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Biography

Dr. Paulus studied Medicine at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz from 1979-1985. He received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) in 1986 to study the effects of calcium antagonists on animal models of mania at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). In 1993, Dr. Paulus left UCSD to resume his medical training and completed his internship at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center / Zucker Hillside Hospital on Long Island, NY. In 1994, he rejoined the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD as a psychiatric resident. Dr. Paulus completed his residency in psychiatry in 1997. At that time, he joined the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD as an Assistant Professor. He also became a staff psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health Care System (VASDHS). Dr. Paulus is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD and Director of Telemental Health at the VASDHS, which focuses on delivering evidence based psychotherapy to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In May 2014, Dr. Paulus joined the Laureate Institute For Brain Research (LIBR) in Tulsa, OK, as the Scientific Director and President.

Research Interests

Dr. Paulus’ research focuses on three main areas:
(1) Understanding the neurobiology of anxiety disorders and addictive disorders using decision-making and interoception with brain imaging technology.
(2) Developing tools using neuroscience to make clinically useful predictions for mood, anxiety, and addictive disorders.
(3) Integrating subjective measurements with neurobiological approaches to understand how psychiatric symptoms emerge from brain dysfunction.

Dr. Paulus has published over 250 scientific papers, has been funded continuously by federal grants since 1997, and is currently the Principal Investigator on a NIMH R01 aimed at determining the biological basis for positive and negative valence domains in anxiety and depression. He has served on numerous research panels, study sections, and advisory committees. Currently, Dr. Paulus is initiating a large-scale study in Tulsa, termed the T-1000, to determine whether biological measures can be developed to help a clinician predict patient outcomes.

Clinical Focus

At the San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dr. Paulus, in collaboration with Alby Quinlan, RN, MSN, developed a manualized, structured, multi-modal anger management manual. He regularly teaches an anger management class with Alby Quinlan and has given several clinical presentations on the physical and psychological consequences of anger.