Mark G. A. Opler, PhD, MPH

President

 

Dr. Opler is a co-founder of The PANSS Institute, LLC and ProPhase, LLC.  He has been involved in neuroscience and psychiatric research since 1991. His expertise is in psychometrics, research methodology, and in the etiology and treatment of psychosis and related psychiatric disorders.   His work has been published and presented at scientific and professional meetings such as APA, APPA, ACNP, Biological Psychiatry, ICOSR, SER, SOT, and NCDEU.  He consults to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry on study design, clinical education (rater training), and data analysis. Dr. Opler is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at New York University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at Columbia University in New York City. His research has been supported by grants from private and public sources, such as the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Opler is a former “NARSAD Young Investigator Awardee” and he completed a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Columbia University in the Department of Psychiatry. He received his B.S. at SUNY Stony Brook, and completed his MPH and PhD at Columbia University. He is also a graduate of the NIH-supported Psychiatric Epidemiology Training Program at Columbia. 

 

 

Sofija Jovic, PhD

Vice President

 

Dr. Jovic is a clinical psychologist and works with mentally ill adults and children.  She has served at South Beach Psychiatric Center, Bellevue Hospital Center and Center for Specialty Therapy in New York City.   Her expertise is in the area of anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder.  She has published and presented scientific papers at professional conferences including American Psychological Association, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, American Psychoanalytic Association, and Eastern Psychological Association.  Dr. Jovic obtained her Masters degree in psychology and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University.   She also holds a B.F.A. in Theatre with Honors in Psychology from New York University, where she graduated summa cum laude.

 

 

Jacob White

Director, Operations

 

Mr. White leads the development of logistical processes and optimization of workflows at ProPhase.  Prior to joining ProPhase, Mr. White worked as a media producer and oversaw the production and distribution of digital media for ESPN, ESPN2, VOOM, Rainbow Media, RushHD, and GameplayHD.  He is also involved in the development and production of training videos and online media of educational content.  Mr. White received a BFA in Drama from the University of Cincinnati and has been accepted to the MA Social Work program at The City University of New York.

 

 

Monika Vance

Director, Business Development

 

Ms. Vance oversees all sales and marketing initiatives at ProPhase and The PANSS Institute.  Previously at Multi-Health Systems Inc., a Canadian publisher of psychometric assessment tools, she led the company’s clinical division and specialized in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets.  Ms. Vance’s expertise is in sales and marketing strategy, licensing of intellectual property, linguistic validation and project management. She has consulted to industry, government institutions, regulatory agencies, independent standards committees, and project groups on foreign language adaptation methodologies and validation of psychometric tests for use in clinical research and treatment programs.  Ms. Vance holds a B.Sc. in molecular biology from University of Toronto.

 

 

Lawrence Yang, PhD

Director, Global Affairs

 

Dr. Yang is a clinical psychologist and one of the foremost experts on stigma and schizophrenia in Asian and Asian-American populations.  He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.  His training and expertise is in psychometrics and measurement, particularly in cross-cultural settings.   Dr. Yang has received over half a dozen fellowships and awards during his graduate, post-graduate, and professional career, including the National Security Education Plan-Graduate International Fellowship to validate a psychosocial instrument to assess schizophrenia in Beijing, China from 1998-2000, and a 5-year mentored research scientist award (K-01) from the NIMH to examine how socio-cultural factors, family environment and stigma relate to course of illness of schizophrenia in Chinese immigrant populations.   Dr. Yang has won two early career research awards from national psychological associations for this work. Dr. Yang is also conducting a study, under the aegis of the National Institute for Environmental Health Studies, to examine the association of exposure to famine during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the increased risk of schizophrenia in China. Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Boston University, and completed his clinical internship at Massachusetts Mental Health Center/ Harvard Medical School. He is also a graduate of the NIMH funded Psychiatric Epidemiology Training Program at Columbia University.

 

 

Jessica Gordon, MA

Director, Training Management

 

Ms. Gordon oversees activities and performance of all training teams and is a data management specialist.  She has extensive research and clinical experience with a specific interest in symptom driven treatment methodologies.  She has served at the Bronx Psychiatric Center where her practice was centered on dysphoric mood, positive symptoms, stress and trauma.  Ms. Gordon obtained her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University and B.A. in Psychology from West Virginia University.

 

 

James Lefkowitz

Director, Media & Web Systems

 

With experience in all fields of media, Mr. Lefkowitz directs ProPhase’s media development efforts, from live event broadcasting to the production of multi-language training videos, and has developed ProPhase’s proprietary and secure learning content management system. He brings a wealth of international experience to ProPhase having worked in countries such as Korea, India, Russia, Cuba, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, Italy, France, UK and in dozens of locations across United States. His credits include production of award-winning feature films and documentaries. Prior to joining ProPhase, Mr. Lefkowitz worked with major production companies including E!, New Line, PBS, Sony, Miramax, NHK Japanese TV, ZDF, German TV, and the Sci-Fi Channel. In addition, since 1996, Mr. Lefkowitz has been working in internet technologies developing websites and interactive media for clients in academia, journalism, medicine, fashion, and the entertainment industry. Mr. Lefkowitz is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch Film School of the Arts.