Dr. Joshua C. Morganstein is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Deputy Director and Senior Scientist at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He is a retired Captain from the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and former officer in the U.S. Air Force. Dr. Morganstein is Immediate Past Chair of the Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster (2019-2024) and Distinguished Fellow at the American Psychiatric Association. He received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and completed a combined residency in Psychiatry and Family Medicine in the National Capital Consortium in Washington, DC.

Dr. Morganstein leads the Disaster Mental Health and Public Health education and consultation services at CSTS and provides consultation and subject-matter guidance to local, state, national and international partners during dozens of disasters on actions to foster mental health and enhance sustainment for individuals, communities, and organizations. He is working with mental health professionals in Ukraine and non-governmental organizations to help support the well-being of military personnel, citizen soldiers, displaced citizens, and refugees impacted by the war in Ukraine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Morganstein was invited by numerous state healthcare organizations, medical professional organizations, interagency teams, and global partners to inform healthcare system leaders and personnel on critical public mental health principles and the adaptation of practices and procedures from high-stress occupations to promote well-being and operational sustainment for the healthcare workforce. Dr. Morganstein was sought out to assist the New York City public health and first responder systems to develop the HERO-NY workforce resilience program. He has conducted research with the U.S. National Guard that provided actionable recommendations and knowledge products for leaders to protect health and sustain military readiness during COVID-19 and other operations. Dr. Morganstein is frequently sought out by NATO medical leadership to present on disaster mental health and crisis leadership as well as the development of global military doctrine to enhance force protection. He is a member of the 5Eyes Mental Health Research International Collaboration, senior medical leaders within the Defense and Veterans Affairs agencies across partner nations advising on policy, sharing research findings and best practices, and publishing scholarly works on global mental health and readiness for military servicemembers and their families.

Dr. Morganstein has studied the effects of stress and trauma in organizational settings, including the military drone intelligence community as well as personnel impacted by the 2013 mass shootings at the Washington Navy Yard. He provided mental health subject-matter expertise to the United Nations’ development of the 2015 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, co-authored the only Curriculum Recommendations for Disaster Behavioral Health Professionals as well as the Mental Health and Well-Being chapter for a landmark Presidential report on the Impact of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States. Dr. Morganstein authored hundreds of articles, chapters, technical reports, and other scholarly work on the mental health impact of disasters, including climate-related disasters, mass violence, terrorism, nuclear exposure, pandemics, disaster communication and messaging, crisis leadership actions, managing grief and loss, as well as help-seeking, self-care.