Kaz J. Nelson, MD

I am an Honors graduate of the University of Minnesota-Morris, and received my medical degree and psychiatry residency training from the University of Minnesota Medical School.

I am a Fellow of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and serve as Vice Chair for Education in the UMN Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. I practice at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and my clinical interests lie in the area of best practices in the diagnosis and management of severe personality disorders, suicide, and psychotherapeutic communication with patients in acute settings. I also serve in the position of Associate Designated Institutional Official with leadership responsibilities across residency and fellowship programs.

I am the 2018 Minnesota Psychiatric Society "Psychiatrist of the Year" and a "2018 Exemplary Psychiatrist" awarded for the state of Minnesota by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Most recently in 2020, I was awarded “Teacher of the Year”, which was selected by the PGY2 Psychiatry Residents.

I have presented at conferences nationally and internationally, as well as over 80 media contributions to local and national tv stations and radio. I developed an openly accessible podcast with my brother, George, called "The Mind Deconstructed" which aims to serve the general community to demystify and increase understanding of common mental health conditions.

University of Minnesota:

• Convener, Statewide Summit on Student Mental Health. University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State System. Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 22, 2020
• Teacher of the Year, Selected by the PGY2 Psychiatry Residents, 2015, 2020
• Invited Faculty Speaker at the Gold Humanism Honor Society, Pre-Match Retreat for Fourth Year Medical Students, 2020
• Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award, “2nd Year Medical Students“, 2018, 2019
• University of Minnesota Inauguration of President Joan Gabel panel participant. “Student Mental Health: Prevention and Resilience,” University of Minnesota and Minnesota Public Radio, Minneapolis, Minnesota,September 18, 2019
• Invited Keynote Speaker, The iamborderline Laurice Reed Resiliency Foundation President’s Dinner, May 25, 2019
• Invited Keynote Speaker, Fourth Year Medical Students matching ceremony, 2019

External Awards:

• “Rising Star“, Mpls/St. Paul Magazine 2018, 2019, 2020
• Service of Excellence Award, I am Borderline Laurice Reed Resilience Foundation, 2019
• “Top Doctor”, Minnesota Monthly Magazine, 2019
• National Alliance on Mental Illness Exemplary Psychiatrist Award - Minnesota, 2018
• Psychiatrist of the Year, Minnesota Psychiatric Society, 2018

• American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training
• American Psychiatric Association, Fellow
• Minnesota Psychiatric Society
• Association for Academic Psychiatry

Peer-Reviewed Publications

1.Schreiner M, Klimes-Dougan B, Mueller B, Nelson KJ, Lim K, Cullen K. (2019) “Neurocircuitry Associated with Symptom Dimensions at Baseline and with Change in Borderline Personality Disorder.”Science Direct.

2.Dirlam C, Vallera V, Nelson KJ & Bass DA. (2018) Psychiatry Resident’s Perspective of the “Virtual Preceptor” as an Electronic Medical Record Clinical Education Support Tool. Acad Psychiatry.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-017-0880-4.

3.Cullen KR, Klimes-Dougan B, Westlund Schreiner MK, Carstedt P, Marka N, Nelson KJ, Miller MJ, Reigstad K, Westervelt A, Gunlicks-Stoessel M & Eberly LE. (2018) N-Acetylcysteine for Nonsuicidal Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents: An Open-Label Pilot Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 28(2) 136-144.

4.Garber C, Bernadino M, Tomashek J & Nelson KJ. (2017) The Development and Implementation of a Patient Continuity Conference in a Psychiatry Residency Program Acad Psychiatry (2017).https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-017-0749-6.

5.Bernadino M & Nelson KJ. (2017) FIGHT to remember PTSD. Current Psychiatry. 16(8):17-.

6.Cullen KR, Schreiner MW, Mueller B, Klimes-Dougan B, Eberly LE, Carstedt P, Nelson KJ, Miller M & Lim, KO. (2015) N-Acetylcysteine Restored Impaired Amygdala-Insula Resting State Connectivity in Adolescents with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury. Biological Psychiatry, vol 77(9), pp. 110S-110S.

7.Nelson KJ, Zagoloff A, Quinn S, Swanson HE, Garber C, Schulz SC. (2014) Borderline personality disorder: Treatment approaches and perspectives. Clinical Practice. 2014;11(3):341-9. doi: 10.2217/cpr.14.24.

8.Cullen, KR, Eberly, LE, Klimes-Dougan, B, Mueller, BA, Jappe, L, Westlund, MK, Carstedt, P, Nelson, KJ, Miller, M & Lim, KO. (2014) Behavioral and Brain Changes Associated with the Experimental Use of N-Acetylcysteine for Non-suicidal Self-injurious Behavior in Adolescents. Neuropsychopharmacology. (39)S211-S212.

9.Cullen KR, Klimes-Dougan B, LaRiviere L, Houri A., Westlund MK, Lim B, Bortnova A, Nelson KJ, Miller MJ, Schulz SC, Mueller BA, Eberly LE, & Lim, KO. (2013) N-Acetylcysteine for the Treatment of Non-suicidal Self-injurious Behavior in Adolescents: A Preliminary Study. Neuropsychopharmacology. (38)S385-S386.

10.Ranallo PA, Adam TJ, Nelson KJ, Krueger RF, LaVenture M, Chute CG. (2013) Psychological assessment instruments: a coverage analysis using SNOMED CT, LOINC and QS terminology. AMIA Annual Symposium proceedings / AMIA Symposium. 2013:1333-40.

11.Nelson KJ. (2013) Managing borderline personality disorder on general psychiatric units. Psychodynamic Psychiatry. 41(4):563-74. doi: 10.1521/pdps.2013.41.4.563.

12.Nelson KJ. (2011) How to use patient-centered language in documentation. Current Psychiatry. 10(10):70.

13.Nelson K, Schulz SC. (2011) Pharmacologic treatment of borderline personality disorder. Current Psychiatry. 10(8):30-40.

14.Schulz SC, Moen R, Miller M, Long B, Romine A, Nelson K. (2009) Borderline personality disorder: A review of treatment approaches. Minerva Psichiatrica. 50(4):309-18.

Chapters in Books

1.Loeks Johnson A, Wichser L & Nelson KJ. (2019) Pharmacologic interventions for Antagonism and Related Disorders. In “The Handbook of Antagonism: Conceptualizations, Assessment, Consequences, and Treatment of the Low End of Agreeableness, 1^st edition. Miller JW, Lynam D. Academic Press.

2.Homans J & Nelson KJ. (2016) Psychoticism due to Personality Disorders or Stress-Related Phenomena. In "Primer on Schizophrenia and Related Disorders" (Eds. Schulz, SC, Green M, and Nelson, KJ). April 1, 2016, Oxford University Press: New York.

3.Nelson KJ, Miller MJ, Zagoloff A, Westlund M & Schulz SC. (2014) Personality disorders. In: A Concise Guide to Understanding Suicide: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Prevention. Nemeroff C, Ruiz P, Koslow SH (eds). Cambridge University Press: United Kingdom.

4.Schulz SC & Nelson KJ. Somatic treatments. In: Textbook of Personality Disorders, Second Edition. Oldham JM, Skodol AE, Bender DS (eds). American Psychiatric Publishing, 2014, 321-343.

Book

1.Primer on Schizophrenia and Related Disorders. Eds. Schulz SC, Green M, and Nelson KJ. April 1, 2016, Oxford University Press: New York.