Susan Meffert

Susan Meffert, MD, MPH is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine and a Faculty Affiliate with UCSF Global Health Sciences. She is affiliated with the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and has established herself as an international leader in mental health implementation science, with particular expertise in designing integrated, evidence-based mental health services for diverse medical populations in low-resource settings.

Dr. Meffert's educational background includes:

• Medical Degree from University of Iowa College of Medicine (2003)
• Residency in Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco (2007)
• MPH in International Health from Harvard School of Public Health (2003)
• Fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at UCSF (2009)
• Fellowship in Global Mental Health Research at UCSF (2008)
• BA, BS, and MA in Biology and Religious Studies from Stanford University (1997)

Dr. Meffert's research focuses on implementation science for mental health care delivery in low and middle-income countries, particularly in East Africa. Her work centers on:

• Developing and testing evidence-based mental health interventions for depression and PTSD
• Integrating mental health care with HIV services
• Addressing the mental health needs of populations affected by gender-based violence
• Training non-specialist providers to deliver mental health care
• Using implementation science frameworks to scale up mental health services

Through her Global Partnership to Enhance Mental (GEM) Health Care program in East Africa, Dr. Meffert has secured over $10 million in research funding from NIH and other entities to develop strategies for delivering evidence-based mental health care using locally available workers. Her research has been presented at high-level forums including the World Health Organization, National Institutes of Mental Health, World Bank, and USAID.

Dr. Meffert's scientific contributions have been recognized through numerous awards, including:

• USAID International Mental Health Program invitation
• World Health Organization innovation fair selection for mental health implementation strategy in Kenya
• UCSF Hellman Award for UC Investigators
• UCSF KL2 BIRCWH Award
• UCSF Global Health Sciences Burke Faculty Scholar award
• NIMH K23 career development award

Dr. Meffert has led multiple significant research projects including the SMART-DAPPER study on tele-mental health care, the DAPPER study on depression and primary care partnership, and research on gender-based violence and HIV outcomes. Her work has established important connections between mental health, HIV care, and gender-based violence, particularly in Kenyan contexts.