Dr. Kisuk Ra

EDUCATION AND TRAINING 

  • July 2019 - June 2023 SUNY Upstate Medical University Hospital Syracuse, NY Psychiatry Residency 
  • July 2015 - June 2019 SUNY Upstate Medical University Syracuse, NY M.D. 
  • July 2014 - June 2015 The Organization for Psychoeducational Tutoring Ithaca, NY Gap year between college and medical school (see work experience below) 
  • Aug 2010 - June 2014 Cornell University, College of Arts and Sciences Ithaca, NY Bachelor of Arts with Distinction Major: Biology; Minor: Art History


WORK EXPERIENCE 

  • July 2023 - Present Allegheny Health Network Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Institute (PBHI) Pittsburgh, PA Staff Psychiatrist *Clinical care for adult outpatients (medication management, psychotherapy) *Psychiatry resident teaching, supervision, lectures *Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Deep Brain Stimulation for psychiatric and neurological disorders; attend monthly multidisciplinary team of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry; participate in case discussions, consultations, referrals
  • July 2014 - June 2015 The Organization for Psychoeducational Tutoring Ithaca, NY During the gap year between college and medical school, tutored children with neurodevelopment disorders (autism, ADHD) via telemedicine visits on practicing positive social and psychological skills under the guidance of a child psychiatrist


HONORS AND AWARDS

  • 2024 - Present Talent Attraction Program Pittsburgh (TAPP) Enterprise Equitable Health Institute, Allegheny Health Network Awarded to health care professionals who have consistently shown an interest and had previous experiences in promoting health equity and addressing health disparities for under-resourced and underrepresented areas, communities, and patients. As a TAPP recipient, I will be actively involved for the duration of the program (three years) in receiving coaching, education, professional networking, and research and/or other DEI initiatives committed to addressing health disparities 
  •  2020 Exceptional Teacher Recognition SUNY Upstate College of Medicine Awarded to residents, faculty, nurses, therapists, staff who demonstrated exceptional dedication to teaching medical students 
  •  2014 B.A. with Distinction Cornell University Awarded to top 30% of graduating class 
  • 2011 - 2014 Dean's List Cornell University Five consecutive semesters of Dean's List 


LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION

  • Pennsylvania State Medical License American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology 


TEACHING/MENTORING 

  • July 2023 - Present Allegheny Health Network Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Institute (PBHI) Pittsburgh, PA Staff Psychiatrist Psychiatry resident teaching, supervision, lectures 
  • June 2020 Medical Student Mentoring SUNY Upstate, Department of Psychiatry Led a mentoring session for newly matched 4th year psychiatry residents to answer any questions about residency, work-life balance, academics


PRESENTATIONS 

  • May 2024, May 2025 Seminar on Cultural Psychiatry Allegheny Health Network Seminar for AHN psychiatry residents on how individual experiences and insights inform one's understanding of cultural attitudes, attitudes, values, and stigmas relating to mental health and psychiatric practice. 
  • February 2024, January 2025 Psychopharmacology for Psychologists Allegheny Health Network Lecture for AHN psychology interns on essential psychopharmacology that psychologists should be aware of in their clinical practice. The presentation also focused on the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration with other health professionals such as psychiatrists and other medication providers 
  • April 2019 Overview on Gender Dysphoria SUNY Upstate, College of Medicine Created and presented on research on gender dysphoria in multiple perspectives (biological, psychological). Primary focus on educating physicians, nurses, and staff in the psychiatry inpatient unit about gender dysphoria, considerations on how to address quality of care issues in LTBTQ patients 
  • January 2018 - February 2019 A Need for PrEP for Adolescents and Young Adults with Mental Health Disorders SUNY Upstate, College of Medicine Developed questionnaire, brainstormed video content, creating and editing a public health outreach/education video about HIV and PrEP for adolescents and young adults with mental health and/or substance use disorder. Also led education presentations at local health clinics


