Ralph A. O'Connell, M.D.

Ralph A. O'Connell, M.D.

Ralph A. O'Connell, M.D., has been provost of New York Medical College and dean of the School of Medicine since 1996. One of the largest private health sciences universities in the nation, New York Medical College is an academic biomedical research institution that offers advanced degrees in the health professions by educating physicians, scientists and healthcare professionals.

From 1974 until he assumed his post at the university, Dr. O'Connell served as clinical director of the Department of Psychiatry at Saint Vincents Hospital and Medical Center in New York City. He has been a member of the university's faculty since 1980, holding the rank of professor of psychiatry since 1993. Prior to his association with New York Medical College, he was assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Cornell University Medical College, serving in that capacity from 1967 to 1980.

A prolific writer and frequent speaker at national and international meetings, Dr. O'Connell has published extensively in scientific journals and has written many book chapters. His major research interest has been in psychopharmacology, centering on the longterm outcome of the use of lithium in manic-depressive disorder. Most recently, he has published on brain imaging, specifically on the use of single photon emission computed tomography in acute mania and schizophrenia. Dr. O'Connell served as editor-in-chief of Comprehensive Psychiatry from 1984 to 1996.

A member of the American Medical Association, Dr. O'Connell is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and of the New York Academy of Medicine where he has served as vice chairman of the Board of Trustees. He was a member of that board from 1988 to 1997. Dr. O'Connell is a fellow of the American Psychopathological Association and a member of the American College of Psychiatrists.

Dr. O'Connell is active in numerous organizations, among them The Rockefeller University where he has been a member of the Council since 1991; Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New York, for which he served as a trustee from 1991 to 1997; and the University Club of New York, of which he was president from 1993-1995. He is a trustee of Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center. In 1997, he was elected a director of The Catholic Communal Fund. Dr. O'Connell was appointed chair of the Task Force on Medical Education for the Catholic Health Care Network in 1996.

In 1963, Dr. O'Connell received his M.D. degree from Cornell University Medical College. During his studies at Cornell, he received a fellowship at Oxford University Medical College. He did his residency in psychiatry at Saint Vincents Hospital and Medical Center and was chief resident. He also completed a surgical internship and a fellowship in psychopharmacology research there. His residency training was interrupted by military service; he was commissioned a captain in the U.S. Army in 1965.

Dr. O'Connell received his undergraduate degree cum laude from the College of the  Holy Cross in 1959. He is a graduate of Fordham Preparatory School.  Born in New York City in 1938, Dr. O'Connell is married to Jane Burke O'Connell. The couple have three children, two sons and a daughter.