Yuval Neria
Encyclopedia
Yuval Neria is a clinical psychologist, Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of Clinical Psychology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...

 at Columbia University, Medical Center (CUMC)., Director of Trauma
Physical trauma
Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...

 and PTSD Program, and a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute
New York State Psychiatric Institute
The New York State Psychiatric Institute, established in 1895 and located on Riverside Drive at the foot of Washington Heights, the far upper west side of Manhattan in New York City, was one of the first institutions in the United States to integrate teaching, research and therapeutic approaches to...

 (NYSPI) and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 Department of Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

.

Neria grew up in Israel, and spent his childhood in the city of Holon with his younger sister, Nurit, and two parents, Zipora and Jacob Neria. At the age of 18, he joined the Israeli army and subsequently participated in the 1973 Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...

 and the 1982 Lebanon war
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...

. He was injured in the Yom Kippur War and at the age of 22 was awarded the highest decoration for combat bravery in Israel Medal of Valor.

Neria's work and political views were deeply influenced by his war experiences.. He was one of the founders of the Israeli grassroots movement "Peace Now," which sought to facilitate reconciliation between Israel, the Palestinians, and Arab countries., and has published a war novel, Fire (Zmora Bitan, 1986) (Esh in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

), based on his painful experiences in the Yom Kippur 1973 War, and was involved in the development of an improved policies regarding the wellbeing of returning war veterans and prisoners of war with post trauma psychopathology.

Neria completed his studies in philosophy (BA), political science (BA) and clinical psychology (MA) in Hebrew University in Jerusalem, received his doctorate (PhD) in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 from the Haifa University
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

, Israel, in 1994, and served on the faculty of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...

 (1995-2001). In the fall of 2001, he moved to New York following his recruitment to Columbia University in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 with his wife, Mariana, a clinical psychologist, and his three children, Michal, Oren and Maya, where they still live today.

Neria’s research has been devoted to understanding the psychological consequences of exposure to traumatic events. While his main focus has been the study of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), its course (development, persistence, remission), psychosocial determinants, and underlying neurobiological basis, his studies have suggested that the effects of psychological trauma are not limited to PTSD, and are often resulted in other debilitating disorders including bipolar illness, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), substance and alcohol abuse, borderline personality disorder, complicated grief, functional impairment and physical disorders.

Dr. Neria has conducted large scale studies among Israeli prisoners of war from the Yom Kippur 1973 war, 9/11 bereaved, and low-income primary care patients exposed to 9/11 attacks in New York City. He received numerous awards from federal and private foundations. To date, his lab at Columbia and NYSPI is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to conduct novel research of fear-circuitry in PTSD, using clinical and psychophysiological assessments, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain.

Neria has authored and coauthored more than 120 articles and book chapters in the area of psychological trauma its related disorders. He is the lead editor of two books: "9/11: mental health in the wake of terrorist attacks" (Cambridge University Press, 2006) and "The Mental Health Consequences of Disasters" (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and a co-editor of the book "Anxiety Disorders: Theory, Research and Clinical Perspectives." (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He is the 2007 recipient of the Klerman NARSAD Award for outstanding Clinical Research, Honorable Mention.
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