Brian Sands
About Brian Sands
Brian Sands is an Assistant Clinical Professor and Section Chief of Substance Use Disorder Services at the Department of Veterans Affairs, with extensive experience in addiction psychiatry and psychopharmacology.
Title and Current Roles
Brian Sands holds the title of Assistant Clinical Professor and currently serves in multiple roles. He is the Section Chief of Substance Use Disorder Services at the Department of Veterans Affairs, located at 423 E 23rd Street, New York, NY. Additionally, he practices as a Psychopharmacologist and Therapist at Brian F Sands MD Private Practice, where he offers therapy and psychopharmacology consultations. Sands also serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor at NYU Langone Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry.
Past Professional Experience
Brian Sands's career includes several significant roles. He was the Medical Director at the Mental Health Works, Services for the UnderServed from 2011 to 2012. Sands has also worked as the Director of the Division of Chemical Dependency at HHC-Woodhull's Department of Psychiatry from 2000 to 2011. In the Greater Boston Area, he served as a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School from 1994 to 2000 and as an Assistant Professor at Tufts Medical Center from 1988 to 2001. Additionally, he held roles at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Boston, including as Director of Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment and as Attending on a psychiatric inpatient teaching unit.
Educational Background
Brian Sands's educational journey began with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Computer Science from the University at Albany, SUNY, completed in 1979. He then earned his MD from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in 1983. Sands pursued a Fellowship in Clinical Psychopharmacology and completed a Residency in Adult Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine between 1983 and 1988.
Specializations and Expertise
Brian Sands specializes in addiction psychiatry, with a focus on psychopharmacology and psychotherapy. He has expertise in optimizing treatment for substance use, mood, and anxiety disorders. Sands is particularly interested in the data structures and logic underlying Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and the screening and treatment of nicotine dependence within healthcare systems.
Roles in Substance Use Disorder Services
In his role as Section Chief of Substance Use Disorder Services at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Brian Sands oversees the management and optimization of treatment services for substance use disorders. Additionally, as the Medical Director of the Opioid Treatment Program at the VHA NY Harbor Healthcare System's Manhattan Campus, he applies his expertise in providing comprehensive care for opioid dependence.