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Gemma Espejo

Gemma Espejo

•Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
•Attending Physician, Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic and Inpatient Units, University of California, Irvine Health

Biography

Gemma Espejo, M.D., is Assistant Clinical Professor and Vice Chair of Inclusive Excellence in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. She received her M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and completed her psychiatry residency at Washington University School of Medicine, where she served as Chief Resident, followed by a fellowship in Public Psychiatry at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Espejo is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Espejo has held faculty positions at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine before joining UC Irvine in 2022. She served as Course Director for Behavioral Science 1 and 2 at UC Irvine School of Medicine, presenting over 80% of course lectures and developing examination materials. She also serves as Co-Director of the Summer Healthcare Experience Program and chairs the Grand Rounds Committee for the Department of Psychiatry. Espejo created and supervises the CARES Conference, a monthly resident-led conference integrating cultural psychiatry and social/structural determinants of health in psychiatric education.

Espejo's scholarly work focuses on psychopharmacology education, treatment-resistant depression, and health equity in psychiatry. She has authored numerous articles on topics including emotional blunting with antidepressants, clozapine management, and the role of artificial intelligence in mental healthcare. She serves on the Education and Curriculum Committee of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology and is President of the Orange County Psychiatric Society. Espejo has received multiple teaching awards, including Outstanding Faculty of the Year from the UCI Psychiatry Residency Training Program in both 2023 and 2025.

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Education

  • B.S. in Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University
  • M.D., University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
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Distinctions

  • Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, 2024
  • General Education Poster Award, AAP Annual Meeting, 2024
  • Community Service Award, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 2013
  • Clinical Teaching Award, NYU Grossman Psychiatry Residency Training Program, 2023
  • Outstanding Faculty of the Year, UCI Psychiatry Residency Training Program, 2023, 2025
  • Craig and Galen Brown Foundation Scholar, Texas A&M University
  • President's Endowed Scholar, Texas A&M University
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Areas of Expertise

  • Academic Psychiatry Education
  • Treatment-Resistant Depression
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Antipsychotic Medication Management
  • Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
  • Mental Health Equity

Recent Publications

  • Khorassani F., Espejo G., Lee K.C., “Obstetric Outcomes With Second-Generation Long-Acting Injectable Versus Oral Antipsychotics” (opens in new tab), Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 87, 2026.
  • Espejo, G., “From Extrapolation to Inclusion: A Call for Diverse Research”, Psychiatric News, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 8, 2025.
  • Espejo, G., Khorassani, F., “Clozapine Revisited: Updates to the Gold Standard”, Psychiatric News, vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 23-25, 2025.
  • Espejo G., Baghoolizadeh M., Cookson C., “Growing Your Own: Reflection, Support, and Connection for Developing Early Career Psychiatrists” (opens in new tab), Academic Psychiatry, 2025.
  • Ricklan, S.J., Sohler, N., Ezie, C.E.C., Avalone, L., Dinsell, V., Lewis, C., Fattal, O., Balan, S., McQuistion, H., Pastore, F., Sarcevic, N., Swift, R., Espejo, G., Lorenz, C., “Impact of Telemedicine on Utilization of Psychiatric Resources in New York City during the COVID-19 Pandemic”, Community Mental Health Journal, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 115-123, 2024.
  • Khorassani, F., Espejo, G., “Evaluation of the Impact of Pharmacist-Driven Physician Naloxone Training on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit” (opens in new tab), Academic Psychiatry, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 148-152, 2024.
  • Espejo, G., Albritton, J., Baghoolizadeh, M., “Mutism as a Symptom of Gender Dysphoria: A Case Report”, Cureus, vol. 16, no. 8, 2024.
  • Won, W., Yoon, J., Espejo, G., “Missed Diagnosis of Catatonia in Older Adults”, Poster Proceedings, pp. Poster 78, 2024. Presented at APA 2024 Annual Meeting.
  • Espejo, G., Khorassani, F., “Reproducible Practices: Rotating Activities in Psychopharmacology Training”, pp. Poster 118, 2024. Presented at AAP 2024 Annual Meeting, September 13, 2024.
  • Carlos, K., Espejo, G., “Case Carousel: An Interactive Teaching Activity”, pp. Poster 219, 2024. Presented at AAP 2024 Annual Meeting, September 13, 2024.
  • Espejo, G., “Expert Q&A: Schizophrenia” (opens in new tab), American Psychiatric Association, 2024.
  • Khoury, D., Espejo, G., “When a patient wants to stop taking their antipsychotic: Be 'A SPORT'” (opens in new tab), Current Psychiatry, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 47-48, 2023.
  • Espejo, G. D., “Artificial Intelligence: the Next Frontier in Psychiatric Treatment and Education” (opens in new tab), Academic Psychiatry, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 437-438, 2023.
  • Espejo, G., Reiner, W., Wenzinger, M., “Exploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Mental Healthcare: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promises”, Cureus, vol. 15, no. 9, 2023.
  • Espejo, G., “Emotional blunting in patients taking antidepressants” (opens in new tab), Current Psychiatry, vol. 22, no. 10, pp. 46-47, 2023.
  • Fam, E., Harneja, S., Espejo, G., “Adverse consequences of continuing antipsychotics for childhood behavioral dysregulation into adulthood”, Poster Proceedings, pp. Poster 13, 2022. Presented at APA 2022 Annual Meeting.
  • Khorassani, F., Hassani, B., Conry, J., Espejo, G., “Evaluation of anxiety in doctor of pharmacy students in their first through fourth professional years”, Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 628-634, 2021.
  • Nagele, P., Palanca, B. J., Gott, B., Brown, F., Barnes, L., Nguyen, T., Xiong, W., Salloum, N.C., Espejo, G.D., Lessov-Schlaggar, C.N., Jain, N., Cheng, W.L., Komen, H., Yee, B., Bolzenius, J., Janski, A., Gibbons, R., Zorumski, C.F., Conway, C.R., “A phase 2 trial of inhaled nitrous oxide for treatment-resistant major depression”, Science translational medicine, vol. 13, no. 597, pp. eabe1376, 2021.
  • Clayton, C.L., Sanchez-Cruz, J., Espejo, G.D., “Let's talk about 'chemsex': Sexualized drug use among men who have sex with men”, Current Psychiatry, vol. 20, no. 12, pp. 32-35, 2021.
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Contact Information

Email: gespejo1@uci.edu

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This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 5/22/2026.