John Keilp, Ph.D.

John Keilp, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, and a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He is trained as a both a Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist and serves as a Co-Investigator in the Conte Center for Suicide Prevention Clinical Evaluation Core 2.

Dr. Keilp obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University. He did his clinical internship in both adult and child Clinical Psychology at the Cornell University Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in Neuropsychology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  Dr. Keilp’s research work has been funded by the National Institute for Mental Health, the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke, the Brain Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD), and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Research Focus

Dr. Keilp’s research focuses on the neurocognitive deficits associated with psychiatric disorders, particularly on the neurocognitive effects of depression and their relationship to risk for suicidal behavior.  He published one of the first systematic studies of neurocognitive deficits in suicide attempters in 2001 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, raising awareness of this important risk factor and influencing other investigators to undertake this work.  His research also focuses on the manner in which neurocognitive deficits affect the likelihood of treatment response, and the degree to which neurocognitive performance is affected by treatment.  A recent study from his laboratory examines developmental effects across the adult lifespan on the nature of these deficits.

Dr. Keilp also has conducted studies on characteristics of the stress response in suicide attempters, and the role of multiple components of the stress response system.  He has performed research on the nature of depression and the specific symptoms of depression that predispose to the development of suicidal thinking.

Select Publications

1. Herzog, S., Galfalvy, H., Keilp, J. G., Mann, J. J., Sublette, M. E., Burke, A., Oquendo, M. A., & Stanley, B. H. Relationship of stress-reactive cortisol to suicidal intent of prior attempts in major depression. Psychiatry Research, 2023, 115315. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115315.

2. Hendricks, R., Keilp, J.G., Lesanpezeshki, M., Muqkurtaj, R., Ellis, S.P., Galfalvy, H., Burke, A.K., Melhem, N., Mann, J.J. Deconstructing resilience in patients at high risk for suicidal behavior. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2023, 323: 320-326. PMID: 36427650.

3. Herzog, S., Keilp, J.G., Galfalvy, H., Mann, J.J., & Stanley, B. Attentional control deficits and suicidal ideation variability: An ecological momentary assessment study in major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2022, 323:819-825. PMID: 36549341.

4. Lalovic, A., Wang, S., Keilp, J. G., Bowie, C. R., Kennedy, S. H., Rizvi, S. J. A qualitative systematic review of neurocognition in suicide ideators and attempters: implications for cognitive-based psychotherapeutic interventions. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 2022, 132:92-109. PMID: 34774586

5. Gratch, I., Choo, T-H., Galfalvy, H., Keilp, J.G., Itzhaky, L., Mann, J.J., Stanley, B.H. Detecting suicidal thoughts: The power of ecological momentary assessment. Depression and Anxiety. 2021, 38(1): 8-16. PMID: 32442349.

6. Itzhaky. L., Gratch, I., Galfalvy, H., Keilp, J.G., Burke, A.K., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Stanley, B.H. Psychosocial risk factors and outcomes associated with suicide attempts in childhood: A retrospective study. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2020, 125:129-135. PMID: 32278224

7. Itzhaky, L., Galfalvy, H., Keilp, J.G., Gratch, I., Brodsky, B.S., Stanley, B.H. Stress response in suicide attempters with Borderline Personality Disorder: The role of behavioral problems in childhood. Psychiatry. 2020, 18:1-10. PMID: 32069167.

8. Stanley, B., Michel, C.A., Galfalvy, H., Keilp J.G., Rizk, M., Richardson, R., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J. Suicidal subtypes, stress responsivity, and impulsive aggression. Psychiatry Research. 2019, 280:112486. PMID: 31376789

9. Steinberg, L.J., Rubin-Falcone, H., Galfalvy, H.C., Kaufman, J., Miller, J.M., Sublette, M.E., Cooper, T.B., Min, E., Keilp, J.G., Stanley, B.H., Oquendo, M.A., Ogden, R.T., Mann, J.J. Cortisol stress response and in vivo PET imaging of human brain serotonin 1A receptor binding. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2019, 22(5), 329-338. PMID: 30927011

10. Lan, M.J., Rizk, M.M., Pantazatos, S.P., Rubin-Falcone, H., Miller, J.M., Sublette, M.E., Oquendo, M.A., Keilp, J.G., Mann, J.J. Resting-state amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation is associated with suicidal ideation. Depression and Anxiety, 2019, 36(5), 433-441. PMID: 30900329

11. Milak, M.S., Potter, W.A., Pantazatos, S.P., Keilp, J.G., Zanderigo, F., Schain, M., Sublette, M.E., Oquendo, M.A., Malone, K.M., Brandenburg, H., Parsey, R.V., Mann, J.J. Resting regional brain activity correlates of verbal learning deficit in major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging, 2018, 283:96-103. PMID: 30580237

12. *Keilp, J.G., Corbera, K., Gorlyn, M., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Fallon, B.A. Neurocognition in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease and Major Depressive Disorder. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2018, 34(4), 466-480. PMID: 30418507

13. *Keilp, J.G., Madden, S.P., Gorlyn, M., Burke, A.K., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J. The lack of meaningful association between depression severity measures and neurocognitive performance. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2018, 241, 164-172. PMID 30121449

14. Rizk, M.M., Rubin-Falcone, H., Keilp, J.G., Lin, X., Ogden, T., Sublette, M.E., Oquendo, M.A., Miller, J.M., Abdelfadeel, N.A., Abdelhameed, M.A., Mann, J.J. Grey matter volumetric study of major depression and suicidal behavior. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 2018, 283:16-23. PMID: 30469094

15. Venezia, R.G., Gorlyn M., Burke, A.K., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Keilp, J.G. The impact of cognitive reserve on neurocognitive performance in major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 2018, 270, 211-218. PMID: 30267985

16. Miller, J.M., Zanderigo, F., Purushothaman, P.D., DeLorenzo, C., Rubin-Falcone, H., Ogden, R.T., Keilp, J.G., Oquendo, M.A., Nabulsi, N., Huang, Y.H., Parsey, R.V., Carson, R.E., Mann, J.J. Kappa Opioid Receptor Binding in Major Depression: A Pilot Study. Synapse, 2018, 72(9), e22042. PMID: 29935119

17. Rizk, M.M., Galfalvy, H., Singh, Y., Keilp, J.G., Sublette, M.E., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Stanley, B. Toward subtyping of suicidality: Brief suicidal ideation is associated with greater stress response. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2018, 230, 87-92. PMID: 29407544

18. *Keilp, J.G. The horse is ready: We are building the cart. Commentary on Saffer, B.Y. and Klonsky, E.D. “Do neurocognitive abilities distinguish suicide attempters and suicide ideators: A systematic review of an emerging research area.” Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2018, 25(1), e12228. [No PMID/Indexed in PsycInfo]