position as a Research Psychiatrist at the National Center for PTSD.
     Dr. Saxe's primary research and clinical interests have centered around issues of trauma and mental health outcomes in children.  Dr. Saxe is currently the Chairman of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at BMC/BUSM, where he oversees clinical, research, and educational programs.  He is Primary Investigator on two NIH/NIMH grants PTSD in Children with Burns: A Longitudinal Study and PTSD in Children with Injuries: A Longitudional Study. Additionally, Dr. Saxe is the Director of the NCTSN Center for Medical and Refugee Trauma, where he developed Trauma Systems Therapy, a community-based program designed to enhance the ability of children to regulate emotional and behavioral responses to social environmental stressors.  TST will soon be published through Guilford Press.

Dr. Liza Suárez

     Liza Suárez, Ph. D., received her doctorate in clinical psychology in 2000 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Following her doctoral training, she took a position as a psychologist at the Child and Family Guidance Center in Panorama City, CA, where she provided outpatient treatment, case management, and school-based interventions to children and adolescents in the local community.  At this same center she went on to become the program manager for Dual Diagnosis, a program for youth with substance abuse and mental health problems.  Dr. Suárez became a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University in September, 2005, where she currently acts as the Associate Project Director for the Adolescent Traumatic Stress and Substance Abuse Treatment Center, an affiliate of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN).

Dr. Lisa Najavits

     Lisa M. Najavits, PhD is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School ( Boston, MA), Director of the Trauma Research Program in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center at McLean Hospital ( Belmont, MA), and a researcher at the National Center for PTSD of the Boston Veterans Affairs Health Care System. She is author of the book Seeking Safety: A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse (2002) and A Womans Addiction Workbook (New Harbinger Press; 2002), as well as over 90 professional publications. In 1997 she was awarded the Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, in 1998 the Early Career Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and in 2004 the Emerging Leadership Award of the American Psychological Association Committee on Women. She is past-president of the New England Society for Behavior Analysis and Therapy; and on the advisory boards of Psychotherapy Research, the Journal of Traumatic Stress, and the Journal of Gambling Studies. Dr. Najavits has received a variety of National Institutes of Health research grants, including an Independent Scientist Career Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She is a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts; a psychotherapy supervisor; and conducts a psychotherapy practice. Her major clinical and research interests include: posttraumatic stress disorder; substance abuse; and psychotherapy outcome research. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1990 ( Nashville, Tennessee) and her bachelor’s degree with honors from Columbia University in 1983 ( New York, New York).

Dr. Robert Pynoos

     Robert S. Pynoos, M.D., M.P.H., is Professor of Psychiatry in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. Dr. Pynoos is Co-Director of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Director of the UCLA Trauma Psychiatry Service and Executive Director of the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Section. He is a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University Schools of Physicians & Surgeons and Public Health.  His research interests include child development and child traumatic stress, the neurobiology of child and adolescent trauma, and public mental health approaches for children and families after disaster, war and community violence.
     Over the past 20 years, Dr. Pynoos has made significant contributions to understanding the impact of children's exposure to violence and disaster, and to elevating the standards of mental health care for child victims and witnesses.  He has edited several widely respected books on posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents. Dr. Pynoos is a former president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and he received the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Dr. Pynoos has served as Chair for the William T. Grant Consortium on Adolescent Bereavement and for the MacArthur Foundation Network Study Group on Children's Responses to Traumatic Stress. In 1999, he was invited to participate in the White House Strategy Session on Children, Violence and Responsibility. Also of note, he has received the American Psychiatric Association Bruno Lima Award for excellence in disaster psychiatry.
     Dr. Pynoos served from 1994-1997 on the Intstitute of Medicine's (IOM) Committee on Evaluation of the Department of Defense Persian Gulf Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Protocol. He has also served as an IOM reviewer of other committees, including the IOM Chemical and Biological Terrorism R & D Needs to Improve Civilian Medical Response. In response to September 11, he has served as a consultant to the New York State Office of Mental Health and to the New York City Department of Health.  He also provided assistance to the New York City Board of Education and U.S. Department of Education outreach to the private school community. At the recommendation of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Pynoos provided consultation to the Laura Bush, with regard to publicly addressing children and families in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.