PULSES: The Latest in TMS Training

PULSES Director

Linda Carpenter, MD, FCTMSS

Dr. Linda Carpenter is Director of the Butler Hospital TMS Clinic and Neuromodulation Research Facility. She is Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior in the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. She is an academic psychiatrist who conducts clinical trials and mechanistic research studies in mood and anxiety disorders with funding support by numerous industry and federal grants. She has published over 200 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including reports of trials investigating VNS, DBS, TMS, and other neuromodulation devices. Dr. Carpenter has served in leadership and mentorship roles for multiple national scientific and professional organizations, including the CTMSS, the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the Society of Biological Psychiatry. Active in various CTMSS committees and Board of Directors since 2014, she is a founding faculty member of the PULSES course and now serves as the PULSES Director. In recognition of her research and educational contributions to the field of clinical TMS, Dr. Carpenter was awarded the CTMSS Medal of Honor in 2024.

PULSES Deputy Director

Michelle Cochran, MD, DLFAPA, FCTMSS

Dr. Michelle Cochran is Chief Medical Officer for Synaptic PSYCH: Hope for your Brain, based in Nashville, Tennessee. Providing interventional psychiatric treatments such as TMS since 2011, she has become a passionate and highly recognized leader in the field of TMS education and training. Dr. Cochran was a founding member of CTMSS, served as its President in 2017-2018, served two terms as a CTMSS Board Member, and has been a Chair or member of multiple CTMSS committees. She is also a founding faculty of the PULSES Course and its Course Director from its inception until 2025, continuing now as Pulses Deputy Director. As the ACROSS representative between the CTMSS and the American Psychiatric Association (APA), Dr. Cochran worked to create the new APA Neuromodulation Caucus, which represents the interests of psychiatrists practicing TMS, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Vagus Nerve Stimulation, Deep Brain Stimulation, and other forms of neuromodulation. She was the first appointed Chair of the APA Neuromodulation Caucus and continues to raise national and international awareness of TMS therapy in that role.

Christina Hughes, MD, FCTMSS

Dr. Christina Hughes is the Medical Director for the Kitsap and Tacoma division of Seattle Neuropsychiatric Treatment Center (SeattleNTC) and the Pain Academy Course Director. She is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician with fellowship training in Multiple Sclerosis. In addition to founding the CTMSS Pain Academy training course, she is on the CTMSS Board of Directors, is active in the Society’s Training Committee, Membership Committee, and Mentorship Programs. Dr. Hughes is trained on MagVenture, MagStim, Neurostar, and Brainsway devices. With a clinical interest in TMS for more than 10 years, Dr. Hughes specializes in neurorehabilitation with a passion for expanding awareness and access to high-quality, non-invasive treatments for depression and other neuro-psychiatric disorders. She is also active in the non-profit FACTMS (Foundation for the Advancement of Clinical TMS) and helped the foundation establish its first TMS clinic for underserved populations, the Neil S. Hirsch Clinic at the Kitsap Mental Health Services in Washington State.

Phern Chern Tor, MD, PhD

Dr. Phern-Chern (“P.C.”) Tor holds faculty appointments as Adjunct Assistant Professor in Psychiatry in the Yong Loo Ling School of Medicine, in the Duke-NUS School of Medicine, and in the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. He completed medical training in Singapore and served as Head of Psychological Care (PCC) services in the Singapore Armed Forces, where he revamped the psychiatric care model. He was the recipient of the distinguished Eli-Lily Gold Medal award and the Singapore Psychiatric Association Book Prize. Dr. Tor has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles. He completed advanced research and neurostimulation training programs at institutions around the world and established the first Neurostimulation clinical service at the Institute of Mental Health in Singapore. Dr. Tor is now the Director of the Centre for Interventional Psychiatry at the National University Hospital of Singapore. He is recognized as an international leader in the field and served as Chair of the Section of Neurostimulation in the College of Psychiatrists (Singapore), Treasurer of the International Society of ECT and Neurostimulation, and Vice-President of the Singapore Neuromodulation Society. His leadership and dedication to international TMS education inspired the first CTMSS Training Course in Singapore.

Leo Chen, MBBS

Dr. Leo Chen is a clinical psychiatrist and researcher based in Melbourne, Australia. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and the Psychiatry Research Lead at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, where he leads the Brain Stimulation Lab. His team integrates translational neuroscience to advance therapeutic brain stimulation modalities with the potential to transform mental health outcomes. He has led multiple brain stimulation clinical trials and published extensively on clinical TMS. He is an author on international consensus statements defining the brain stimulation subspecialty and its training standards. His commitment to evidence-based practice is exemplified by published clinical guidance on TMS and accelerated TMS protocols for depression. In the CTMSS, Dr. Chen has been a member of the Education Committee, Co-Chair of the Training Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors. His contributions to quality training and research were recognised by the CTMSS “Outstanding Early Career Award” in 2023.

