Kenneth Wells

Dr. Wells is Center Director, Professor-in-Residence of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute & Hospital and Senior Scientist at RAND. He received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, and his M.P.H. from the UCLA School of Public Health. Dr. Wells, a psychiatrist and health services researcher, has led a number of far-reaching investigations into how variations in health services systems and financing affect clinical care. Dr. Wells is the Principal Investigator of Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ)-funded Partners in Care, a groundbreaking national study of quality improvement for depression that substantially improved the quality of care, clinical outcomes, and employment for primary care patients with depression over a 2-year period. Additionally, Dr. Wells is PI of the Robert Wood Johnson-funded Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Supplement to the Community Tracking Study, Healthcare for Communities. Also a leader in training, Dr. Wells is Director of the Faculty Scholars Program in mental health services research at UCLA and Associate Director of The Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. Dr. Wells is Chair of the Institute of Medicine's Board for Neuroscience and Behavioral Health. He was the first recipient of the Young Investigator Award and more recently honored with the Distinguished Investigator Award by the Academy of Health Services Research. He was also a recipient of an NIMH Senior Research Scientist Award in mental health services research.