Daniel Stein, MD, PhD

Dr. Daniel Stein is Professor and Chair of the Dept of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town, Director of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, and Visiting Professor of Psychiatry at Mt. Sinai Medical School in New York. He is interested in the psychobiology and management of the anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and related, and traumatic and stress disorders. He has also mentored work in other areas that are of particular relevance to South Africa and Africa, including neuroHIV/AIDS and substance use disorders.

Dr Stein did his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Cape Town, and his doctorate (in the area of clinical neuroscience) at the University of Stellenbosch. He trained in psychiatry, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship (in the area of psychopharmacology) at Columbia University in New York. His training also includes a doctorate in philosophy. He is inspired by the way in which psychiatry integrates science and humanism, and contributes to addressing some of the big questions posed by life.

Dr Stein’s work ranges from basic neuroscience, through clinical investigations and trials, and on to epidemiological and cross-cultural studies. He is enthusiastic about the possibility of clinical practice and scientific research that integrates theoretical concepts and empirical data across these different levels. Having worked for many years in South Africa, he is also enthusiastic about establishing integrative approaches to services, training, and research in the context of a low and-middle-income country.

Dr Stein has authored or edited over 30 volumes, including “Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience of Mood and Anxiety Disorders”, and “The Philosophy of Psychopharmacology: Smart Pills, Happy Pills, Pep Pills.” His work has been continuously funded by extramural grants for more than 20 years. He is a recipient of the Max Hamilton Memorial Award from the Collegium Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum (CINP) for his contribution to psychopharmacology, and of CINP’s Ethics and Psychopharmacology Award for his contribution to the philosophy of psychopharmacology.