Ali Abbas Asghar-Ali

Ali Abbas Asghar-Ali, M.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine and a Staff Psychiatrist at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He serves as Associate Director of Education for the South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, Clinical Center.

• Education
  • MD, Wake Forest University (2000)
  • Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship, University of California, Los Angeles (2005)
  • General Psychiatry Residency, Baylor College of Medicine (2004)
  • BA, University of Texas at Austin (1996)

His professional interests focus on Geriatric Psychiatry, Cultural Psychiatry, and Faculty Development. He coordinates the geriatric psychiatry seminar series for residents and specializes in electroconvulsive therapy at the VA Medical Center.

Recent research emphasizes:

• Comparative efficacy of ketamine vs. ECT for treatment-resistant depression
• Interprofessional training for elder abuse detection
• Cultural attunement strategies in psychiatric practice
• Virtual training implementation for geographically dispersed learners
• Climate change impacts on aging adult mental health

Scientific contributions include:

• Multiple peer-reviewed publications on geriatric mental health, neuromodulation, and cultural psychiatry
• Development of the MEDSAIL tool for assessing nursing home resident independence
• Leadership in the South East Texas Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program

Recognitions:

• Three Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Awards (2012)
• Association for Academic Psychiatry Junior Faculty Development Award (2012)

Additional affiliations include:

• Cultural Formulation Interview workshops
• DSM-5 implementation training
• Geriatric psychiatry curriculum development