Robert O. Cotes, MD, is an Assistant Professor at Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is Medical Director of the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at Grady Memorial Hospital, as well as Director of the PSTAR Clinic (Persistent Symptoms: Treatment, Assessment and Recovery) at Grady's Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic. The priorities of the PSTAR Clinic are to 1) provide evidence-based, recovery-oriented care for individuals with persistent symptoms of psychosis, 2) improve regional access to clozapine, 3) coordinate inpatient and outpatient clozapine transitions, 4) investigate promising pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment options for people with persistent symptoms of psychosis, and 5) educate trainees and psychiatrists in the community about how to use clozapine effectively.
 

Dr. Cotes's research focuses on clozapine, characterizing persistent symptoms of schizophrenia, understanding cardiometabolic side effects of antipsychotic medications, and first episode psychosis. Dr. Cotes is the principal investigator for multiple clinical trials focused on treatment options for psychosis, and he leads the Open Dialogue efforts at Grady.
 

He is the Associate Director of Psychiatry Residency Education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory. His interests within psychiatry education focus on curriculum development and the use of simulated patients to teach agitation management.