David S. Krantz, PhD

David S. Krantz, PhD is Professor and former Chair in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology at Uniformed Services University (USU), and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS). He received his B.S. from the CCNY and PhD in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Krantz has authored more than 180 scientific and professional publications on the effects of psychosocial stress on physical health, with a particular emphasis on psychosocial and biobehavioral factors in cardiovascular disorders. Dr. Krantz was the recipient of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Early Career Scientific Award in 1982, and Annual Awards from the APA Division of Health Psychology in 1981 and 2000. He is a former Editor-in-Chief of the journal Health Psychology, Past-President of the APA Division of Health Psychology, and a Past President of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.

For more than 20 years, the primary focus of Dr. Krantz’s work has been on the effects of acute stress as a trigger of clinical coronary heart disease events such as myocardial ischemia and malignant arrhythmias. In this research, he has collaborated with a multi-disciplinary team of cardiologists and psychologists to examine the prevalence, mechanisms, and prognostic significance of mental stress-induced ischemia. This work was later extended to investigating the effects of mental stress on markers of vulnerability to malignant arrhythmias. Currently, he is Principal Investigator of the BETRHEART Study, which investigates the role of biobehavioral factors in the progression of heart failure, and is also a part of a team examining psychosocial influences on coronary heart disease in women (the NHLBI WISE study). Most recently, he has begun collaboration with Dr. Vincent Ho and other colleagues at USU on a “brain-heart initiative” to study the study the complex relationships between PTSD, mTBI, and coronary artery disease among combat veterans.