Anthony Barker, PhD

Professor Anthony Barker is an honorary Professor at the University of Sheffield, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. He retired from the U.K. National Health Service in 2015 after working for 38 years in the Sheffield Department of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering. An engineer by training, Professor Barker led the group that invented the technique of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, now widely used for basic research, diagnosis and therapy. He also conducted research on other effects of electromagnetic fields on the body, including the possible effects of mobile phones and overhead powerlines on human health, and the claimed therapeutic effects of magnetic fields. He continues with an active interest in the public understanding of science and medical applications of technology. Professor Barker is a highly esteemed speaker who has delivered many named and public lectures including the Faraday Lecture Series, the Silvanus P Thomson Series, and a Royal Institution Discourse. He received the inaugural International Brain Stimulation Award in 2017 for “outstanding and transformative contributions to the field of brain stimulation’’ and he was awarded the CTMSS Medal of Honor in 2023.

Albert Y. Leung, MD

Dr. Albert Leung is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine. He is the founder and Director of the Center for Pain and Headache Research and Center for TMS at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. His research, which includes the application of transcranial or transcutaneous magnetic stimulation for pain or headaches, has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, and the Veteran Affairs Office of Research and Development and Technology Transfer Program. His work has been published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. He is the lead author of the international TMS consensus panel guideline paper for pain. In addition to serving as a founding faculty for the PAIN ACADEMY Course, Dr. Leung is actively involved with CTMSS, is on the Board of Directors and is Co-chair of the Training Committee. He is a member of the editorial board and a Deputy Editor of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Developing Indications, Pain & Headache.

Christopher Chan Yi Wen, MBBS (Singapore), M.Med (Psychiatry)

Dr. Christopher Chan is a consultant psychiatrist with a private practice at the Psychiatric Care Clinic, Gleneagles. He subspecialises in mood and anxiety disorders and neurostimulation. He has a special interest in complex mood disorders and interventional psychiatry. At the Institute of Mental Health, he led the Affective Disorders Service, which was the only quaternary service for the management of treatment-resistant mood disorders in Singapore, and he was the primary ward consultant at the Mood Disorders Unit. During this period, he was actively involved in education and research and was awarded national grants. He is currently chairperson of the Section of Neurostimulation, College of Psychiatrists (Singapore).

Cyrus Su Hui Ho, MBBS, MSc, PhD, FRCPsych, FRCP, FAMS, IFAPA

Dr. Cyrus Ho is a Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at the National University Hospital and Assistant Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS). His clinical and research interests span the interface between medicine and psychiatry, complex mood disorders, neuropsychiatry, and public mental health. Dr. Ho completed advanced neuropsychiatry training at the Montreal Neurological Hospital in Canada and the Royal Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Unit in Australia. He has authored over 380 peer-reviewed papers and six books, earning recognition by Clarivate Analytics Web of Science as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers in Cross-Field Research (2021–2023) and in Neuroscience and Behaviour (2024). He teaches undergraduates and postgraduates and serves as the Psychiatry Undergraduate Education Director at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. He is also Assistant Dean of Student Life and Wellbeing at the NUS Graduate School.

Johnson Fam, ​MBBS, MMed (Psych), MRes, PhD

Dr. Johnson Fam is a an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and past Chair of the Section of Neurostimulation, College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine, Singapore. He is a psychiatrist with clinical and research interests in affective disorders, cognitive disorders, psychopharmacology, neuroimaging and neurostimulation. He underwent advanced clinical training in therapeutic neuromodulation at Duke University Hospital and the Medical University of South Carolina, USA. At the National University Hospital, he ran subspecialty clinics for mood disorders and was the founding director of the Brain Stimulation service. He is presently the clinical lead for TMS and tDCS services and Head of Psychiatry at the Singapore General Hospital.

Suzanne Kerns, MD, FCTMSS

Dr. Suzanne Kerns is the Medical Director and Owner of Inner Healing Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. She is a board-certified psychiatrist with a fellowship in neuromodulation, and over a decade of experience in interventional psychiatry techniques, including TMS, ECT, and VNS. She is the former Director of the Neuromodulation Clinic at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, and prior to that position, she held academic appointments at the University of Washington and the Medical University of South Carolina. In addition to serving as a PULSES faculty member for the past decade, she has been a board member of the CTMSS since 2016 and currently serves on the Budget and Finance Committee and as Treasurer of the CTMSS.

