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. Keilp, J.G., Sackeim, H. A., Brodsky, B., Oquendo, M., Malone, K., Sackeim, H., Mann, J.J. Neuropsychological dysfunction in depressed suicide attempters. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2001,158(5): 735-741. PMID: 11329395
2. Bruder, G.E., Keilp, J.G., Xu, H., Shikhman, M., Schori, E., Gorman, J.M., Gilliam, T.C. Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) genotypes: Associations to specific cognitive operations in working memory. Biological Psychiatry, 2005, 58(11), 901-907. PMID: 16043133
3. Keilp, J.G., Gorlyn, M., Oquendo, M.A., Brodsky, B., Ellis, S.P., Stanley, B., Mann, J.J. Aggressiveness, not impulsiveness or hostility, distinguishes suicide attempters with major depression. Psychological Medicine, 2006, 36, 1779-1788. PMID: 16959059
4. Keilp, J.G., Gorlyn, M., Oquendo, M.A., Burke, A. K., Mann, J.J. Attention deficit in depressed suicide attempters. Psychiatry Research, 2008, 159(1-2), 7-17. PMID: 18329724
5. Keilp, J.G., Oquendo, M.A., Stanley, B.H., Burke, A.K., Cooper, T.B., Malone, K.M., Mann, J.J. Future suicide attempt and responses to serotonergic challenge. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2010, 35(5), 1063-1072. PMID: 18354392.
6. Keilp, J.G., Grunebaum, M., Gorlyn, M., LeBlanc, S., Burke, A.K., Galfalvy, H., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J. Suicidal ideation and the subjective aspects of depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2012, 140(1): 75-81. PMID: 22406338
7. Keilp, J.G., Gorlyn, M., Russell, M., Harkavy-Friedman, J., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J. Neuropsychological function and suicidal behavior: Attention control, memory, and executive dysfunction in suicide attempt. Psychological Medicine, 2013, 43(3): 539-551. PMID: 22781400
8. Keilp, J.G., Beers, S.R., Burke, A.K., Melhem, N.M., Oquendo, M.A., Brent, D.A., Mann, J.J. Neuropsychological deficits in past suicide attempters with varying levels of depression severity. Psychological Medicine, 2014, 44(14), 2965-74. PMID: 25066266
9. Bruder, G.E., Alvarenga, J.E., Alschuler, D., Abraham, K., Keilp, J.G., Hellerstein, D.J., Stewart, J.W., McGrath, P.J. Neurocognitive predictors of antidepressant clinical response. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2014, 166, 108-114. PMID: 25012418
10. Keilp, J.G., Wyatt, G., Oquendo, M.A., Harkavy-Friedman, J., Mann, J.J. Intact alternation performance in high lethality suicide attempters. Psychiatry Research, 2014, 219(1), 129-136. PMID: 24878299
11. Gorlyn M., Keilp, J.G., Burke, A.K., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Grunebaum, M.F. Treatment-related improvements in neuropsychological functioning in suicidal depressed patients: Paroxetine vs. bupropion. Psychiatry Research, 2015, 225(3), 407-412. PMID: 25555415
12. Keilp, J.G., Stanley, B.H., Beers, S.R., Melhem, N.M. Burke, A.K., Cooper, T.B., Oquendo, M.A., Brent, D.A., Mann, J.J. Further evidence of low baseline cortisol levels in suicide attempters. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2016, 190, 187-192. PMID: 26519639.
13. Keilp, J.G., Ellis, S.P., Gorlyn, M., Burke, A.K., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Grunebaum, M.F. Suicidal ideation declines with improvement in the subjective symptoms of major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 2017, 227, 65-70. PMID: 29053977
14. Metts, A.V., Keilp, J.G., Kishon, R., Oquendo, M.A., Mann, J.J., Miller, J.M. Neurocognitive performance predicts treatment outcome with cognitive behavioral therapy for major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 2018, 269, 376-385. PMID: 30173044
15. 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