Amir Afkhami, M.D., Ph.D.

Amir A. Afkhami, MD, Ph.D. currently serves as the Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and the Director of Medical Student Education of the GW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. He is internationally recognized for his work in medical education, public health policy and the history of medicine. Dr. Afkhami is the author of the award-winning book: A Modern Contagion: Imperialism and Public Health in Iran's Age of Cholera (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019). Afkhami served on the legislative staff of US Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), where he helped with the development and passage of the landmark 2014 legislation that established enhanced funding and service criteria for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC). Internationally, Dr. Afkhami planned and led the U.S. State Department's Iraq Mental Health Initiative (IMHI) and the psychosocial components of the Afghanistan Civilian Assistance Program (ACAP-II) which have since been adopted as model interventions to mitigate the mental health consequences of conflict and mass violence against civilians. Dr. Afkhami is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and has received numerous honors from his peers, professional societies, and governments including the APA’s Roeske Award for Excellence in Medical Education and the ‘Psychiatrist of the Year’ award from the Washington Psychiatric Society.