FEATURED TRAINEE - ANDREW TUBBS, MD, PHD

HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN BSM?

Both my interest in sleep and serious mental illness stem from my older brother, who suffered from schizoaffective disorder. For most nights in high school, I spent 2-3 AM keeping my brother company while we waited for his antipsychotic medications to kick in and for him to fall asleep. Sleep was such an important piece of keeping my brother stable, and yet despite his wildly irregular sleep patterns none of his providers ever paid much attention to this problem. Thus, when I joined the Sleep and Health Research Program under Michael Grandner I was amazed to learn about the research and clinical science surrounding CBTI and I immediately wanted to take this work to patients with serious mental illness.

WHO ARE YOUR BSM MENTORS?

My primary mentor is Michael Grandner, and I'm very lucky to be working with him. Michael combines bottomless BSM knowledge with incredible clinical acumen to produce one of the most effective clinician-scientists I've ever met. His mentorship has been an incredible boon to both my research and clinical training, and he has been essential in connecting me to the brightest minds in BSM. I'm also grateful for Michael Perlis, whose research insights and BSM expertise formed the foundation for my knowledge of CBTI, and Sairam Parthasarathy, whose research and clinical skills in sleep medicine are an essential support to my training.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER GOALS?

My goal is to work in academic medicine studying sleep disorders and sleep interventions in young people with serious mental illness. After I complete my dual degree, I plan to complete a residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, which will give me the clinical skills and license to work with adolescent SMI. My hope is to serve as the research director of an SMI clinic combining clinical work with translational research around sleep and mental health.

WHAT EXPERIENCES HAVE HELPED SHAPE YOUR TRAINING IN BSM?

My BSM training has benefited the most from working alongside clinical psychologists, interns, and externs in the training SMI clinic. Learning how to deliver therapy alongside trainees (where the embarrassment of making a mistake is minimized) and under the supervision of expert teachers is a huge blessing. In particular, I have to thank Dr. Patricia Harrison-Monroe, the director of the SMI clinic, for taking my BSM knowledge and showing me how to effectively deploy that knowledge in group therapy.