Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DrMedSc

Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DrMedSc, is Board Certified in Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Internal Medicine. He is Professor and Interim Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, NY, where he is also Director of the Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Service, Program Director of the C-L Psychiatry Fellowship, and Core Faculty in the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program. He was president of the Faculty and Staff Assembly of the College of Medicine 2020-2022. He serves as a senator in the SUNY Faculty Senate 2022-2025, and serves on many University and Hospital committees.

Dr. Viswanathan has served on many national boards and committees. Dr. Viswanathan is President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) from May 2024 to May 2025. It is the world’s largest psychiatric association, with about 39,000 members. He is the first person from Brooklyn and from the SUNY system to be elected to this prestigious position. He has served the APA in several other leadership positions before. He also serves as Chair of the Committee on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry. He has researched 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 has a special interest in lifestyle interventions to promote health and wellbeing.

He has numerous peer-reviewed and other publications in prestigious journals. He has given several invited keynote, plenary, and other presentations internationally in the UK, Australia, Philippines, Japan, India, Papua New Guinea, Canada, and Mexico, and nationally. He has many media interviews and mentions.

He has been continually included in “Castle Connolly Guide: The Best Doctors – New York Metro Area” since 1994. He is a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Society for Liaison Psychiatry and the Brooklyn Psychiatric Society, and the following awards from the American Psychiatric Association: Nancy Roeske Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education, Irma Bland Award for Excellence in Residency Education, George Tarjan Award for Excellence in IMG Service, Ronald Shellow Award for Excellence in Service to the Assembly, and the Assembly RFM Mentor Award. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, American Medical Association, Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and American College of Psychiatrists.

Education

Undergraduate: Loyola College, Madras (Chennai), India

Advanced Degree: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Medical School: Madras Medical College, India

Internship: Brooklyn-Cumberland Medical Center, NY

Residency: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Fellowship: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Research Interests

Anxiety; Depression; Medical Treatment Adherence; Psychotherapy; Ethical Issues; Physician-Patient Communication; Lifestyle Medicine.