Neeraj Gandotra

Dr. Gandotra serves as the Chief Medical Officer for SAMHSA. Previously, Dr. Gandotra served as the Chief Medical Officer for the fourth largest nationwide addiction treatment network where he has developed national strategies specifically aimed at reducing risk and improving outcomes. He is familiar with the development and utilization of medical services budgets, nuances of regulations and code across various states, and most importantly provider perspectives as he delivers direct patient care. He supervised 47 providers across 15 facilities and provided expertise to elected and appointed officials in local markets. Dr. Gandotra began his Addiction career in public health serving an underserved community in Washington DC where he developed his perspective of how a nationwide approach to addiction treatment is greatly needed. As Medical Director of Addiction Treatment Services at Johns Hopkins he directed patient care through implementation of department initiatives and medical center resources. Dr. Gandotra was tasked with both administrative and supervisory roles for all providers and clinics within Addiction Treatment Services. At Johns Hopkins, he was responsible for developing program policy and procedure based on new research findings with the goal of improving outcomes and reducing risk for patients with substance use disorder. Most of these patients were uninsured or were insured through Medicaid, Medicare, and medical assistance. Dr. Gandotra has also worked as a Medical Director for federally qualified health centers where it was necessary to develop policies mindful of specific catchment area needs. Dr. Gandotra also has a wealth of clinical experience. His work as the Medical Director at the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy allowed him to provide state of the art Psychiatry treatment including medication management and psychotherapy, screen new patients upon admission to housing unit for acuity of mood, anxiety or thought disorders that required immediate medication management or referrals. In addition, he managed methadone dosing changes and clinical treatment in a multidisciplinary team setting directing counseling staff and provided input and psychiatric information regarding patients receiving methadone. He was also the onsite Physician at the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit where he provided Physician coverage for varied ongoing studies at the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit related to various conditions co-occurring with substance use disorders. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Gandotra is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. Dr. Gandotra has worked with the Maryland State Attorney General on cases of physician misconduct, specifically those involving prescriptions of controlled substances. Dr. Gandotra also has been a consultant for the NFL player’s assistance program for substance use disorders and for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dr. Gandotra received his medical degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) School of Medicine and completed his Psychiatric residency at Howard University. He completed a Psychiatric Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine.