Yanbo Zhang

Area of Study / Keywords

Primary keywords: Psychiatry; Interventional Psychiatry; Neuromodulation / Brain Stimulation; Digital Mental Health; Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health

---

About

Dr. Yanbo Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, where he also serves as Psychiatry Residency Program Director and Co-Lead of the Interventional Psychiatry Program. A clinician-scientist (MB, PhD, FRCPC, FAPA, FCPA), his work bridges interventional psychiatry, novel treatment development, and the application of artificial intelligence to mental health care.

His research spans brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression and substance use disorders, psychedelic- and ketamine-based therapies, and digital and AI-driven tools for mental health screening, intervention, and literacy. He leads and collaborates on several CIHR-funded studies, including a digital depression-care companion, a psilocybin trial for PTSD, and a comparative trial of ketamine and rTMS.

Alongside his research, Dr. Zhang holds medical-education leadership roles and contributes to provincial and national committees in psychiatry, brain stimulation, and addiction medicine.

---

Research

Dr. Zhang's research advances new treatments for difficult-to-treat psychiatric conditions and develops technology that makes mental health care more accessible and evidence-based.

His interventional psychiatry work focuses on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), including their use in treatment-resistant depression and in patients with co-occurring substance use disorders — a population often excluded from neuromodulation research. He also investigates psychedelic- and ketamine-based therapies through controlled clinical trials.

A second stream applies artificial intelligence to mental health: the safety and reliability of large language models in clinical contexts, automated and multi-agent approaches to screening and diagnosis, and digital mental health literacy. Current projects include a digital depression-care companion and artificial intelligence applications in psychiatric care and medical education.

His work emphasizes methodological rigour — systematic review, meta-analysis and network meta-analysis, and predictive modelling—and knowledge translation into clinical practice and policy.

---

Teaching

Dr. Zhang is Psychiatry Residency Program Director at the University of Alberta. In these roles he leads residency program quality, accreditation, and competency-based medical education (CBD).

He supervises graduate students and trainees in interventional psychiatry and AI-in-mental-health research, and welcomes undergraduate students for honours, individual study, and summer research projects (see Availability). He also develops continuing professional development, including rTMS training for practising psychiatrists, and contributes to national curriculum bodies and the Royal College specialty committee in psychiatry.

Isis Lunsky, Gilmar Gutierrez, Xena Wang, Andrea Zhuang, Yanbo Zhang, Gustavo Vazquez, Venkat Bhat, Shaina Archer, Atul Khullar, Carson Chrenek, Jennifer Swainson

Psychiatry Research. 2026 September; 10.1016/j.psychres.2026.117221

---

Wei Y; Sha L; McWeeny R; Johnston K; Bulut O; Cao B; Zhang Y; Baxter A; Carr W; Greenshaw A; Silverstone P; Kutcher S

Scientific Reports. 2026 April; 10.1038/s41598-026-50222-w

---

Wu Y; Wan G; Li J; Zhao S; Ma L; Ye T; Zhang M; Pop I; Zhang Y; Chen J

NPJ Digital Medicine. 2026 March; 10.1038/s41746-026-02559-9

---

Sharma D; Meshkat S; Perivolaris A; Kamaleddin MA; Teferra BG; Rueda A; Samavi R; Jetly R; Mago V; Wu Y; Zhang Y; Cao B; Greenshaw A; Krishnan S; Bhat V

NPJ Digital Medicine. 2026 February; 9 (1) 10.1038/s41746-026-02453-4

---

Huda F. Al-Shamali, Shakila Meshkat, Reinhard Janssen-Aguilar, Harani Uthayakumar, Lisa Burback, Olga Winkler, Yanbo Zhang, Andrew Greenshaw, Murray W. Enns, Andrew A. Nicholson, Paul Frewen, Jitender Sareen, Eric Vermetten, Rakesh Jetly, Venkat Bhat

Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health. 2026 February; 10.3138/jmvfh-2025-0015

