Daniel Castellanos, MD

Dr. Castellanos has spent his career in academic medicine dedicated to the teaching and training of students, residents, and fellows in Psychiatry. He has received several awards for outstanding teaching and has served as a mentor for numerous practicing child and adolescent psychiatrists. One of Dr. Castellanos’ areas of expertise are the appropriate use of psychotropic medications in children and adolescents. He has given over 80 international, national or regional presentations and published two books and an online training module on the appropriate use of psychotropic medications in children and adolescents. He has also performed research and published in suicide and Hispanic youth and the use of novel psychoactive substances among youth. 

Dr. Castellanos has extensive leadership and administrative experience.  He has held several medical school leadership positions. He is co-founder of FIU EMBRACE, has served as Medical Director of South Florida Behavioral Health Network, President of the Florida Psychiatric Society and held leadership positions in other regional and national professional societies. After obtaining his medical degree at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in Santiago, Dominican Republic, Dr. Castellanos completed his residency in Psychiatry at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. He subsequently completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Castellanos is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics and Founding Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.  In 2008, he founded the Department as a part time faculty member along with a half time administrative assistant. Today, the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health is the second largest clinical department in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Over thirty salaried full-time and part-time faculty, four staff clinicians and 60 voluntary faculty comprise the core of the Department.  Under Dr. Castellanos’ leadership, the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health is currently one of the top recipients of sponsored research funding in the College of Medicine.  

Education and training have been an integral part of Dr. Castellanos’ vision and the Department’s mission.  In partnership with Citrus Health Network, Dr. Castellanos co-founded, helped develop and obtain accreditation for a new psychiatry residency and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program.  The novel training program is the first ACGME accredited psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program in the country based out of a Federally Qualified Health Center and a Community Mental Health Center.   Since 2015, he has also served as the College of Medicine’s Assistant Dean for Graduate Medicate Education (GME). As the Assistant Dean for GME Dr. Castellanos works assisting regional hospitals in developing residency programs in different specialties.  Dr. Castellanos is committed to developing programs that offer excellence in education, training, research, and clinical services.

Education and Training:

• Fellowship, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute/ Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, New York
• Residency, Psychiatry, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida
• MD, Pontifica Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic
• BA, Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

Publications:

• Alonso, M., Jardon, M., Pizarro, M., Castellanos, D., Aponte, X., Esposito, K., & Foster, A. (2017). The Community Value of Academic Psychiatry: The Development of a Psychiatry Residency Program in a Federally Qualified Health Center. Academic Psychiatry,42(4), 572-577. doi:10.1007/s40596-017-0724-2
• Castellanos, D., Kosoy, J. E., Ayllon, K. D., & Acuna, J. (2016). Presence of Alcohol and Drugs in Hispanic Versus Non-Hispanic Youth Suicide Victims in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health,18(5), 1024-1031. doi:10.1007/s10903-016-0418-y
• Castellanos, D. (2016). Synthetic cannabinoids 2015: An update for pediatricians in clinical practice. World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics,5(1), 16. doi:10.5409/wjcp.v5.i1.16
• Castellanos, D., Capo, M., Valderrama, D., Jean-Francois, M., & Luna, A. (2018). Relationship of peer specialists to mental health outcomes in South Florida. International Journal of Mental Health Systems,12(1). doi:10.1186/s13033-018-0239-6
• Castellanos, D., Menendez, B., Logan, B. K., Mohr, A. L., Ayer, D., Thomas, M., & Foster, A. (2018). “Flakka” Intoxication: What have We Learned? Journal of Drug Abuse,04(01). doi:10.21767/2471-853x.100071
• Gauthreaux, C., Negron, J., Castellanos, D., Ward-Peterson, M., Castro, G., Vega, P. R., & Acuña, J. M. (2017). The association between pregnancy intendedness and experiencing symptoms of postpartum depression among new mothers in the United States, 2009 to 2011. Medicine,96(6). doi:10.1097/md.0000000000005851
• Hartley, C. M., Pettit, J. W., & Castellanos, D. (2017). Reactive Aggression and Suicide-Related Behaviors in Children and Adolescents: A Review and Preliminary Meta-Analysis. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior,48(1), 38-51. doi:10.1111/sltb.12325
• Salgado, C. A., & Castellanos, D. (2018). Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cannabidiol: Have We Seen This Movie Before? Global Pediatric Health,5. doi:10.1177/2333794x18815412