Email: diana_perkins@med.unc.edu

Phone: (919) 966-0018

Education:

B.S. Psychology, B.S. Biochemistry, University of Maryland
M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine
M.P.H., Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health
Residency, Psychiatry, University of Maryland Hospitals
Chief Resident, Psychiatry, University of Maryland Hospitals
Residency, Psychiatry (completed PGY IV year), University of North Carolina Hospitals
Fellow, Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Hospitals

Summary Statement:

Dr. Perkins received her medical degree in 1984 from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.  She completed her psychiatric residency at the University of Maryland Hospitals and University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals and obtained her MPH in epidemiology in 1992 from the UNC–Chapel Hill School of Public Health.

Dr. Perkins is currently Professor of Psychiatry at UNC–Chapel Hill School of Medicine.  She is the Medical Director of OASIS (Outreach and Support Intervention Services) at UNC Hospitals and the UNC–Chapel Hill School of Medicine.  OASIS is an innovative program for individuals recovering from a first psychotic episode or individuals at risk of psychosis.  The mission of OASIS and STEP is to enhance recovery from psychosis, to support research that investigates the causes and treatments of psychotic disorders, and to train future clinicians to better treat psychotic disorders.

Dr. Perkins’ primary research interests include early identification and treatment of schizophrenia, emphasizing treatment of the prodromal period and early intervention of the first episode of schizophrenia. She is currently investigating pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments in the treatment of psychosis; focusing on managing the side effects of atypical antipsychotic medications, and the weight gain mechanism in patients taking psychotropic medications including the health risks associated with weight gain. Dr. Perkins is also investigating the genetic basis of schizophrenia.

Representative Publications:

1. Jeffries CD, Perkins DO, Guan X. Gene processing control loops suggested by sequencing, splicing, and RNA folding. BMC Bioinformatics. 2010 Dec 20;11(1):602. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 21167075; PMC3009692
2. Jeffries CD, Fried HM, Perkins DO. Nuclear and cytoplasmic localization of neural stem cell microRNAs. RNA. 2011 Apr;17(4):675-86. Epub 2011 Mar 1. PMC3062178
3. Addington J, Cornblatt BA, Cadenhead KS, Cannon TD, McGlashan TH, Perkins DO, Seidman LJ, Tsuang MT, Walker EF, Woods SW, Heinssen R. At Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: Outcome for Nonconverters. Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Aug;168(8):800-5 Epub 2011 Apr 15. PMID: 21498462
4. McClay JL, Adkins DE, Aberg K, Stroup S, Perkins DO, Vladimirov VI, Lieberman JA, Sullivan PF, van den Oord EJ. Genome-wide pharmacogenomic analysis of response to treatment with antipsychotics Mol Psychiatry. 2011 Jan;16(1):76-85. Epub 2009 Sep 1. PMID: 19721433; PMC2888895
5. Penn DL, Uzenoff SR, Perkins DO, Mueser KT, Hamer R, Waldheter E, Saade S, Cook L. A pilot investigation of the Graduated Recovery Intervention Program (GRIP) for first episode psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, Volume 125:2-3, Feb 2011:247-256. PMID:20817484, PMC3010489
6. Stroup TS, McEvoy JP, Ring KD, Hamer RH, Lavange LM, Swartz MS, Rosenheck RA, Perkins DO, Nussbaum AM, Lieberman JA; the Schizophrenia Trials Network. A Randomized Trial Examining the Effectiveness of Switching From Olanzapine, Quetiapine, or Risperidone to Aripiprazole to Reduce Metabolic Risk: Comparison of Antipsychotics for Metabolic Problems (CAMP). Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Jul 18. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 21768610