---

Teferra BG; Johny N; Huang S; Rueda A; Kamaleddin MA; Dunlop K; Zhang Y; Jha M; Sharma D; Bhat V

NPJ Digital Medicine. 2026 January; 9 (1):148 10.1038/s41746-025-02333-3

---

Yuqi Wu, Guangya Wan, Rachael Dong, Iman Z Kassam, Brittany C Wiseman, Judith Rho, Nicole Graziano, Xihua Wang, Yanbo Zhang, Jie Chen

IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. 2026 January; 10.1109/TAFFC.2025.3634148

---

Shakila Meshkat, Qiaowei Lin, Rachel Sousa-Ho, Ilya Demchenko, Richard J. Zeifman, Howell Fang, Amy C. Reichelt, Yanbo Zhang, Lisa Burback, Olga Winkler, Andrew Greenshaw, Candice M. Monson, Eric Vermetten, Rakesh Jetly, Wendy Lou, Muhammad Ishrat Husain, Matthew J. Burke, Venkat Bhat

European Psychiatry. 2026 January; 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2026.10168

---

Ethan V. Hagen; Matthew M. M. Harper; Yanbo Zhang; Trevor J. Hamilton

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2025 November; 19 10.3389/fnbeh.2025.1717998

---

Matthew M. M. Harper; Ethan V. Hagen; Yanbo Zhang; Trevor J. Hamilton

MethodsX. 2025 November; 15 10.1016/j.mex.2025.103730

---

Jayden Mackie, Caleb Ji, Alan Davalos-Guzman, Jeremy Weleff, Yifeng Wei, Ghalib Ahmed, Yanbo Zhang, Pratap Chokka, Bo Cao, Yang S. Liu

Psychiatry Research. 2025 November; 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116748

---

Jayden Mackie; Caleb Ji; Alan Davalos-Guzman; Jeremy Weleff; Yifeng Wei; Ghalib Ahmed; Yanbo Zhang; Pratap Chokka; Bo Cao; Yang S. Liu

Psychiatry Research. 2025 September; 353 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116748

---

Jayden Mackie; Caleb Ji; Alan Davalos-Guzman; Jeremy Weleff; Yifeng Wei; Ghalib Ahmed; Yanbo Zhang; Pratap Chokka; Bo Cao; Yang S. Liu

Psychiatry Research. 2025 September; 353 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116748

---

Yang S. Liu; Derek V. Pierce; Dan Metes; Yipeng Song; Lawrence Kiyang; Mengzhe Wang; Kathryn Dong; Dean T. Eurich; Scott Patten; Russell Greiner; Yanbo Zhang; Jake Hayward; Andrew Greenshaw; Bo Cao

Molecular Psychiatry. 2025 September; 30 (9):4122-4127 10.1038/s41380-025-02992-4

---

Lisa Burback; Olga Winkler; Rakesh Jetly; Jennifer Swainson; Yanbo Zhang; Venkat Bhat; Eric Vermetten

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2025 August; 35 (1):S152-S167 10.5152/pcp.2025.241019

---

Lisa Burback; Olga Winkler; Rakesh Jetly; Jennifer Swainson; Yanbo Zhang; Venkat Bhat; Eric Vermetten

Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2025 August; 35 (1):S152-S167 10.5152/pcp.2025.241019

---

Reinhard Janssen-Aguilar; Shakila Meshkat; Ilya Demchenko; Yanbo Zhang; Andrew Greenshaw; Walter Dunn; Robert Tanguay; Leah M. Mayo; Jennifer Swainson; Rakesh Jetly; Venkat Bhat

Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment. 2025 August; 175 10.1016/j.josat.2025.209705

---

Wanying Mao; Reham Shalaby; Yanbo Zhang; Vincent I. O. Agyapong

Frontiers in Public Health. 2025 July; 13 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1595303

