Sahib S. Khalsa, MD, PhD

Sahib Khalsa, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who serves as Director of Anxiety Disorders Research at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He also holds the West Innovation Chair and leads the Healthy Hearts Behavioral Medicine Program, an interdisciplinary collaboration with the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center that treats anxiety and stress-related disorders in individuals with cardiac conditions. Dr. Khalsa has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed papers and serves as Associate Editor for Biological Psychology and JMIR Mental Health.

Dr. Khalsa's clinical expertise focuses on treating anxiety disorders and trauma and stress-related disorders particularly in individuals with cardiac arrhythmias or other medical conditions. 

Dr. Khalsa’s primary research focuses on understanding how the brain senses and interprets internal bodily signals, such as heartbeats, breathing, and gastrointestinal activity, and how these interoceptive processes contribute to anxiety, mood, and eating disorders. His work combines neuroimaging, computational modeling, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to identify novel treatments that improve emotional resilience and mental health.