Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine Rural Psychiatry Residency

Dr. Remy Sirken earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She completed her residency training in Adult Psychiatry at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital, where she served as Chief Resident during her final year, followed by fellowship training in Forensic Psychiatry at Yale University. In recognition of her excellence in education and leadership, she was awarded the Cornelis Boelhouwer Award during her chief residency year.

Dr. Sirken has dedicated her career to advancing psychiatric education, workforce development, and the delivery of high-quality psychiatric care, with prior regional clinical and academic leadership roles with Danbury Hospital and Prospect Medical Holdings. She currently serves as Vice Chair for Education and Founding Residency Program Director in Hartford HealthCare’s Fairfield Region along with her faculty appointment with Quinnipiac. She provides strategic leadership for graduate and undergraduate medical education, oversees curriculum development and implementation, and mentors trainees across all stages of medical education. Her educational interests include rural psychiatric care, physician workforce development, recruitment and retention of psychiatrists, and expanding access to psychiatric care in underserved and rural communities.

Prior to her current role, Dr. Sirken served as Psychiatry Clerkship Director for students at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, where she played an active role in undergraduate medical education, curriculum design and student mentorship. She continues to advise and mentor medical students as a Specialty Advisor in Psychiatry and serves as a clinical supervisor for learners across multiple levels of training.

Dr. Sirken is actively involved in educational leadership at institutional, regional and national levels. She serves on numerous curriculum, education and workforce development committees and has served as the Principal Investigator of a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant supporting rural psychiatry residency program development and innovative approaches to addressing psychiatric workforce shortages.

Her academic and professional interests center on physician education, leadership development, psychiatric workforce expansion, and the cultivation of learning environments that support trainee growth, professional identity formation, and excellence in patient care.

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.

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.