Gary B. Kaplan, M.D.
Director, Laboratory of Translational Psychiatry
Co-Director, Neuropsychiatry Translational Fellowship
VA Boston Healthcare System
Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Gary.Kaplan@va.gov; gbkaplan@bu.edu
Background
Gary B. Kaplan, M.D. is a Consult-Liaison Psychiatrist at VA Boston Healthcare System and a Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine. He received his medical training at Drexel University College of Medicine. His residency training in Psychiatry at Tufts-New England Medical Center was followed by a postdoctoral research fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology at Tufts University School of Medicine. Previously, Dr. Kaplan had served as Chief of the Mental Health and Behavioral Science Service at the Providence VA Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Human Professor and Molecular Pharmacology at Brown Medical School. Kaplan has established a national reputation as a preclinical and clinical researcher in the area of the neurobiology of addiction. His research has focused on dendritic plasticity in models of opioid addiction, PTSD, and TBI. His basic research has examined signal transduction in mechanisms in motivational neural circuitry and addiction-related behaviors in opiate addiction models. His clinical research examined the psychopharmacology of co-morbid addictive disorders in schizophrenia. In his most recent VA research grant, he examines the behavioral and sleep alterations in a model of mild TBI. He has been a teacher for undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, psychiatry residents and post-doctoral fellows in areas of psychiatry, neuroscience and pharmacology. He has also achieved national recognition for his publications in psychiatry and neuroscience.
Positions and Honors
Postdoctoral Training:
1983-1986 Resident in Psychiatry (PGY1-PGY3), Tufts University School of Medicine & New England Medical Center
1986-1987 Chief Resident (PGY4), Tufts University School of Medicine & New England Medical Center
1987-1989 Research Fellow in Clinical Pharmacology (PGY5-6), Tufts University School of Medicine
Key Clinical and Academic Appointments:
2000-2005 Chief, Mental Health, Service Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI
2000-2005 Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI
2000-2005 Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & Biotechnology, Brown Medical School
2005-2018 Director, Mental Health Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston MA
2005- Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
2005- Director, Laboratory of Translational Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System
2006-2014 Chief, Psychiatry Service, VA Boston Healthcare System
2006- Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine
2008- Graduate Student Faculty Member, Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston Univ.
2014-2023 Co-Director of Neuropsychiatry Translational Fellowship
2023- Consult-Liaison Psychiatrist, VA Boston Healthcare System
Editorial Boards:
2022- Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (Associate Editor)
2021- Brain Research Bulletin (Editorial Board)
2021-2022 Brain Research Bulletin (Guest Editor of Special Edition)
1998- Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (Editorial Board)
Honors:
Sigma Xi- The Scientific Research Honor Society (2024- )
Distinguished Life Fellow- American Psychiatric Association (2019- )
Director’s Commendation, VA Boston Healthcare System, Commendation for Excellence in Leadership of Mental Health Service (2018)
Outstanding Psychiatrist for Public Sector- Massachusetts Psychiatric Society (2017)
Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association (2008-2018)
Best Doctors in America (2007-2022)
Director’s Commendation, Veterans Affairs Medical Center- Providence, Commendation for Excellence in Leadership of Mental Health Service (2005)
Mentorship Award, Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Brown Medical School (2003)
Masters of Arts (Ad Eundem), Brown University (2001)
Medical Student Teaching Award, Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Brown Medical School (2001)
Physician of the Year Award, Rhode Island Disabled American Veterans (2000)
Mentor, Society for Royce Fellows, Brown University- Mentor of student in honorary scholarly society (1998-1999)
Graduate Students
Dr. Kaplan serves as a mentor for Boston University Trainees in the intersection of psychiatry, neuroscience and pharmacology for graduate students, postdocs, residents and fellows.