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Moira Ann Rynn

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry
2400 Pratt St 7th Floor, Box 102508, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Dr. Rynn is Chair for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. She is an internationally-renowned expert in the treatment of pediatric mood and anxiety disorders. She has spent her career focused on improving treatments for children, adolescents, and young adults with treatment refractory mood and anxiety disorders. Her most recent studies have examined novel augmentation treatment strategies for pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and treatment models for adolescent depression in the primary care setting.  Dr. Rynn received her medical degree from Rutgers University. She completed her internship and residency in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and served as Chief Resident.  After completing her adult psychiatry training, she completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia followed by a Neuropsychopharmacology Research Fellowship sponsored by the NIMH at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Prior to joining Columbia University, Dr. Rynn was medical director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Section of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2024 - Present Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2017 - Present Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Science Departments
Interim Co-Division Director of Behavioral Medicine and Neurosciences · 2020 - Present Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

In the News


Published March 25, 2025
Duke Honors 31 New Distinguished Professors
Published August 18, 2023
Psychology Professor Moira Rynn Co-Authors Book on Adolescent Depression

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Recent Publications


Drug overdose risk with benzodiazepine treatment in young adults: Comparative analysis in privately and publicly insured individuals.

Journal Article Addiction · February 2024 BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Benzodiazepines (BZDs) carry a risk for drug overdose and are prescribed alone or simultaneously with selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of anxiety and depression in young adults. We aimed to measure risk ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of the Youth Behavioral Health Crisis in North Carolina.

Journal Article N C Med J · July 2023 More than 70% of children with one or more mental health diagnoses in North Carolina are not receiving treatment. For many families, emergency departments have become the frontline providers of pediatric behavioral health care. There is a great need for mo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Subcortical shape in pediatric and adult obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Journal Article Depress Anxiety · June 2022 BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) implicates alterations in cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical and fronto-limbic circuits. Building on prior structural findings, this is the largest study to date examining subcortical surface morphometry in OCD ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Duke-NCCU Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Training Program in Child Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Conditions Program (DN-IPT)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEAdvisor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Duke University Psychiatry Physician-Scientist Residency Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health · 2024 - 2029

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Education, Training & Certifications


Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School · 1991 M.D.