Tom K. Birkenhäger, MD, PhD
Psychiatrist
Department of Psychiatry
Erasmus MC: University
Medical Center Rotterdam , The Netherlands
Biographical sketch
Tom Birkenhäger obtained
his medical degree from the Erasmus University (1984), and trained as
psychiatrist in the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and Psychiatric Centre
Bloemendaal in The Hague. Registration as psychiatrist took place in
1991. From 1993 until 2002 he worked as psychiatrist and researcher at
the depression unit of Psychiatric Centre Bloemendaal. From 2002 until
2003 he worked at the Mood disorder clinic of the UMC Utrecht. He
received a PhD degree in psychiatry at the Erasmus University Medical
School in 2004. Since 2003, he is working as a psychiatrist and
researcher at the depression unit of the department of Psychiatry of the
Erasmus MC. In 2005 he received the award (together with Walter van den
Broek) for the most interesting PhD thesis at the “promovendi primeur “
symposium, Delft. In 2006 He received the ECT investigator’s award by
the editorial board of the Journal of ECT in Toronto, Canada. Since 2001
he is a member of the editorial board of the website
www.psychiatrienet.nl, section Depressive disorders. He has been member
of the committee for both the Guideline for Major Depression in adults
(2005) and the guideline for Electroconvulsive therapy (2010). Since
2010 he is deputy director of psychiatric residency training at the
Department of psychiatry.
Research interests
Dr. Birkenhäger has a
special interest in clinical research; his main topics are the
pharmacological treatment of severely depressed patients,
electroconvulsive therapy and the methodology of treatment studies. He
participates in several clinical trials with depressed patients, both in
medication studies and in studies on electroconvulsive therapy. Some of
this research is in collaboration with other Dutch universities.
Publications
