Alison Mary Duncan, MD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Biography
Dr. Alison Duncan is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at BUSM and a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center, where she is also the Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services. She has both clinical and research expertise in emergency psychiatry, pediatric consult-liaison psychiatry, family communication, suicide, substance use disorders, severe mental illness, ADHD and quality improvement. Dr. Duncan’s research currently focuses on:
Improving parent-adolescent communication for parents of adolescents with ADHD using Motivational Interviewing
Exploring the feasibility of implicit association testing for suicidality in the emergency department
Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with serious mental illness
Emergency psychiatric services utilization
Dr. Duncan’s research is currently supported by multiple grants, including the AACAP Pilot Research Award for Attention Disorders, supported by AACAP’s Elaine Schlosser Lewis Fund and the Gennaro Acampora Junior Investigator Pilot Award. Dr. Duncan received her Bachelor’s Degrees in Music Theater and Economics from The Hartt School and The University of Hartford in 1998 and her Medical Degree from The Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in 2013. She completed her General Psychiatry Residency at The University of New Mexico in 2016 and her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Brown University/Bradley Hospital in 2018, during which time she was also awarded the NIDA-AACAP Resident Training Award in Substance Use Disorders. She is Board Certified in both Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Dr. Duncan sings with Coro Allegro, Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus. She is often accompanied in the hospital by her dog, Cocoa, whose therapeutic skills are in high demand.
Education
- Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing, MD
- University of Hartford, BA
- University of Hartford, BFA
Publications
- Published on 3/9/2023
Messina M, Duncan AM, Glenn AJ, Mariotti F. Plant-based meat alternatives can help facilitate and maintain a lower animal to plant protein intake ratio. Adv Nutr. 2023 Mar 09. PMID: 36906147.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/8/2023
Yu J, Mahajan A, Darlington G, Buchholz AC, Duncan AM, Haines J, Ma DWL. Free sugar intake from snacks and beverages in Canadian preschool- and toddler-aged children: a cross-sectional study. BMC Nutr. 2023 Mar 08; 9(1):44. PMID: 36890595.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/2/2023
Oblath R, Oh A, Herrera CN, Duncan A, Zhen-Duan J. Psychiatric emergencies among urban youth during COVID-19: Volume and acuity in a multi-channel program for the publicly insured. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Apr; 160:71-77. PMID: 36774833.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/1/2023
Oblath R, Herrera CN, Were LPO, Syeda HS, Duncan A, Ferguson T, Kalesan B, Perez DC, Taglieri J, Borba CPC, Henderson DC. . Long-Term Trends in Psychiatric Emergency Services Delivered by the Boston Emergency Services Team. Community Ment Health J. 2023; 2(59):370-380.
- Published on 12/19/2022
Zolli N, Loubeau JK, Sikov J, Baul TD, Hasan S, Rosen K, Buonocore O, Rabin M, Duncan A, Fortuna L, Borba CPC, Silverstein M, Spencer AE. "If he doesn't buy in, it's a waste of time": Perspectives from diverse parents and adolescents on engaging children in ADHD treatment. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2022 Dec 19. PMID: 36534302.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/19/2022
Zolli N, Loubeau JK, Sikov J, Baul TD, Hasan S, Rosen K, Buonocore O, Rabin M, Duncan A, Fortuna L, Borba CPC, Silverstein M, Spencer AE. "If he doesn't buy in, it's a waste of time": Perspectives from diverse parents and adolescents on engaging children in ADHD treatment. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2022.
- Published on 12/6/2022
Duncan A, Herrera CN, Okobi M, Nandi S, Oblath R. Locked down or locked out? Trends in psychiatric emergency services utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2022 Dec 06; 13558196221135119. PMID: 36475326.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/6/2022
Duncan A, Herrera CN, Okobi M, Nandi S, Oblath R. . Locked down or locked out? Trends in psychiatric emergency services utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Health Services Research. 2022.
- Published on 8/24/2022
Oblath R, Herrera CN, Were LPO, Syeda HS, Duncan A, Ferguson T, Kalesan B, Perez DC, Taglieri J, Borba CPC, Henderson DC. Long-Term Trends in Psychiatric Emergency Services Delivered by the Boston Emergency Services Team. Community Ment Health J. 2023 Feb; 59(2):370-380. PMID: 36001197.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/27/2021
Messina M, Mejia SB, Cassidy A, Duncan A, Kurzer M, Nagato C, Ronis M, Rowland I, Sievenpiper J, Barnes S. Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational and clinical data. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2022; 62(21):5824-5885. PMID: 33775173.
Read at: PubMed
View 4 more publications: View full profile at BUMC