The UC Riverside School of Medicine has announced the appointment of Lisa Fortuna, MD, MPH, MDiv as the chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Fortuna is a triple board-certified psychiatrist in general psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry and addiction medicine with a focus on mental health equity, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety and Latinx, refugee immigrant, child and adolescent mental health services research and intervention development.
Her appointment begins on August 1, 2023.
She joins UCR from UCSF, where she holds the position of professor of clinical psychiatry and executive vice chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is also chief of psychiatry at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.
Fortuna has been an investigator on several National Institutes of Health and foundation-funded studies, focusing on Latinx and immigrant mental health, integrated care, and access to care. She is also the author of the book “Mindfulness-Based CBT for Adolescent PTSD and Addictions.”
“I am excited to be joining UCR School of Medicine, and the mission to serve the Inland Empire through a commitment to excellence in clinical care, education and research, and by working together with the community and regional partners,” Fortuna said.
"We are thrilled to have Dr. Fortuna join our team,” said Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean Deborah Deas, MD, MPH. “Her expertise in addressing mental health disparities and providing care to underserved populations is of great importance, particularly here in our region where the Latinx population makes up a significant portion of the population."
Fortuna earned her medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, now the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, then completed residencies in child and adolescent psychiatry and general adult psychiatry at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in New York. She completed her MPH in urban public health at Hunter College, City University of New York and later went on to earn a master’s in divinity in pastoral theology from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.
In 2022, Fortuna received the Frances J. Bonner, MD Award from the Department of Psychiatry Center for Diversity at Massachusetts General hospital, which recognizes an individual who has overcome adversity and has made significant contributions to the field of mental health and the care of minority communities. She also received the AACAP Irving Phillips Award for Prevention, which recognizes a child and adolescent psychiatrist and AACAP member who has made significant contributions to the prevention of mental illness in children and adolescents in the areas of teaching, research, program development, direct clinical service, advocacy or administrative commitment.
