Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine
1982
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Faculty
Faculty
Tom Alan Mellman, M.D. (he, him)
School/College
- College of Medicine
Biography
Thomas A. Mellman, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Stress/Sleep Studies Program and co-director of the Clinical Trials Program at Howard University College of Medicine. He is the principal investigator representing Howard for the Georgetown Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science supported by a Clinical Translational Science Award from NIH. He received training at the NIMH Division of Intramural Research Programs and has previously held faculty appointments and achieved the rank of Professor at the University of Miami and Dartmouth.
Mellman has had continuous funding as PI on federal research grants since 1991 including a VA Merit award, and R01, R21, and K24 awards from NIMH, NHLBI, NIMHHD, and the DOD as well as funding from pharmaceutical industries for industry and investigator-initiated trials.
Mellman led a series of investigations of the role of sleep in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the early aftermath of trauma. His first RO1 grant at Howard University investigated the relationship of PTSD to nocturnal blood pressure in young adult African Americans and subsequent RO1 and R21 grants to investigate the role of sleep in processing traumatic memory, and sleep adaptations to stressful environments.
His additional research interests with resulting publications include other aspects of the psychobiology and treatment of PTSD, evidence-based practices in psychopharmacology, and the role of stress and sleep in health disparities. He has a consistent track record of mentoring junior investigators and interdisciplinary collaboration. He has been a member of the NIH study section for Mechanisms of Emotion Stress and Health, NIMH IRGs for Violence and Traumatic Stress and Interventions, and has served on several review committees for the NIH Roadmap and Department of Defense research programs. Mellman was a member of the original ISTSS committee for developing treatment guidelines for PTSD, APA committee for text revision of the DSM-IV, and the Institute of Medicine Committee for review of the evidence regarding the treatment of PTSD.
Education & Expertise
Education
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
University of Cincinnati
1978
Expertise
The role of sleep and REM sleep disturbances in the genesis and maintenance of PTSD and related morbidity
Clinical psychopharmacology
Methods for promoting evidence-based approaches to prescribing in psychiatric and other medical settings
The role of stress and sleep disturbance in health disparities
Academics
Academics
Recurring lectures
Recurring lectures to Howard University Medical Students and Residents on Sleep and Sleep Disorders; developing research projects, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Research
Research
Funding
Site Principal Investigator: Howard University - Development of a Risk Factor Screen for Mental Health Problems after Sudden Illness or Injury April 2021 - March 2023; $239,042; NIMHD through Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research
Site Principal Investigator: Howard University - CEAL Award: Communities and Universities Engaged to Fight COVID (CUE-COVID) May 2021 – March 2022; $240,112
Investigator: 3UM1AIO68614-14S1COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN) Site Preparedness
Funding – Washington DC Site, September 2020 – October 2021
Investigator: Elucidating olfactory mechanisms of PTSD vulnerability and trauma resilience.
PI: Evar Nwulia, M.D. 1R21MH117987 May 2019 – Feb 2021, $252,911
Principal Investigator: Sleep, stress, and cardiovascular health (NHLBI, NIH) R01; $2,100,000, 2017 - 2022
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
Outstanding faculty research award, Howard University College of Medicine, 2010
Moses Wharton Young Research Award, Howard University College of Medicine, 2009
Listed, Best Physicians in America, Southeast Edition, 1995-1999
Upjohn Award for Outstanding Young Investigator, University of Miami, Department of Psychiatry, 1989-90
Featured News
Featured News
Read: Everyday Health | Disparities in Who's Getting Good Sleep for Black, Other Minority Communities
Read: The Gainesville Sun | 'It's not just Walter Reed'
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
Neighborhood Stress Predicts Fear of Sleep
Neighborhood Stress Predicts Fear of Sleep Independently of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Chronic insufficient sleep is linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes, and African Americans have been found to have poorer sleep than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. African Americans disproportionately live in low-income disordered neighborhoods which increases their risk of trauma exposure and adversely affects their sleep. Fear of sleep is a construct linked to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We have reported a relationship between fear of sleep and insomnia in urban residing African Americans. Our objective is to report the relative contributions of neighborhood stress along with PTSD to fear of sleep.
Strategies for Controlling Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts
Poor sleep is common in our society, particularly for African Americans, and is associated with adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Unwanted, intrusive thoughts contribute to sleep disturbances and can be engendered by living in stressful urban environments, which are disproportionately inhabited by African Americans. Studies of other populations have shown that cognitive coping strategies to manage intrusive thoughts vary in their adaptiveness.
Combat related flashbacks in post-traumatic stress disorder
Combat veterans (N = 25) with posttraumatic stress disorder had flashbacks related to their combat stressors, which included major losses and exposure to danger. Certain affects, loud noises, fatigue, and personal stress tended to precipitate flashback episodes. Flashbacks began a year or more after exposure to combat in 50% of patients; 56% of patients experienced daily flashbacks. Flashback phenomenology met DSM-III criteria for panic attacks. The similarity of flashbacks to panic attacks suggests treatment trials with monoamine oxidase inhibitors or imipramine for these selected symptoms.
Alprazolam
Alprazolam: Withdrawal syndrome with gradual taper
The clinical and biological correlates of gradual alprazolam withdrawal were investigated in 10 patients in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. During gradual alprazolam withdrawal, anxiety and plasma cortisol levels were higher than during a postwithdrawal medication-free period.
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in panic disorder
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in panic disorder
Previous reports have noted an increased prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in patients with panic disorder. The authors found a prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in 19 (27%) of 70 patients with panic disorder. Compared to a subgroup of 25 patients with classic features of panic disorder and no obsessive-compulsive symptoms, the subgroup with obsessive-compulsive symptoms had an earlier onset of illness, were more likely to have personal and family histories of major depression and substance abuse, and showed a poorer outcome after treatment.
Psychobiology of sleep disturbances in posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychobiology of sleep disturbances in posttraumatic stress disorder
In: Psychobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Eds R. Yehuda and A.C. McFarlane. Annals of the New York Acadamy of Sciences, Vol 821
Sleep disturbances are prominent complaints of PTSD patients. Some, but not all, of the polysomnographic studies support the occurrence of sleep disruption. The main dimensions of sleep disturbance in the disorder relate to arousal regulation and REM-related functions of dreaming and memory processing. Both of these issues are relevant to the pathogenesis of PTSD and manifestations of the disorder during wake states. Studies elucidating the effects of treatment on sleep parameters are an important direction for future research.
Sleep and the pathogenesis of PTSD
Sleep and the pathogenesis of PTSD
In: International Handbook of Human Response to Trauma. Eds A. Shalev, R. Yehuda and A.C. McFarlane. New York: Plenum Publishing Co., pp. 299-306
