Gen Kanayama, MD, PhD

As an MD, PhD at Osaka University, Dr. Gen Kanayama developed an animal model for Alzheimer’s disease, showing that repeated mild mechanical brain injury may trigger cytoskeletal change, similar to that in human Alzheimer’s disease. He also worked as a staff psychiatrist at Mihara and Sanda Kogen Hospitals, where he treated patients experiencing dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

In 1998, Dr. Kanayama came to the United States, and began working at McLean Hospital in 1999. At McLean, he initially engaged in cognitive neuroimaging studies examining brain regions affected in patients with bipolar disorder and substance use disorders, especially cannabis misuse. He also developed a growing interest in the misuse of performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic-androgenic steroids. Over the last 15 years, Dr. Kanayama has authored more than 20 studies examining the epidemiology, comorbidity, and clinical features of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse.