Hamed Ekhtiari, M.D., Ph.D., graduated from Tehran University of Medical Sciences with his medical degree in 2004 and his Ph.D. in Neuroimaging in 2015. He did his psychiatry residency in University of Minnesota and research fellowship on neuroimaging and neuromodulation at Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK. He comes to UT Southwestern from the University of Minnesota where he was Associate Director of Clinical Studies on the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. Dr. Ekhtiari is a board member and Distinguished Fellow of the International Society for Addiction Medicine (ISAM) and Scientific Director of its Global Innovation Day in Addiction Therapeutics.

Dr. Ekhtiari's research interests include Neural Target Engagement (NTE) Informed Treatment Development and Precision Medicine for People with Substance Use Disorder, using fMRI as an NTE measure, brain stimulation for NTE, and cognitive intervention for augmenting NTE. He has published more than 200 academic papers in his career.

As a division chief, Dr. Ekhtiari will focus on extending innovative and research-based care, faculty development, academic trajectory, and professionalism for the Addiction division.