Bruce Parsons, MD, PhD

Academic medicine

Bruce Parsons, MD, PhD, is a board-certified psychiatrist and physician-scientist with extensive experience in academic medicine, clinical pharmacology, neuroscience and the pharmaceutical industry. He received his PhD from Rockefeller University and his MD from the University of Miami, completed his psychiatry residency at Columbia University and subsequently served for ten years as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. His academic work included leading a neuropharmacology research laboratory, conducting clinical and translational research and teaching medical students, residents and fellows.

Industry

Dr. Parsons subsequently served for two decades at Pfizer as the Global Medical Lead for Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience and Pain. He led medical and cross-functional teams responsible for major medicines and therapeutic programs and contributed to clinical development, regulatory strategy, scientific communications and product launches in the United States and internationally. His work encompassed pre-clinical and clinical research and extensive collaboration with physicians, researchers, regulatory authorities and medical organizations throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

Research

Throughout his career, Dr. Parsons has maintained a strong commitment to understanding how neuroscience and clinical research can be translated into meaningful improvements in people’s everyday lives. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications across neuroendocrinology, neuropharmacology, psychiatry, neurology and pain.

At Get Up and Flow

Dr. Parsons brings this combination of scientific rigor, clinical experience and practical problem-solving to Get Up and Flow, where the goal is to translate an understanding of the alterations in executive functioning seen in people with ADHD into practical, individualized strategies and solutions that help them function more effectively in their daily lives. He co-founded the company and, with CEO Brian Fischman, has developed a proprietary curriculum and information technology to keep people with ADHD stay motivated, focused and effective, so that they can complete their daily tasks without guilt, shame or remorse.

Selected publications

From more than 100 peer-reviewed publications:

• Parsons B, Rainbow TC, Pfaff DW, McEwen BS. Oestradiol, sexual receptivity and cytosol progestin receptors in the hypothalamus. Nature 292: 58–59, 1981.
• Rainbow TC, Parsons B, McEwen BS. Sex differences in rat brain oestrogen and progestin receptors. Nature 300: 648–649, 1982.
• McEwen BS, Davis PG, Parsons B, Pfaff DW. The brain as a target for steroid hormone action. Annual Review of Neuroscience 2: 65–112, 1979.
• Markman J, Resnick M, Greenberg S, Katz N, Yang R, Scavone J, Gregorian G, Parsons B, Knapp L. Efficacy of pregabalin in post-traumatic peripheral neuropathic pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. Journal of Neurology 265: 2815–2824, 2018.
• Parsons B, Fujii K, Nozawa K, Yoshiyama T, Ortiz M, Whalen E. The efficacy of pregabalin for the treatment of neuropathic pain in Japanese subjects with moderate or severe baseline pain. Journal of Pain Research 12: 1061–1068, 2019.
• Rainbow TC, Parsons B, Wolfe BB. Quantitative autoradiography of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors in rat brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 81: 1585–1589, 1984.
• Byne W, Parsons B. Human sexual orientation: the biological theories reappraised. Archives of General Psychiatry 50: 228–239, 1993.
• Fallon B, Nields J, Parsons B, Liebowitz M, Klein D. Psychiatric manifestations of Lyme disease. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 54: 263–268, 1993.
• Parsons B, Schaefer C, Mann R, Sadosky A, Daniel S, Nalamachu S, Stacey B, Nieshoff E, Tuchman M, Anschel A. Economic and humanistic burden of post-trauma and post-surgical neuropathic pain among adults in the United States. Journal of Pain Research 6: 459–469, 2013.
• Alexander J, Edwards RA, Brodsky M, Manca L, Grugni R, Savoldelli A, Bonfanti G, Emir B, Whalen E, Watt S, Parsons B. Using time series analysis approaches for improved prediction of pain outcomes in subgroups of patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. PLOS ONE 13(12): e0207120, 2018.
• Alexander J, Edwards RA, Brodsky M, Savoldelli A, Manca L, Grugni R, Emir B, Whalen E, Watt S, Parsons B. Assessing the value of time series real-world and clinical trial data vs. baseline only data in predicting responses to pharmacotherapy for patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Clinical Drug Investigation 39: 775–786, 2019.

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