Bio
Dr. Bentzley is a psychiatrist and Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
His clinical interests include the treatment of substance use disorders and depression using advanced techniques and technologies such as neurostimulation. His research interests include advances in neurostimulation-based treatments, suicide prevention and neuroeconomics.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Bentzley was the recipient of a National Institute of Mental Health research training grant. Currently, he is principal investigator on a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that focuses on understanding the role of dopamine in economic decision making. Further, Dr. Bentzley is co-investigator of a study that received grant support from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This randomized, controlled trial investigates ketamine therapy with a transition to buprenorphine for the treatment of acute suicidality. The study is scheduled for completion in 2022.
Dr. Bentzley is also a consultant for industry innovators, such as an organization conducting research into new treatments for opioid use disorder and another focusing on data science and psychometrics.
He has authored articles on surgically implanted neuromodulatory technology for treatment-resistant depression, the origins of selective vulnerability to opioid addiction, the antidepressant effects of ketamine, the role of neurons in cocaine demand, and other topics.
His work has appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Molecular Psychiatry, and elsewhere. In addition, he is a reviewer for the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, European Journal of Neuroscience, Behavioural Brain Research, and Addiction Biology.
Dr. Bentzley has delivered invited lectures including psychiatry grand grounds at Stanford and other medical centers. He has held leadership positions on committees focused on medical education and residency programs, among them Stanford?s Psychiatry Residency Neuroscience Curriculum Committee and the Psychiatry Residency Wellbeing Committee.
Dr. Bentzley has received honors for his scholarship. He was a member of a team that won the American Psychiatric Association?s ?MindGames? national residency competition, was a Ruth Fox Scholar, as designated by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and won the Distinguished Graduate of the Year Award from the Medical University of South Carolina.
He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, American Society for Neurosciences, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Bentzley has provided community outreach mental health services as a clinical volunteer.
Clinical Focus
- Substance use disorders
- Psychiatry
- Treatment resistant depression
- Suicidality
Academic Appointments
-
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Professional Education
-
Residency: Stanford University Adult Psychiatry Residency (2020) CA
-
Medical Education: Medical University of South Carolina Registrar (2016) SC