Bio
Dr. Gisela Sandoval is a physician scientist with dual board certification who specializes in medical-psychiatric illness caring for individuals that suffer from medical conditions at the interface of medicine and psychiatry, which often requires complex chronic care. In addition she treats children with a broad range of psychiatric disorders including neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD and mood and anxiety disorders in adolescents. She has a thorough and comprehensive way to approach her patients; she considers not only the clinical symptoms but also the impact of the family structure and the functioning of the child at school. Dr. Sandoval has a special interest in establishing standard of care guidelines to address the needs of chronically ill children to promote healthy habits and medical treatment compliance that promote health and decrease the burden of chronic medical and psychiatric illness.
Dr. Sandoval graduated with honors from the California Institute of Technology where she performed research in brain physiology and evolution. She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School where she also completed a Ph.D. specializing in molecular neurobiology and genetics. Dr. Sandoval completed her residency in general psychiatry at the University of Chicago, during which she received the NIMH Outstanding Resident Award. She went on to complete a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency of Columbia and Cornell Universities. After training she became the Clinical Director of the Warren Wright Adolescent Center at Northwestern University developing a successful clinical program focused on early identification and intervention for adolescents at risk of mental illness before moving to Stanford.
Dr. Sandoval scientific interests focus on understanding the molecular, neurophysiological and neural circuits that are responsible for healthy brain development and behavior and understanding how these are altered in the developmental neuropsychiatric disorders resulting in pathological behaviors with the expectation that that could lead to new treatments. Furthermore, she is interested in identifying quantifiable metrics of behavior to better diagnosis mental illness by exploring the use of physical activity monitors to help assess the effectiveness of medical therapies.
