Ayal Schaffer

Ayal Schaffer (MD, FRCPC) is Head of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, and

Deputy Psychiatrist-in-Chief, at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada.

He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Vice

President Education for the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, and on the Board

of the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT).

Dr. Schaffer’s research interests involve the management of bipolar disorder and

treatment-resistant depression, understanding suicide risk and prevention, and examining

population-health trends in the treatment of mental illness. Dr. Schaffer has been a

principal or co-investigator of studies funded by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation,

Canadian Institute of Health Research, National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.),

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, PSI Foundation, American Foundation

for Suicide Prevention, the Stanley Medical Research Institute, and others.

Dr. Schaffer co-authored the CANMAT / ISBD Guidelines for the Management of

Bipolar Disorder as well as co-leading the CANMAT Task Force on Comorbidity in

Mood Disorders. He recently chaired the International Society for Bipolar Disorders

Task Force on Suicide. Dr. Schaffer has an outpatient and inpatient practice at

Sunnybrook, where he is also chair of the Department of Psychiatry Quality

Improvement Committee. He is actively involved in teaching at the undergraduate,

postgraduate, and continuing educations levels