Crystal T Clark

Crystal T. Clark, MD, MSc is an Associate Professor in the department of psychiatry, University of Toronto. She is also a scientist at Women’s College Research Institute and will serve as the Associate Head of Research at the Women’s College Hospital. As an adult psychiatrist, Dr. Clark specializes in mood and anxiety disorders and is internationally recognized for her expertise in the treatment of women’s mental health across the reproductive life span (i.e., menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, trauma related to reproduction). Dr. Clark is a researcher who aims to optimize mental health treatment for pregnant and postpartum people from all backgrounds. Much of her research has focused on pharmacology management and establishment of dosing guidelines for Bipolar Disorder during pregnancy and postpartum. Her research also aims address a significant gap in the field of psychiatry, the characterization of the experiences, risks, and optimal treatment approaches for parental mental health among Black, Indigenous, People of Color.

Dr. Clark is a past president of the Marcé of North America and serves on the board of directors of Marcé International. Dr. Clark received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Northwestern University and her Master of Science and Medical Doctorate from the University of Louisville, Kentucky (2006). She completed her adult psychiatry training and served as chief resident at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, USA (2010). Prior to completing her MSc in Clinical Investigation Sciences (2012), she completed fellowship training in clinical research and reproductive psychiatry while also serving on faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine/Michael E. Debakey VA as well as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/ Pittsburgh VA Healthcare Systems. Prior to joining UofT, she served as an Associate Professor at Northwestern University, Chicago. There she was a Staff Psychiatrist at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital; and Clinical Director of the Women’s Outpatient Program, Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders. She also co-founded and co-directed and advanced training fellowship in women’s and reproductive mental health. 

Appointments

Department of Psychiatry

Research Interests

Perinatal Psychopharmacology

Perinatal Bipolar

Perinatal Mood Disorders in BIPOC

Trauma and Reproduction

Grants

Research has been funded by PhRMA foundation and NICHD (NIH)

Recent Publications

Millan DM, Clark CT, Sakowicz A, Grobman WA, Miller ES. Validation of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire in Identification of Perinatal Bipolar Disorder. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2023 Jan PMID: 36280148. (In press)

Snowber K, Ciolino JD, Clark CT, Grobman WA, Miller ES. Associations Between Implementation of the Collaborative Care Model and Disparities in Perinatal Depression Care. Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Aug 1;140(2):204-211. Epub 2022 Jul 6. PMID: 35852270

Conteh N, Gagliardi J, McGahee S, Molina R, Clark CT, Clare CA. Medical Mistrust in Perinatal Mental Health, Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 2022, 30 (4), 238-247.

Mesches GA, Ciolino JD, Stika CS, Sit D, Zumpf K, Fisher SF, Clark CT, George AL, Avram M, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Erickson DI, Caritis S, Vekataramanan R, et al. Trajectories of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Across Pregnancy and Postpartum in SSRI-treated Women. Psych Res Clin Pract, 2022; 4 (2): 32 – 41

Clark CT, Sit DK, Zumpf KB, Ciolino JD, Yang A, Fisher SD, et al. A Comparison of Symptoms of Bipolar and Unipolar Depression in Postpartum Women. J Affect Disord. 2022 Apr 15;303:82-90. PMID: 35041868.

Torres E, Zumpf KB, Ciolino JD, Clark CT, Sit DK, Miller ES, Wisner KL. C-Reactive protein concentrations in reproductive-aged women with major mood disorders. Arch Womens Ment Health, 25, 577-584, (2022). PMID: 35316423.

Clark CT, Newmark RL, Wisner KL, Stika C, Avram MJ. Lithium Pharmacokinetics in the Perinatal Patient with Bipolar Disorder.  J Clin Pharmacol. 2022 May 27. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35620848.

Honours and Awards

Career Development Award, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2017 – 2020) K23HD087529-01A1

Faculty Development Award in Clinical Pharmacology, PhRMA Foundation (2016)

Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Scholar (BIRCWH), National Institute of Child Health and Human and Development (NIH), K12HD055884 (2015)

Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Scholar (BIRCWH) (only awardee of Psychiatry and 1 of 3 awardees institution wide), National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, K12HD055884 (2013-2015)

NCDEU New Investigator Award, Principal Investigator, American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (2012)