---

Wanying Mao; Reham Shalaby; Yanbo Zhang; Vincent I. O. Agyapong

Frontiers in Public Health. 2025 July; 13 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1595303

---

Yutong Li, Derek V. Pierce, Shelly Vik, Kathryn Dong, Scott Patten, Yanbo Zhang, Jake Hayward, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Bo Cao

PLOS Mental Health. 2025 July; 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000319

---

Meshkat S; Malik G; Zeifman RJ; Swainson J; Balachandra K; Reichelt AC; Zhang Y; Burback L; Winkler O; Greenshaw A; Vermetten E; Mayo LM; Tanguay R; Jetly R; Bhat V

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2025 June; 173 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106163

---

Huda F. Al-Shamali, Rachael Dong, Margot Jackson, Lisa Burback, Gina Wong, Bo Cao, Xin-Min Li, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Yanbo Zhang

PLOS ONE. 2025 April; 10.1371/journal.pone.0321813

---

Fernanda Talarico, Julie Tian, Yipeng Song, Yang S Liu, Derek Pierce, Dan Metes, Rong-Cai Yang, Guofeng Wu, Yanbo Zhang, Jake Hayward, Mengzhe Wang, Bo Cao

Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. 2025 April; 10.1016/j.jadr.2025.100881

---

Shakila Meshkat, Huda Al-Shamali, Argyrios Perivolaris, Trusha Tullu, Richard J. Zeifman, Yanbo Zhang, Lisa Burback, Olga Winkler, Andrew Greenshaw, Muhammad Ishrat Husain, Amy C. Reichelt, Eric Vermetten, Manish K. Jha, Rakesh Jetly, Raimar Loebenberg, Venkat Bhat

Pharmaceutics. 2025 March; 10.3390/pharmaceutics17040411

---

Shakila Meshkat, Taha Malik, Richard Zeifman, Jennifer Swainson, Yanbo Zhang, Lisa Burback, Olga Winkler, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Amy Claire Reichelt, Eric Vermetten, David Erritzoe, Manish K. Jha, Walter Dunn, Rakesh Jetly, Muhammad Ishrat Husain, Venkat Bhat

Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2025 February; 10.3390/jcm14051416

---

Argyrios Perivolaris; Alice Rueda; K. Parkington; A. Soni; S. Rambhatla; R. Samavi; Rakesh Jetly; Andrew Greenshaw; Yanbo Zhang; Bo Cao; S. Krishnan; Venkat Bhat

Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2025 February; 16 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1539157

---

Wang Z, Robbins B, Zhuang R, Sandini T, van Bruggen R, Li XM, Zhang Y

Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry. 2025 January; 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2024.111243

---

Yuqi Wu, Kaining Mao, Yanbo Zhang, Jie Chen

IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics. 2024 December; 10.1109/JBHI.2024.3435085

---

Hagen EV, Zhang Y, Hamilton TJ

Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior. 2024 November; 10.1016/j.pbb.2024.173909

---

Liu YS, Talarico F, Metes D, Song Y, Wang M, Kiyang L, Wearmouth D, Vik S, Wei Y, Zhang Y, Hayward J, Ahmed G, Gaskin A, Greiner R, Greenshaw A, Alexander A, Janus M, Cao B

PLOS digital health. 2024 November; 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000620

---

Meshkat S, Tello-Gerez TJ, Gholaminezhad F, Dunkley BT, Reichelt AC, Erritzoe D, Vermetten E, Zhang Y, Greenshaw A, Burback L, Winkler O, Jetly R, Mayo LM, Bhat V

Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences. 2024 October; 10.1111/pcn.13741

---

Talarico F, Metes D, Wang M, Hayward J, Liu YS, Tian J, Zhang Y, Greenshaw AJ, Gaskin A, Janus M, Cao B

PLOS digital health. 2024 September; 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000611

