Maurizio Fava, MD

Co-Founder, SAB Member

Dr. Maurizio Fava is a Co-Founder of Psy Therapeutics and an active member of its Scientific Advisory Board. A recognized world leader in the field of depression, his unparalleled expertise in depression research and psychopharmacology helps to guide the selection and development of Psy’s psychiatric-focused drug targets.

Dr. Fava currently serves as Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Director of the Division of Clinical Research of MGH Research Institute. He is also Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research and the Slater Family Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

He founded and serves as Executive Director of the MGH Psychiatry Clinical Trials Network and Institute, the first academic Contract Research Organization (CRO) specialized in the coordination of multi-center clinical trials in psychiatry. Under Dr. Fava’s leadership, the Depression Clinical and Research Program became a renowned model for academic programs that link, in a bi-directional fashion, clinical and research work. He founded and directed the Depression Clinical and Research Program from 1990 until 2014.

Dr. Fava has been a co-principal investigator of STAR*D, the largest research study ever conducted in the area of depression, and of RAPID Network, an NIMH-funded series of studies of novel, rapidly-acting antidepressant therapies. Since 1990, he has mentored more than 50 trainees who have become lead investigators in psychiatry. Dr. Fava is an expert in excessive placebo response, and in collaboration with Dr. David Schoenfeld, has developed a novel design to address this issue and markedly reduce sample size requirements for clinical trials. Dr. Fava received the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School and the John T. Potts, Jr., MD Faculty Mentoring Award from MGH. He is also the former President of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

Dr. Fava obtained his MD from the University of Padova School of Medicine, where he also completed residency training in endocrinology. After moving to the United States, Dr. Fava completed residency training in psychiatry at MGH.