Andre Russowsky Brunoni, M.D., Ph.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

Dr. Andre Russowsky Brunoni, MD, PhD, MBA, is an internationally recognized psychiatrist, researcher and scientist whose pioneering work has transformed the field of neuromodulation and interventional psychiatry. After a successful trajectory at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of São Paulo Medical School and Director of the Interventional Psychiatry Division at the Institute of Psychiatry, Clinics Hospital, he joined UT Southwestern Medical Center as Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute in August 2025, being the Chief of the Division of Interventional Psychiatry.

Dr. Brunoni's research focuses on developing innovative therapeutic strategies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and other neuromodulation techniques for treating major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, OCD, schizophrenia, and post-COVID cognitive symptoms. His landmark randomized clinical trial comparing tDCS with escitalopram for depression, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2017), was a paradigm shift in the field, establishing tDCS as a potential alternative to pharmacotherapy.

One of Dr. Brunoni's major contributions has been his work on precision neuromodulation and biomarker development. His group has pioneered multimodal approaches integrating neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging techniques to uncover mechanisms behind therapeutic interventions and predict treatment response. His extensive publication record includes 432 peer-reviewed articles (Google Scholar H-index: 89, with over 40,800 citations), with several featured in top-tier journals including NEJM, JAMA Psychiatry, and Lancet Psychiatry. Recent articles from his group include results of rigorously designed clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of home-based tDCS for ADHD (Leffa et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2022) and for depression (Borrione et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2024), and accelerated theta-burst stimulation for depression (Rassi et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2025). He has also published influential studies evaluating the impact of COVID on mental health (Brunoni et al., Psychol Med, 2023; GBD, Lancet, 2024).

As a leader in the field, Dr. Brunoni established the first Interventional Psychiatry Division in Brazil in 2021, integrating treatment services for ketamine, electroconvulsive therapy, and TMS. Under his leadership, the division oversees approximately 100 daily sessions of these interventions, while also managing the Resistant Depression and Suicidality Outpatient Clinic. He founded Brazil's first fellowship program in Interventional Psychiatry, training over 50 fellows in this emerging field.

Selected as a Dear Scholar at UT Southwestern, Dr. Brunoni will continue advancing neuromodulation research through developing clinical trials and building a team of researchers at his new institution. His research has secured approximately US$9 million in grants from prestigious institutions including NIH, the US Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Milken Institute, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, and Brazil's São Paulo Research State Foundation. He has mentored 37 individuals, including medical students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers, many of whom have become successful researchers at prestigious academic institutions worldwide.

Publications

Featured Publications

Home-Use Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for the Treatment of a Major Depressive Episode: A Randomized Clinical Trial.: Borrione L, Cavendish BA, Aparicio LVM, Luethi MS, Goerigk S, Ramos MRF, Moran NKS, Carneiro AM, Valiengo L, Moura DO, de Souza JP, Batista MP, Aparecida da Silva V, Klein I, Suen P, Gallucci-Neto J, Padberg F, Razza LB, Vanderhasselt MA, Lotufo PA, Bensenor IM, Fregni F, Brunoni AR, JAMA Psychiatry 2024 Apr 81 4 329-337
Efficacy and Safety of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as an Add-on Treatment for Bipolar Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial.: Sampaio-Junior B, Tortella G, Borrione L, Moffa AH, Machado-Vieira R, Cretaz E, Fernandes da Silva A, Fraguas R, Aparício LV, Klein I, Lafer B, Goerigk S, Benseñor IM, Lotufo PA, Gattaz WF, Brunoni AR, JAMA Psychiatry 2018 Feb 75 2 158-166
Trial of Electrical Direct-Current Therapy versus Escitalopram for Depression.: Brunoni AR, Moffa AH, Sampaio-Junior B, Borrione L, Moreno ML, Fernandes RA, Veronezi BP, Nogueira BS, Aparicio LVM, Razza LB, Chamorro R, Tort LC, Fraguas R, Lotufo PA, Gattaz WF, Fregni F, Benseñor IM, N Engl J Med 2017 Jun 376 26 2523-2533
The sertraline versus electrical current therapy for treating depression clinical study (select-TDCS): results of the crossover and follow-up phases.: Valiengo L, Benseñor IM, Goulart AC, de Oliveira JF, Zanao TA, Boggio PS, Lotufo PA, Fregni F, Brunoni AR, Depress Anxiety 2013 Jul 30 7 646-53
Transcranial direct current stimulation as an additional treatment to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in adults with major depressive disorder in Germany (DepressionDC): a triple-blind, randomised, sham-controlled, multicentre trial.: Burkhardt G, Kumpf U, Crispin A, Goerigk S, Andre E, Plewnia C, Brendel B, Fallgatter A, Langguth B, Abdelnaim M, Hebel T, Normann C, Frase L, Zwanzger P, Diemer J, Kammer T, Schönfeldt-Lecuona C, Kamp D, Bajbouj M, Behler N, Wilkening A, Nenov-Matt T, Dechantsreiter E, Keeser D, Bulubas L, Palm U, Blankenstein C, Mansmann U, Falkai P, Brunoni AR, Hasan A, Padberg F, Lancet 2023 Aug 402 10401 545-554
Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on symptom domains in neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic review and cross-diagnostic meta-analysis.: Kan RLD, Padberg F, Giron CG, Lin TTZ, Zhang BBB, Brunoni AR, Kranz GS, Lancet Psychiatry 2023 Apr 10 4 252-259
Burden of disease due to amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, and opioid use disorders in South America, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.: Castaldelli-Maia JM, Wang YP, Brunoni AR, Faro A, Guimarães RA, Lucchetti G, Martorell M, Moreira RS, Pacheco-Barrios K, Rodriguez JAB, Roever L, Silva DAS, Tovani-Palone MR, Valdez PR, Zimmermann IR, Culbreth GT, Hay SI, Murray CJL, Bensenor IM, Lancet Psychiatry 2023 Feb 10 2 85-97
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation vs Sham for the Treatment of Inattention in Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The TUNED Randomized Clinical Trial.: Leffa DT, Grevet EH, Bau CHD, Schneider M, Ferrazza CP, da Silva RF, Miranda MS, Picon F, Teche SP, Sanches P, Pereira D, Rubia K, Brunoni AR, Camprodon JA, Caumo W, Rohde LA, JAMA Psychiatry 2022 Sep 79 9 847-856
Association of Everyday Discrimination With Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the All of Us Research Program.: Lee YH, Liu Z, Fatori D, Bauermeister JR, Luh RA, Clark CR, Bauermeister S, Brunoni AR, Smoller JW, JAMA Psychiatry 2022 Jul

Honors & Awards

Alexander von Humboldt Georg Forster Research Award
The Georg Forster Research Award is one of the most prestigious prizes granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and presented once a year to up to six internationally outstanding researchers from developing countries. (2024)
Highly Cited Researcher, cross-field, Web of Science / Clarivate Analytics
(2019-2022)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

Brain Stimulation Journal (2023-2024)
Brazilian Association of Brain Stimulation and ECT (2020-2024)
Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (2023-2024)
Brazilian Psychiatry Association (2022-2024)
Scientific organizing committee of the Brazilian Congress of Psychiatry (2020-2024)
Society of Biological Psychiatry (2022-2024)