Tracy Barbour, MD

Dr. Tracy Barbour is a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where she serves as the Medical Director of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Clinical Service, Associate Director of the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Service, and Program Director of the Interventional Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation Fellowship. Dr. Barbour completed advanced training in neuroimaging and neuroscience research at Harvard Medical School and is now a co-owner of Boston Precision Neurotherapeutics, a private practice specializing in fMRI-guided accelerated TMS. Dr. Barbour provides care in the TMS, ECT, and ketamine services. She is an active member of the CTMSS, currently serving as President-Elect and contributing to both the Clinical Standards Committee and the Education Committee. She is also an Associate Editor of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, the official journal of the CTMSS.

Kim Cress, MD, FCTMSS

Dr. Kimberly Cress recently joined the Synaptic Psych practice in Franklin Tennessee, following over 20 years as Regional Medical Director for Greenbrook TMS NeuroHealth Centers in Houston, Texas. Dr. Cress received TMS training in several university-based courses and has been delivering TMS therapy as part of her psychiatric practice since April 2010. She has been providing TMS education and training to others as a PULSES faculty since the inception of this course. Dr. Cress has become a national leader in the field of clinical TMS through service as the President of CTMSS (year) as well as on its Board of Directors (year). She has also chaired CTMSS Annual Meeting and Outreach Committees and she currently serves on the Board for the CTMSS foundation, FACTMSS.

Jonathan Becker, MD

Dr. Jonathan Becker is a practicing Partner and Medical Director at Synaptic Psych in Brentwood, Tennessee. He has provided interventional treatments, including TMS, since 2013. He served as Director of the Neuromodulation Service at Vanderbilt University Medical Center prior to entering private practice. Dr. Becker conducts clinical research as a site Principal Investigator for the Medicare-sponsored RECOVER trial of VNS for Depression and has published articles on both ECT and TMS. He has been active in the CTMSS, in the past serving on both the Training and Education Committees. Currently, he is Co-Chair of the CTMSS Legal, Business, and Ethics Committee.

Martha Koo, MD, FASAM, LFAPA, FCTMSS

Dr. Martha Koo is Chief Medical Officer at Neuro Wellness Spa (NWS), a behavioral health practice with eleven TMS clinics across Southern California. A founding member of the CTMSS, Dr. Koo has been a PULSES course faculty since 2023. She is a member of the Board of Directors and recently served as the Society’s elected President (2024-2025). She completed psychoanalytic training and is board-certified in both Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Koo began offering TMS to her patients in 2009 when she founded the South Bay TMS Therapy Center. Trained on multiple TMS devices as well as EEG-guided TMS technologies, she has become a leader in the field of TMS Clinical care. Her published research includes studies on TMS during pregnancy, age-related efficacy, treatment of migraines, and comparative outcomes of various TMS protocols.

Nicholas Mischel, MD PhD, FCTMSS

Dr. Nicholas Mischel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Wayne State University School of Medicine. After residency at Duke University, he returned to Detroit Michigan, where he founded the Program for Interventional Psychiatry and Neuromodulation Research at Wayne State in 2019. He also has attending psychiatrist roles in the Detroit Medical Center. Dr. Mischel conducts research concentrated on interventional psychiatry and neuromodulation. Outside of his academic and clinical work, he enjoys playing piano every Friday at Cafe D'Mongos speakeasy in Downtown Detroit. Dr. Mischel has been involved in the CTMSS since 2020, serving on the Education, Training, Outreach, and Membership Committees.

Saydra Wilson, MD

Dr. Saydra Wilson is an Assistant Professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is an adult psychiatrist with a perinatal mental health background who completed neuromodulation medicine fellowship training and launched a research career focused on TMS mechanisms, protocol optimization, and biomarkers. She is active in her Department’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Her clinical practice includes multiple neuromodulation techniques such as ECT, TMS, and VNS. She is a current member of the CTMSS Board of Directors and also serves on the CTMSS Clinical Standards and Legal, Business, and Ethics committees.

