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Alexander Young, MD, MSHS
Health Systems Research is proud to announce that HSR investigator Alexander Young, MD, MSHS, received the Senior Scholar Health Services Research Award at the 2025 American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting, held in Los Angeles, CA, on May 17-21. This award recognizes sustained research accomplishments in mental health. The APA is the principal professional organization of psychiatrists in the U.S. and promotes the profession of psychiatry, advocates for patients’ rights, and provides educational and research support.
A psychiatrist and health services researcher, Dr. Young is the Associate Director for the Health Services Implementation Unit of the VA VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center, as well as the Mental Health Research Lead, and Core Investigator at the VA HSR Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy (CSHIIP), both in Los Angeles. MIRECCs were established by Congress in 1997 to bring best practices in mental health care into VA clinical settings. In addition, Dr. Young is a Professor at UCLA’s Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Young’s research interests include quality of care and treatment of mental illness. He has led research and education to study and improve the quality of healthcare, including the structure, processes, and outcomes of care. He has worked in implementation science, healthcare services, and health informatics. Dr. Young has made especially important contributions to the care of the underserved and those with serious mental illness. He also has led multiple national multi-site programs to improve care. These have used innovative care models, informatics, and implementation science to reorganize care, support decision-making, and improve service delivery and outcomes. For example, he recently conducted a study funded by HSR that allowed Veterans with serious mental illness to self-track behaviors using their mobile phones in order to detect any worsening of their mental health. Results helped develop an upcoming study on the effectiveness and implementation of this type of tracking method — and how it might be used to improve treatment and outcomes for Veterans with serious mental illness.
