Dr Ramaswamy Viswanathan

Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DrMedSc, is the President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). He graduated from Madras Medical College, India, did residency training in internal medicine in New York, then did residency training in psychiatry and a fellowship in psychosomatic medicine at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center. He also underwent research training there and obtained a Doctor of Medical Science research degree. Dr. Viswanathan is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. He is Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, at the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, NY, where he is also the Director of the Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Service, and Chair of Psychiatry Grand Rounds. He served as Presiding Officer, Faculty and Professional Staff of the College of Medicine, 2020-2022. He is the founding Co-Chair of the Faculty Wellness Workgroup. He is the chair of the Committee on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He is a past co-chair of the Program Committee of the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture. He has done research on physician-patient communication, how physicians resolve ethical dilemmas, and psychologic variables associated with treatment adherence in patients with gynecologic cancers, HIV, and children with sickle cell disease. He is well-published, including in the New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Psychiatry, Archives of Internal Medicine (now JAMA Internal Medicine), and Psychosomatics. He is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service; and several educational and service awards from the American Psychiatric Association. He has been continually included in “Castle Connolly Guide: The Best Doctors – New York Metro Area”, since the year 1994. Promoting psychiatry trainees’ professional development and wellbeing has been a major part of his achievements. The theme he has chosen for his APA presidential term is: “Lifestyle for Positive Mental and Physical Health.”