---

Smith SA, Smith S, Dennett L, Zhang Y

PloS one. 2024 July; 10.1371/journal.pone.0307491

---

Mellon, Nicholas, Robbins, Brett, van Bruggen, Rebekah, Zhang, Yanbo

Reviews in the neurosciences. 2024 January; 10.1515/revneuro-2024-0023

---

Hagen, Ethan V, Schalomon, Melike, Zhang, Yanbo, Hamilton, Trevor J

Scientific reports. 2024 January; 10.1038/s41598-024-54676-8

---

Jones, Chelsea, Spencer, Shaylee, O'Greysik, Elly, Smith-MacDonald, Lorraine, Bright, Katherine S, Beck, Amy J, Carleton, R Nicholas, Burback, Lisa, Greenshaw, Andrew, Zhang, Yanbo, Sevigny, Phillip R, Hayward, Jake, Cao, Bo, Brémault-Phillips, Suzette

International journal of environmental research and public health. 2024 January; 10.3390/ijerph21070949

---

Gao, Xin, Chen, Jingjing, Yin, Ge, Liu, Yanqun, Gu, Zhengsheng, Sun, Rui, Sun, Xu, Jiao, Xuehao, Wang, Ling, Wang, Nuo, Zhang, Yanbo, Kan, Yuting, Bi, Xiaoying, Du, Bingying

CNS neuroscience & therapeutics. 2024 January; 10.1111/cns.14666

---

Yu, Zijia, Burback, Lisa, Winkler, Olga, Xu, Lujie, Dennett, Liz, Vermetten, Eric, Greenshaw, Andrew, Li, Xin-Min, Milne, Michaela, Wang, Fei, Cao, Bo, Winship, Ian R, Zhang, Yanbo, Chan, Allen W

Frontiers in psychiatry. 2024 January; 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1386321

---

Yuqi Wu, Kaining Mao, Liz Dennett, Yanbo Zhang, Jie Chen

npj Mental Health Research. 2023 September; 10.1038/s44184-023-00035-w

---

Sekar S, Zhang Y, Miranzadeh Mahabadi H, Buettner B, Taghibiglou C

International journal of molecular sciences. 2023 June; 10.3390/ijms241210328

---

Song, Yipeng, Liu, Yang S, Talarico, Fernanda, Zhang, Yanbo, Hayward, Jake, Wang, Mengzhe, Stroulia, Eleni, Dixon, Roger A, Greiner, Russell, Li, Xinmin, Greenshaw, Andrew, Jie, Sui, Cao, Bo

Gerontology. 2023 January; 10.1159/000534015

---

Yang S. Liu, Lawrence Kiyang, Jake Hayward, Yanbo Zhang, Dan Metes, Mengzhe Wang, Lawrence W. Svenson, Fernanda Talarico, Pierre Chue, Xin-Min Li, Russell Greiner, Andrew J. Greenshaw, Bo Cao

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2023 January; 10.1177/07067437221114094

---

Jones, Chelsea, Juby, Brenda, Spencer, Shaylee, Smith-MacDonald, Lorraine, O'Greysik, Elly, Vincent, Michelle, Mooney, Colleen, Bright, Katherine S, Sevigny, Phillip R, Burback, Lisa, Greenshaw, Andrew, Carleton, R Nicholas, Savage, Raymond, Hayward, Jake, Zhang, Yanbo, Cao, Bo, Brémault-Phillips, Suzette

International journal of environmental research and public health. 2023 January; 10.3390/ijerph20176664

---

Obuobi-Donkor, Gloria, Eboreime, Ejemai, Shalaby, Reham, Agyapong, Belinda, Phung, Natalie, Eyben, Scarlett, Wells, Kristopher, Dias, Raquel da Luz, Hilario, Carla, Jones, Chelsea, Brémault-Phillips, Suzette, Zhang, Yanbo, Greenshaw, Andrew J, Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku

JMIR formative research. 2023 January; 10.2196/46431

---

Wei, Yange, Womer, Fay Y, Sun, Kaijin, Zhu, Yue, Sun, Dandan, Duan, Jia, Zhang, Ran, Wei, Shengnan, Jiang, Xiaowei, Zhang, Yanbo, Tang, Yanqing, Zhang, Xizhe, Wang, Fei

