Rate My Professor Eric Achtyes

Eric Achtyes, MD, MS, DFAPA, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. He holds a BS in chemistry from Calvin College (1997), an MS in chemistry from the University of Washington (1998), and an MD from the University of Michigan Medical School (2003). Achtyes completed a transitional year internship at Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies (2003-2004) and an adult psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital through Harvard Medical School (2004-2007), serving as chief resident for the adult drug and alcohol treatment program at McLean Hospital.

Prior to his current role, effective January 2023, Achtyes directed the Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids and served as Behavioral Health Medical Director at Network180, where he developed a behavioral health home model of care. Joining Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services and MSU in 2007, he built two research programs, securing approximately $40 million in external funding for NIH- and industry-sponsored studies on schizophrenia and clinical depression. With over 75 peer-reviewed publications, notable works include 'Ultra-rare genetic variation in the epilepsies: a whole-exome sequencing study of 17,606 individuals' (American Journal of Human Genetics, 2019), 'Artificial intelligence and increasing misinformation' (British Journal of Psychiatry, 2023), 'Randomized multicenter investigation of folate plus vitamin B12 supplementation in schizophrenia' (JAMA Psychiatry, 2013), and 'Effect of Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics vs Usual Care on Time to First Hospitalization in Early-Phase Schizophrenia: A Randomized Clinical Trial' (JAMA Psychiatry, 2020). Achtyes is associate editor for the Schizophrenia section of Frontiers in Psychiatry, former president and co-chair of the Program Committee for the Michigan Psychiatric Society, and serves on the continuing medical education committee for the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. He received the Physician of the Year award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness Michigan Chapter in 2022.