Best Medical Schools Serving Rural Areas
U. S. News & World Report
Welcome to the Rural Psychiatry Residency Program for Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. We are so excited that you are considering embarking upon your psychiatry training journey with our program. Our program is the culmination of an exciting academic-clinical collaboration between Quinnipiac University and Hartford Healthcare, one of Connecticut’s preeminent healthcare systems. We are delighted to offer a warm and exciting community of faculty and staff committed to providing each resident the best possible training experience. Residents in our program will have the opportunity to take advantage of the best each organization has to offer, including the impressive scholarly, educational and research resources of a preeminent university combined with the incredible training opportunities offered by our clinical services in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
We invite you to explore our website, connect with our faculty and trainees and hope you will consider our program as you plan for the next step in your career!
Dr. Remy A. Sirken, Program Director and Vice Chair for Education
Dr. Sirken graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and completed her medical school training at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She then completed her adult psychiatry residency training at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, where she served as chief resident during her final year, followed by a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at Yale University. Dr. Sirken was awarded the Cornelis Boelhouwer Award during her chief year of residency in recognition of her abilities in education and professional leadership.
After completion of fellowship training, Dr. Sirken served as the Medical Director for Inpatient Psychiatry at Danbury Hospital before taking on the roles of Chief of Psychiatry and regional Vice Chair for the Department of Psychiatry at Waterbury Hospital/Prospect Medical Holdings.
Dr. Sirken has been engaged in acute hospital-based care throughout Connecticut and she is passionate about teaching and working with diverse and underserved populations. In her current role as Founding Program Director and Vice Chair for Education, she engages with the next generation of psychiatrists and pursues her love of teaching. She previously served as the Psychiatry Clerkship Director for Netter medical students, and she continues to work with students as a Specialty Advisor in psychiatry and as a clinical supervisor. She is a member of various curriculum, education and workforce committees with Netter, Hartford HealthCare, AADPRT, and the state of CT. She is also the Principal Investigator of an HRSA Grant for Rural Residency Program Development.
In her free time, Dr. Sirken enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling and swimming.
Dr. Louis Forouhar-Graff, Associate Program Director
Dr. Louis Forouhar-Graff graduated from Emory University and completed his medical school training at the University of Connecticut. He then completed residency training in adult psychiatry at the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital. Dr. Forouhar-Graff was awarded the Cornelis Boelhouwer Award during his fourth year of residency in recognition of his abilities in education and professional leadership.
Dr. Forouhar-Graff has worked at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital as a psychiatrist since 2014, currently serves as the associate medical director in charge of all outpatient adult and child behavioral healthcare services and leads quality improvement for the behavioral health department. With a vested interest in diversity, equity and inclusion work, Dr. Forouhar-Graff sits on the steering committee of Charlotte Hungerford's DEI council and co-chairs one subcommittee focused on the provision of equitable services to patients. He also serves on the steering committee for DEI initiatives within Hartford HealthCare’s behavioral health network.
Dr. Forouhar-Graff has a passion for high-quality outpatient mental healthcare and works to improve the delivery of services within the hospital system. He runs a dialectical behavioral therapy skills groups and maintains individual psychotherapy clients to continue to practice and enhance his psychotherapeutic abilities. His interest in mindfulness and spirituality — personally and professionally — has greatly enhanced and deepened his practice of psychiatry and his life overall.
Outside of work, Dr. Forouhar-Graff enjoys time with friends, exploration of wilderness, creative expression and personal growth.
Dr. Tobias Wasser, Chair of Psychiatry
Tobias Wasser, MD attended college at Wesleyan University, medical school at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and completed his psychiatry training at the Yale School of Medicine, including serving as chief resident and completing fellowships in forensic and public psychiatry. After completing his training, he joined the Yale psychiatry department as faculty. During his time at Yale he held academic leadership roles in the public psychiatry and residency training programs and clinical leadership roles in the state forensic mental health system, Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Yale Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Wasser is a clinician-educator whose scholarship focuses on novel educational pedagogies and research in forensic and administrative psychiatry. He has been recognized as a regional and national leader in forensic psychiatry and medical education, has held multiple leadership roles for various national organizations, and has received multiple awards both locally and nationally in the areas of medical education, mentorship, and psychiatric ethics. He is also past president of the Connecticut Psychiatric Society and the American Association of Psychiatric Administration and Leadership.
Dr. Wasser has now joined Quinnipiac as the Chair of Psychiatry for the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. He also leads behavioral health services for Hartford Healthcare's Fairfield Region as the Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.