Mohamed Abdelghani, MBBCh, MSc, FRCPsych, FCTMSS

Dr Mohamed Abdelghani is a London-based consultant psychiatrist and Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, with extensive experience in developing and leading clinical services in both the NHS and private sectors. In 2016, he established the first NHS clinical TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) service in London, based at North London NHS Foundation Trust—a service he continues to lead. He participates in TMS clinical trials and is the founder and Medical Director of Nurify Medical, a private psychiatric practice in London. Dr. Abdelghani was the first British psychiatrist elected to the CTMSS Board of Directors and he received the CTMSS President’s Award in 2018 in recognition of his leadership, collaboration, and dedication to advancing the field. He went on to serve as CTMSS President for the 2022–2023 term and remains active as a board member and on a number of committees. He is a founding board member of the FACTMS foundation, where he chairs the Clinic Expansion Committee to support the development of free or low-cost TMS clinics in underserved communities worldwide.

John O’Reardon, MD DFAPA FCTMSS

Dr. John O’Reardon is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. His clinical and research interests over the years have focused on treatment-resistant mood disorders and the development of novel neuromodulation therapies in psychiatry such as TMS, VNS, tDCS, ECT and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). He has served as a Principal Investigator in numerous clinical trials of neuromodulation interventions including VNS, DBS, tDCS as well as the pivotal TMS trial that resulted in the first FDA approval for TMS to treat treatment-resistant major depression in 2008. He has published over 100 papers in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Dr. O’Reardon has served as a CTMSS Board Member and on the CTMSS Annual Meeting and Clinical Standards Committees. He is currently in private practice in Voorhees, New Jersey, and is teaching faculty for the psychiatry residents at Temple University.

Carlos Lowell, DO

Dr. Carlos Lowell is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine and recipient of the 2010 Ohio University Master Faculty Award. He has been in private practice since 1995, providing TMS for patients in the greater Sandusky and Northwest Ohio regions since 2013 at the TMS Institute of Ohio. In addition to community service for over two decades as a member of the Firelands Regional Medical Center, he has also been very active in the CTMSS since 2013. Dr. Lowell has served as a member of the CTMSS Board of Directors, Membership Committee, Clinical Standards Committee, and Education Committee (Chair).

Rebecca Allen MD

Dr. Rebecca Allen is Partner and Director of Research at the Seattle Neuropsychiatric Treatment Center (SeattleNTC). She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington. Dr. Allen completed a Behavioral Neurology/Neuropsychiatry Fellowship at the Brigham and Women's Hospital before establishing a practice in Washington that includes brain stimulation and interventional treatments for neuropsychiatric conditions, including TMS, ECT, VNS, and ketamine/esketamine. Dr. Allen supervises psychiatry residents and is a site Principal Investigator for several clinical trials, including studies on psilocybin for depression, LSD for generalized anxiety disorder, MDMA for PTSD, new TMS protocols for depression and for PTSD, and VNS for depression. Her research publications include papers on sleep and memory consolidation, quality of life in multiple sclerosis, and naturalistic outcomes of TMS protocols; she also coauthored a textbook chapter on Sleep and Sleep Disorders. She has held local and national leadership positions, including President of the Washington State Psychiatric Association for 2020-21, Member of the CTMSS Board of Directors, CTMSS Treasurer, chair of the CTMSS Insurance Committee, and the CTMSS President for 2023-2024.

Mehmet Dokucu, MD, PhD, DFAPA

Dr. Mehmet Dokucu is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and the Director of the Dartmouth Health’s Mood Disorders and Interventional Psychiatry Program in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Dr. Dokucu is a broadly trained neuroscientist (PhD) and academic psychiatrist (MD) with expertise in ECT, TMS, Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and Psycho-oncology. He was the founding Director of the TMS program at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and has conducted several TMS clinical trials. He is actively involved in the training of medical students and psychiatry residents. He was recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2019. He has been a CTMSS member since 2013 and has served on several committees. He is currently the co-chair of the Annual Meeting Committee.

Richard Pitch, MD

Dr. Richard (“Rick”) Pitch is the Medical Director of the Long Island Neurocare Therapy Center, which has 3 clinicl locations in Long Island, New York. Dr. Pitch has conducted research studies and published several articles, textbooks and book chapters focusing on panic disorder in schizophrenia, medical ethics, and death and dying. He formerly practiced in psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, and partial hospital programs, but now works exclusively in his private outpatient practices in Medford and Melville, NY. He collaborates with the neuroCare Group, a global organization that originated in the Netherlands and now has clinics in Germany, Australia, and the United States, to offer specialized and integrated treatment with personalized solutions for ADHD, insomnia, and depression. Dr. Pitch has been providing TMS Therapy since 2010 and has been active in the CTMSS since 2013. He is a member of the CTMSS Board of Directors and chaired the CTMSS annual scientific meeting committee.