Elias Dakwar

Elias Dakwar, MD researches novel treatments for addictions with the support of several grants from NIDA and NIAAA. A special focus of his research has been evaluating sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions for cocaine use disorders in both laboratory and clinical settings, as well as investigating ketamine infusions as an adjunct to mindfulness-based treatment, motivational interviewing, and other behavioral frameworks for alcohol, cannabis, and opioid use disorders. He has a more general interest in the impact of non-ordinary experiences, and of the interventions that might occasion them, in psychiatric treatment.

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Elias Dakwar, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. After completing his residency in psychiatry, he completed a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Columbia, under the mentorship of Frances Levin, MD. He is currently the principal investigator on several studies evaluating the effects of various medications on opioid, cannabis, or cocaine use disorders in both clinical and laboratory settings at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Notable Research Papers

• A Single Ketamine Infusion Combined With Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Midazolam-Controlled Pilot Trial (Dakwar, et al., 2020)
• Mystical-type experiences occasioned by ketamine mediate its impact on at-risk drinking: Results from a randomized, controlled trial (Dakwar, et al., 2020)
• The effects of subanesthetic ketamine infusions on motivation to quit and cue-induced craving in cocaine-dependent research volunteers (Dakwar, et al., 2014)

Find more on ResearchGate or PubMed

In our database you will also find him as an author on many more papers.

Media

• Ketamine and Psychiatry (Horizons, 2019)
• Single Dose of Ketamine Plus Talk Therapy May Reduce Alcohol Use (Columbia University, 2019)