Dr. Erich Conrad Named Psychiatry Interim Department Head
Erich Conrad, MD, has agreed to serve as the Interim Department Head for Psychiatry. Dr. Conrad joined the faculty as Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in 2003. He was promoted to Professor of Psychiatry in 2021.
“Having grown up in Houma, Louisiana, as the son of a psychiatrist, it is a tremendous honor to be in my current position as the interim head of the Department of Psychiatry at LSU. My dedication to the School of Medicine, the City of New Orleans, and the State of Louisiana is unwavering. I hope to continue to grow and refine our current programs to provide advanced care, enhance education and research, and serve the needs of our community.”
Dr. Conrad’s commitment to the department and the school are evident throughout his 22-year career. He directed the Psychiatry and Medicine 200 course for ten years and supervised the psychiatry rotations of countless physician assistant students and third- and fourth-year medical students. He also innovated the use of simulation mannequins for the critical concepts course. Dr. Conrad previously served for eight years as program director for the general Psychiatry residency training program, and in 2008, he created and is still the program director for the Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship. Dr. Conrad began the Electroconvulsive Therapy Service in 2013, created the Perinatal Psychiatry Clinic to primarily serve pregnant patients with comorbid substance use disorders in 2014, initiated the Trauma Recovery Clinic in 2017, which is now expanded to a Center and has gained recognition as a best practice by the American College of Surgeons in 2022. Dr. Conrad has served in a leadership role at University Medical Center since 2015, first as the Behavioral Health Medical Director and subsequently as the Behavioral Health Service Line Director, leading the Behavioral Health Services through the pandemic in 2020 and multiple accreditation visits from a variety of agencies over the years.
His work has been recognized through multiple awards, including the Allen A. Copping Award for Excellence in Teaching; the LSUHSC Aesculapian Society’s Outstanding Professor, Spring 2006; the department’s Outstanding Achievement in Medical Student Education by a Faculty Member (twice); and many more.
Dr. Conrad has led numerous clinical trials and been published in a number of journals. He has made hundreds of presentations.
Dr. Conrad earned his bachelor’s from LSU and his medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine - New Orleans. He is a Fellow in the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and a Distinguished Fellow in the American Psychiatric Association.