Vinod H. Srihari Named the 2025 Outstanding Clinical and Community Research Awardee
Dr. Srihari's scholarly focus is on improving the outcomes of early course schizophrenia spectrum disorders. His research interests span the translational continuum from studies of etiology and pathophysiology to interventions on clinical samples, to service level innovations. As Director of the STEP Program, he leads activities that connect this research to the missions of delivering a model service (the STEP Clinic), disseminating clinical best practices (via Learning Health Networks), education and workforce development and influencing policies that support the public health mission of early Intervention for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
In his curricular work, he has led the development and implementation of an Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) based approach to enabling psychiatrists in training to ask, access, appraise and apply the best available scientific evidence to their practice and to audit the health of the populations they are responsible for.
Dr. Srihari also consults with academic and non-academic healthcare systems that seek to initiate or refine early intervention services for recent onset or 'first-episode' psychosis.
A Message from Vinod H. Srihari
I am deeply honored to accept this award, which I regard as a tribute to the many mentors, colleagues, trainees, and the patients and families who have shaped and supported my work. For almost two decades, my efforts in clinical care, research, and education have revolved around the Program for Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) in New Haven. This program originated within the Connecticut Mental Health Center – a truly special public-academic collaboration between Yale’s Department of Psychiatry and Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
STEP has tested and delivered models of care that have improved access and quality of care for recent-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders. We have learned that there is much we can do, with the knowledge we already have, to improve the lives of individuals and their families. And that there is so much left to learn about the causes and mechanisms of these illnesses that continue to exact a massive burden in morbidity and premature mortality. We need better implementation and research to inform the next generation of services. I feel fortunate to be a part of this community at SIRS that is committed to both tasks.
A Message from Sinan Guloksuz:
I am thrilled that Dr. Vinod Srihari has been honored with the Outstanding Clinical and Community Research Award by the Schizophrenia International Research Society. Dr. Srihari is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and the Director of the Program for Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP) at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.
Dr. Srihari has made major contributions to clinical and community research in psychosis. In 2006, he founded the STEP Clinic and led one of the first randomized controlled trials in the U.S. evaluating specialty team-based care for first-episode psychosis, demonstrating improved outcomes that were later replicated in the cluster randomized RAISE-Navigate study. STEP and RAISE significantly influenced federal funding schemes, leading to the rapid expansion of Coordinated Specialty Clinics, which have grown from fewer than 10 to over 200 across all 50 states. These clinics now offer comprehensive, evidence-based care, improving outcomes for early psychosis.
In another pioneering NIH-funded randomized controlled trial (Mindmap), he demonstrated that the duration of untreated psychosis could be halved through an early detection campaign. This study was the first successful implementation of such an intervention in the fragmented U.S. healthcare system, setting a new standard for early detection efforts nationwide. Over the past five years, STEP has secured funding to establish a statewide Learning Health Network in Connecticut, expanding STEP’s early detection and care model to improve outcomes for early psychosis by addressing delays in access and gaps in care quality.
Beyond research, Dr. Srihari is a dedicated mentor, training future leaders in early intervention across the U.S. and internationally, with mentees advancing the field in Italy, Australia, Turkey, the Netherlands, and China.
