Karen L Weihs, MD

Degrees: 
MD: University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa
Residency: 
University of Wisconsin- Madison, Child Psychiatry, 1989-1991
University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Psychiatry, 1986-1989
University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Psychiatry, 1986-1989
York Hospital, Family Medicine, 1979-1981
Interests: 

Dr. Weihs' research focuses on family processes and emotion regulation as they affect both mental health and disease progression in patients with cancer and end stage renal disease. She has written and lectured widely on family influences on medical illness. Dr. Weihs is also an experienced psychopharmacology researcher, focusing on pharmacologic interventions for anxiety and depressive disorders in children, adolescents and adults. At the Center for Family Research she collaborated on prevention studies of children of depressed parents and children in families stressed by parental unemployment. Her research includes a longitudinal study of marital quality in breast cancer patients, examining oxytocin as a mediator of the salutary effects of close personal relationship on disease progression. This was a five-year study funded by the Army Medical Research Program in Breast Cancer Research. She is also collaborating on animal model studies of oxytocin and social bonding with Denise Frank, PhD, an animal behavior research specialist at the Arizona Cancer Center.

Academic / Professional Bio: 

Dr. Karen Weihs is Professor of Psychiatry and a Comprehensive Member of the Arizona Cancer Center. She is Medical Director of Psychosocial Support and PsychoOncology Services for the Arizona Cancer Center. Dr. Weihs has developed a model for cancer patients, mental health care including a collaborative team of oncologists, social workers and psychiatrists.

Honors and Awards: 
The Outstanding Clinical Care Award, American Psychosocial Oncology Society, 2008
Who's Who Among Executives and Professionals "Honors Edition", 2008-2009
Senior Women's Health Scholar, Women's Center of Excellence, University of Arizona, 2009
Board Certifications: 
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2012
American Board of Family Practice, 2009
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology - Psychiatry, 1994