Dr. Elizabeth Ballard is the Director of Psychology and Behavior Research and the Director of Predoctoral Training at the Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch in the National Institute of Mental Health.  She is trained as a clinical psychologist from the Catholic University of America and has extensive clinical experience working with suicidal patients.  She completed her predoctoral internship at the Department of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System and a postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As an Associate Scientist, she has published over 120 articles and her research interests include short term risk factors for suicide and rapid acting treatments for suicidal thoughts.