Dr. Peter F. Buckley

Dean, Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Health Sciences University

Dr.  Buckley received his medical degree at the University College Dublin School of Medicine in Ireland, where he also completed psychiatric residency training and then a fellowship in schizophrenia research.  He subsequently obtained a Masters Degree by thesis (1996) from University College Dublin.

 In 1992, Dr. Buckley joined the faculty at Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio where he was for eight years and became Professor of Psychiatry and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychiatry. In 1994, Dr. Buckley also became Medical Director of Western Reserve Psychiatric Hospital, a role that expanded over time to serve as Medical Director for Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare System - comprising three state inpatient psychiatric facilities in Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio.  Dr. Buckley also served as Co-Director of the statewide community service product line for Ohio Department of Mental Health.  In 2000, Dr. Buckley became Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia.  From 2007 to 2010, he also served on the Dean’s Staff of the Medical College of Georgia, as Associate Dean and thereafter as Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Development. 

Dr. Buckley has published 340 original articles, book chapters, and abstracts.  He is senior author of a postgraduate textbook of psychiatry.  Dr. Buckley has also authored or edited twelve books on schizophrenia and related topics in psychiatry.  He is Editor of the journal Clinical Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses and was the inaugural Editor of the Journal of Dual Diagnosis.  He is also Co-Editor of the Mosby Yearbook of Psychiatry and Associate Editor of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases.  Dr. Buckley is currently a member of the Editorial Boards of ten other psychiatric journals and has served as a reviewer for over fifty journals.Dr. Buckley is Board Certified and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.  He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  He currently serves as Chair of the PanAmerican Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  Dr. Buckley is past President of the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry.  He has also been a fellow of the Council of Deans of the Association of the American Medical Colleges. Dr. Buckley currently serves as a member of the Data Safety & Monitoring Board of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He is former chair of the NIMH Interventions Committee for Disorders related to Schizophrenia, Late Life, or Personality, and regularly serves as chair for various NIMH Special Emphasis Panels.  He is also a reviewer for other governmental and international research agencies. 

Dr. Buckley's research predominantly focuses on the neurobiology and treatment of schizophrenia. He has also studied both physical and psychiatric comorbidities in schizophrenia. He is currently conducting NIMH-funded studies on the genetics of schizophrenia and on the psychopharmacology of relapse in schizophrenia. He has also conducted research on Patient and Family Centered Care and on the development of academic leadership.  

Dr. Buckley is active in professional societies, and in state and national advocacy organizations, including currently serving as Chair, Dean Committee, American College of Psychiatrists; Membership Committee, American Psychiatric Association; Board of Trustees, Richmond County Medical Society; Scientific Council, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders; Scientific Council, National Alliance for the Mental Illness.

For his transdisciplinary work on State-University collaborations, Dr. Buckley is the recipient of the American Psychiatric Association Administrative Psychiatric Award (2004).  He is also the recipient of an Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for Mental Illness (1998), the Lilly Schizophrenia Reintegration Award (1999), the Georgia Psychiatrist of the Year Award (2006) and the Wayne Fenton Award for exceptional Clinical Care(2011).  He has been continuously acknowledged since 2002 in "The Best Doctors in America".