Dr. Oquendo is Ruth Meltzer Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry at University of Pennsylvania and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. A summa cum laude graduate of Tufts University, she attended Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. She completed residency at Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Hospital, Weil-Cornell. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in medicine.

Dr. Oquendo has used Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging to map brain abnormalities in mood disorders and suicidal behavior. Her expertise ranges from psychopharmacology to Global Mental Health. She has over 500 peer-reviewed publications and an h-factor of 86 with over 18,000 citations.

Dr. Oquendo is Past President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the International Academy of Suicide Research and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Board of Directors. She is Vice President of the College of International Neuropsychopharmacology and has served on the National Institute of Mental Health’s Advisory Council. Dr. Oquendo is a member of Tufts University’s Board of Trustees, serves on its Executive Committee and chairs Tufts’ Academic Affairs Committee.

A recipient of multiple awards in the US, Europe and South America, most recently, she was honored with the Alexandra Symonds Award (APA 2017), the APA’s Research Award (2018), the Dolores Shockley Award (ACNP 2018) and the Alexander Glassman Award (Columbia University 2021).