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Deeply rooted in her inherited love for the University of Michigan, Susan Crumpacker Brown was raised a devout supporter of the school and its programs. Over the years, Crumpacker Brown has been supportive of programs across the U-M campus and has especially made an impact in the U-M Depression Center. After losing two close friends to suicide in 2006 and 2011, Crumpacker Brown teamed up with Depression Center leaders to support research and new treatment options for depression. In 2016, Crumpacker Brown funded the Susan Crumpacker Brown Research Professorship in Depression at the University of Michigan in hopes of helping communities around the state. Marcia Valenstein was the inaugural Susan Crumpacker Brown Research Professor in Depression, however she has since retired.

Today, Paul Pfeiffer, M.D. is the new holder of the Susan Crumpacker Brown Research Professorship in Depression within the Michigan Medicine Department of Psychiatry. After earning an undergraduate degree in computer science from Dartmouth College in 1997, Dr. Pfeiffer earned his medical degree from U-M in 2004, stayed on for his residency in psychiatry, and then completed a research fellowship where he earned a master’s degree in health and healthcare research in 2009. In 2010, he was appointed as an assistant professor in the department and was promoted to associate professor in 2016.

Dr. Pfeiffer is currently the principal investigator for five federally funded studies, his nationally-presented research focuses on improving the quality of depression care, particularly using peer-based and technology-based interventions. In addition, Dr. Pfeiffer is the co-director of the Program for Mental Health Services, Innovation, and Outcomes in the Department of Psychiatry. He is a leader within the department’s initiatives and works closely with the Kalamazoo Collaborative Care Project, which personally hits home for Crumpacker Brown, who focused much of her efforts in this area.

The Kalamazoo Collaborative Care Project (KCCP) was established in 2013 through a partnership with Western Michigan University. The project’s first clinic, which opened its doors in June 2018, features a collaborative care model of identification and treatment — an innovative way of improving access to quality mental health care provided by primary care clinicians. Patients are proactively screened and contacted on a regular basis so that they do not fall through the cracks.

Dr. Pfeiffer is also the medical director for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System’s integrated care clinic, where he provides psychiatric care to veterans. Dr. Pfeiffer works to integrate effective behavioral health care into primary care settings at Michigan Medicine in regional and statewide networks.