Nationwide Childrens Hospital Appoints Dr. David Axelson as Chief of Psychiatry

Dr. David A. Axelson, MD, has been appointed chief of Psychiatry and medical director of Behavioral Health at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

He will also serve as chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center.

“Dr. Axelson will build upon the programs and services developed under John Campo’s leadership. I am confident Dr. Axelson will advance our efforts to provide timely access and produce high quality outcomes in behavioral health care delivery to children and families throughout Ohio,” said Richard Brilli, MD, chief medical officer at Nationwide Children's.

Dr. Axelson comes to Nationwide Children’s from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, where he served as associate professor of Psychiatry and medical director of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Services outpatient program.

Dr. Axelson is recognized nationally and internationally for his work in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, pediatric bipolar disorder, diagnostic biomarkers for pediatric mood disorders, and pediatric psychopharmacology. He has published more than 125 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals including the Archives of General Psychiatry and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He was the Principal Investigator on a multisite National Institute of Mental Health funded treatment study of bipolar youth. He is also a co-Principal Investigator for two federally funded studies examining the phenomenology of pediatric bipolar disorder and the longitudinal course of offspring of bipolar parents, and a co-Investigator for four additional studies, including intervention studies aimed at preventing bipolar disorder in at-risk youths, improving medication adherence, and preventing suicide for adolescents with bipolar disorder.
 
Dr. Axelson earned his bachelor’s degree in religious studies at Brown University and his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed a combined General – Child and Adolescent Psychiatry residency and a NIMH Clinical Research Fellowship in Child Psychiatry, both at WPIC, where he was also Joaquim Puig-Antich Scholar in Child Psychiatric Research.

About Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children’s
Emotional, behavioral and developmental problems and disorders are common in children and adolescents, and at some point most families face difficulties such as physical illnesses that can prove especially troubling for children. Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers a wide range of Behavioral Health services to address the needs of children, adolescents and their families as they face such challenges. By bringing together a team of professionals from many disciplines such as child and adolescent psychiatry, counseling, developmental behavioral pediatrics, nursing, psychology, and social work, we work together to determine the best treatment options for your child.