Wei Du MD

Dr. Wei Du graduated from medical school and graduate school in China. He completed his residency in psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. He is the Chief Academic Officer and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs at Tower Health. He is appointed as Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at Drexel University College of Medicine and serves as the Designated Institutional Official for its residency and fellowship programs at Tower Health. He is Professor of Psychiatry and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. He also has a secondary appointment as Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology. At Tower Health, he leads the behavioral health service line as the Service Line Medical Director. He is the Founding Program Director of Drexel-Janssen Fellowship in Psychiatric Drug Development, an innovative training program in the country. He served as the Program Director for the Drexel University College of Medicine General Psychiatry Residency Program in the past.

He has served as a thesis advisor for several MD/PhD and PhD students at Drexel. At Drexel, he co-directs Drexel University’s Medical Cannabis Research Center and currently serves as the PI (principal investigator) for a clinical trial examining the impact of medical cannabis on quality of life in patients with HIV, neuropathic pain, and PTSD. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Addiction Medicine, and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He served as a reviewer for several journals and a member of numerous professional organizations. He is currently on the Editorial Board of PIPE (Psychiatrist-in-Practice Examination), American College of Psychiatrists. He was on the editorial committee for the Model Curriculum of Psychopharmacology of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. He has served on many leadership committees on the national and local levels. He is the author of many book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Du had led clinical drug development programs in non-opioid analgesics in a pharmaceutical company and served as a key opinion leader and was on advisory boards for several other companies. Recently, he was awarded 2024 Paul Fink Leadership award by the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society and the 2024 Lehigh Valley Business Icon Honors recipient.

During medical school, he developed a strong interest in basic neuroscience research and decided to pursue graduate training in neuroendocrinology and physiology. He came to the United States with the idea of furthering his research career, which he fully enjoyed and was successful. However, he decided to make the transition from bench researcher to physician scientist after 13 years of basic science research by seeking residency training in the US. He has thoroughly enjoyed his role as a psychiatrist. His view on physician leadership in healthcare: be genuine and authentic, be open-minded, actively listen to understand, know your limitations and constantly seek help, and be a slow thinker but act decisively.