Interim Chair:  Michael Makhinson, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Makhinson is interim chair and Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  He completed his M.D., and Ph.D. (neuroscience) degrees through the Medical Scientist Training Program at UCLA.  He then completed his Psychiatry residency, also at UCLA.

After residency, Dr. Makhinson then joined the Harbor-UCLA faculty, spending 17 years as Co-Director of the Psychiatry Service before taking the position of interim chair.  He has interests and has published in areas of schizophrenia, medical decision-making, cognitive bias, brain stimulation, and psychedelic medicine.

Past Chair:  Ira Lesser, M.D.

Dr. Lesser is currently Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  Prior to becoming chair of the Psychiatry Department at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, he was the director of residency training for 18 years.  Dr. Lesser has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in books, mostly in the fields of mood and anxiety disorders, depression in the geriatric age population, and the interface of depression and race/ethnicity.

Dr. Lesser a Distinguished Fellow in the American Psychiatric Association, chairs the Well-Being of Practitioners Committee at Harbor-UCLA, reviews manuscripts for major psychiatric journals, and has had over 30 years of continuous federal or industry support for his research.

Residency Program Director:  Karl Burgoyne, M.D.

Dr. Burgoyne did his undergraduate work at the University of Souther California (USC) earning his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering.  In 1984 he matriculated into USC’s School of Medicine and subsequently completed his general adult psychiatry residency there as well.

In 1992, Dr. Burgoyne joined the faculty at Harbor-UCLA, where he served as the medical director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s first Assertive Community Treatment Program at Harbor.  In 1996, he transitioned into being the co-director of the Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic at Harbor-UCLA.  Dr. Burgoyne became the program director for Harbor-UCLA Medical Center’s Adult Psychiatry Program in March of 2005.

Associate Residency Program Director:  Weiguo Zhu, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Zhu is board certified in general psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine.  In addition to his role as Associate Program Director, he is the co-director of Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry.

Dr. Zhu completed his medical education in China.  He obtained his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Arizona.  He had fellowship, training in clinical immunology at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.  Upon completion of his internship and residency at Harbor-UCLA, he joined the faculty at Keck School of Medicine/USC, where he was the director of behavioral medicine service at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.  Dr. Zhu returned to Harbor-UCLA as faculty in 2012.  From a research standpoint, Dr. Zhu is interested in understanding the interactions between the immune system and brain.  He is actively involved in clinical studies in DNS drug development and testing.