Faculty and Staff

Professor Alexander Bystritsky, M.D., Ph.D. graduated from Pavlov Medical Institute (currently Pavlov Medical University) in St. Petersburg, Russia (former Soviet Union) with M.D. degree in 1977 and then his Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 1979. In 1976 his paper won the Gold Medal for the Best Student Scientific Paper and Maria Petrova National Award in Neuroscience.

After he arrived to New York, he worked for one year as an Associate Researcher in the NYU Department of Psychiatry prior his admission to the NYU-Belleview residency program in Psychiatry. He completed his residency in 1985 and moved to UCLA as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar. Dr. Bystritsky has... More

Dr Distler directs the administration of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and supervises psychiatry residents in both CBT and medication management. She earned her MD and PhD from the University of Chicago. Her PhD studies focused on the genetic and molecular basis of anxiety. She completed her psychiatry residency at UCLA, where she was the chief resident in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and participated in clinical and basic research on anxiety and depression. Dr. Distler has several clinical duties in addition to her work in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic. At UCLA, she treats college students with mental illness and is the Associate Medical Director of the UCLA Aftercare program... More

Dr. Schraufnagel assists with the administration of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and provides training and supervision to the psychiatry residents in the clinic. He completed his doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology at the University of Washington and completed his predoctoral clinical internship at the Seattle Veterans Affairs hospital. Dr. Schraufnagel received specialized training in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders as a postdoctoral fellow at the Anxiety Center of the Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle. Dr. Schraufnagel is in private practice in Santa Monica.

Sahib Khalsa, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Director of Anxiety Disorders Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. He is a supervisor in the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Clinic and in the UCLA-Veterans Affairs (VA) Anxiety Disorders Clinic, where he teaches psychiatrists being trained in the clinical management of anxiety disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. He is the founding Director of the UCLA Healthy Hearts Behavioral Medicine Program, an interdisciplinary endeavor started with the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center, focusing on treating anxiety and stress-related disorders in individuals with cardiac arrhythmias and other... More

David Kronemyer is currently a Clinical Faculty and Research Scientist at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, primarily at the Anxiety and Related Disorders Center. As a clinician, he is part of a multi-disciplinary team working under Dr. Alexander Bystritsky providing outpatient therapy and medication management for persons with anxiety disorders. As a researcher, he works on clinical trials of new methods of treating anxiety and mood disorders using technologies such as non-invasive brain stimulation and novel pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Rose is an attending psychologist who trains and supervises residents in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Dr. Rose was an academic researcher for over 20 years in the Department of Psychology at UCLA where he conducted important research in the areas of anxiety, stress, and resilience - working with NASA for over 15 years. Dr. Rose has a private practice in Los Angeles where he specializes in treating anxiety and mood disorders with evidence-based treatments.

Tanya Vapnik is one of the faculty psychologists who supervises residents and psychology externs in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic.

Dr. Trozzolino received her doctorate in clinical psychology from USC and has specialized in applying Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to a variety of disorders her entire career. Presently,in addition to her private practice, Dr. Trozzolino is an Assistant Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry where she supervises the training of Psychiatry residents in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including OCD, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress. Her special interest is in the treatment of OCD.

Dr. Plotkin received his doctorate in clinical psychology from UCLA and was a member of the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Behavioral Research Program, under the direction of Michelle Craske, Ph.D. Presently, Dr. Plotkin is the director of David Plotkin, Ph.D. and Associates and is also a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Semel Institute and Hospital. He teaches and supervises psychiatry residents in the administration of cognitive behavioral therapy at the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Outpatient Clinic. In addition to his clinical and teaching positions, Dr. Plotkin has conducted research and coauthored studies in the areas of panic disorder,... More

Dr. Karinen provides training and supervision to the psychiatry residents in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic. He completed his doctoral studies in Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. He received clinical training at the Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center and completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Memphis Student Health and Counseling Services.

Dr. Hsu is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry. She provides psychiatric supervision to residences in the Anxiety Disorders Clinic. She completed undergraduate at University of Pennsylvania and medical school and residency at UCLA. Her other roles include supervising residents as a hospitalist at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital, working in the UCLA Behavioral Health clinic, and teaching in the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy concentration.