VOLUNTEERING

  • January 2019 Health Justice Conference SUNY Upstate, College of Medicine Assisted in creating conference and leading group discussions to educate SUNY Upstate medical students and faculty on various areas of health inequality, including underserved patient populations such as Native American and Black community in Central New York 
  • August 2012 - May 2015 Southern Tier AIDS Program - Substance Abuse Outreach Ithaca, NY Educated injection drug users on blood-borne disease prevention and harm reduction practices including Narcan administration 


LEADERSHIP

  • August 2023 - Present Clinical Team Leader Allegheny Health Network Co-lead the adult outpatient team in biweekly meetings. The team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, social workers. Serve as a liaison between the AHN psychiatry leadership and the adult outpatient clinicians in ensuring quality measures, reviewing clinical cases, coordinating patient referrals
  • February 2024 - Present Psychiatry and Behavioral Health (PBHI) IT Officer Allegheny Health Network Serve as a liaison between AHN leadership and Department of PBHI in implementing EHR and clinical work flow optimization projects, other cutting edge technologies like AI in the health care space 
  • August 2016 - May 2017 Psychiatry Club SUNY Upstate, College of Medicine As the vice president of the psychiatry club, planned and organized promoting awareness on different areas of psychiatry to first and second year medical students, such as addiction psychiatry, mental health in minority populations 
  • August 2011 - May 2014 Cornell Minds Matter Cornell University Served as the publicity chair for student run mental health advocacy group, and directed several mental health campaigns, including an art show "Faces of Mental Health", a story-telling exhibit showcasing student created portraits, photography, and art pieces that deal with mental health topics


PUBLICATIONS

  • Ra K, Ramanathan S, Duleep A, Chabrashvili T. Subtle cognitive decline in a patient with depression and anxiety. Current Psychiatry. 2023, Feb; 22(2): 41-48. Doi: 10.12788/cp.0330 
  • Harkenrider MM, Martin B, Nieto K, Small C, Aref I, Bergman D, Chundury A, Elshaikh MA, Gaffney D, Jhingran A, Lee L, Paydar I, Ra K, Schwarz J, Thorpe C, Viswanathan AN, Small Jr W.. Multi-institutional Analysis of Vaginal Brachytherapy Alone for Women With Stage II Endometrial Carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2018, Aug;101(5):1069-1077 


RESEARCH/QUALITY IMPROVEMENT EXPERIENCE

  • October 2021- June 2023 Quality Improvement - Transitional Care Clinic SUNY Upstate, Department of Psychiatry Supervisor: Seethalakshmi Ramanathan, MBBS - Evaluated and treated psychiatric patients discharged from an inpatient psychiatric unit or a medical unit who did not have established outpatient follow ups - Goal to decrease patient burden at inpatient service, and decrease rehospitalization - Role in the project concluded with graduation 
  • August 2018 - June 2023 Molecular Biomarkers of Schizophrenia SUNY Upstate, Department of Psychiatry Supervisor: Zsuzsa Meszaros, MD, PhD - A pilot study to determine a biomarker of schizophrenia in the saliva, which would help with easier and more accessible diagnosis of the disorder - As part of the research team member, interviewed patients with psychotic disorders using various standardized psychiatric screening questionnaires to obtain accurate schizophrenia diagnosis, obtained saliva samples for biomarker study, created and updated the database for the study - Role in the project concluded with graduation 
  • June 2016 Multi-institutional Analysis of Vaginal Brachytherapy Alone for Women With Stage II Endometrial Carcinoma M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX Supervisor: Ann Klopp, M.D., Anuja Jhingran, M.D. - Participated in a multi-institute retrospective study on the efficacy of using adjuvant vaginal brachytherapy only for Stage II endometrial cancer patients. - Performed literature review, assisted in formulating study objectives and IRB application, and contributed to data organization and analysis - Concluded with a published journal article


PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • American Psychiatric Association
  • Clinical TMS Society


OTHER PROFESSIONAL SKILLS/INTERESTS

  • Fluent in Korean (native language proficiency)
  • Mental health advocacy and cultural psychiatry
  • Neuromodulation for treatment resistant depression and other psychiatric disorders
  • Running, biking, tennis, yoga and mindfulness practices