Psychological medicine. 2023 January; 10.1017/s0033291722000174

---

Jin, Jonathan, Al-Shamali, Huda F, McWeeny, Robert, Sawalha, Jeff, Shalaby, Reham, Marshall, Tyler, Greenshaw, Andrew J, Cao, Bo, Zhang, Yanbo, Demas, Michael, Dursun, Serdar M, Dennett, Liz, Suleman, Raheem

Psychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology. 2023 January; 10.5152/pcp.2023.22583

---

Shan, Yongzhi, Wang, Hongxing, Yang, Yanfeng, Wang, Jiahao, Zhao, Wenfeng, Huang, Yuda, Wang, Huang, Han, Bing, Pan, Na, Jin, Xiukun, Fan, Xiaotong, Liu, Yunyun, Wang, Jun, Wang, Changming, Zhang, Huaqiang, Chen, Sichang, Liu, Ting, Yan, Tianyi, Si, Tianmei, Yin, Lu, Li, Xinmin, Cosci, Fiammetta, Zhang, Xiangyang, Zhang, Guanghao, Gao, Keming, Zhao, Guoguang

Molecular psychiatry. 2023 January; 10.1038/s41380-023-02150-8

---

Hagen, Ethan V, Zhang, Yanbo, Hamilton, Trevor J

MethodsX. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102342

---

Ye, Xuanjie, Wang, Zitong, van Bruggen, Rebekah, Li, Xin-Min, Zhang, Yanbo, Chen, Jie

Frontiers in neuroscience. 2023 January; 10.3389/fnins.2023.1269267

---

Mao, W., Eboreime, E., Shalaby, R., Nkire, N., Agyapong, B., Pazderka, H., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Adu, M., Owusu, E., Oluwasina, F., Zhang, Y., Agyapong, V.

European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. 2023 January;

---

Mao, W., Adu, M., Eboreime, E., Shalaby, R., Nkire, N., Agyapong, B., Pazderka, H., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Owusu, E., Oluwasina, F., Zhang, Y., Agyapong, V.

European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. 2023 January;

---

Obuobi-Donkor, Gloria, Shalaby, Reham, Eboreime, Ejemai, Agyapong, Belinda, Phung, Natalie, Eyben, Scarlett, Wells, Kristopher, Hilario, Carla, Dias, Raquel da Luz, Jones, Chelsea, Brémault-Phillips, Suzette, Zhang, Yanbo, Greenshaw, Andrew J, Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku

International journal of environmental research and public health. 2023 January; 10.3390/ijerph20054215

---

Luo, Wenyu, Yan, Yudie, Cao, Yunpeng, Zhang, Yanbo, Zhang, Zhen

Frontiers in molecular biosciences. 2023 January; 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1097018

---

Al-Shamali, Huda F, Jackson, Margot, Zinchuk, Nataliia, Modanloo, Setayesh, Wong, Gina, Cao, Bo, Burback, Lisa, Li, Xin-Min, Greenshaw, Andrew, Zhang, Yanbo

Frontiers in psychiatry. 2023 January; 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1143403

---

Wang, Zitong, van Bruggen, Rebekah, Sandini, Thaisa, Hagen, Ethan V, Li, Xin-Min, Zhang, Yanbo

Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110825

---

Huda Al-Shamali, Amara Hussain, Liz Dennett, Bo Cao, Lisa Burback, Andrew Greenshaw, Yanbo Zhang

Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. 2022 July; 10.1016/j.jadr.2022.100356

---

Gloria Obuobi-Donkor, Ejemai Eboreime, Jennifer Bond, Natalie Phung, Scarlett Eyben, Jake Hayward, Yanbo Zhang, Frank MacMaster, Steven Clelland, Russell Greiner, Chelsea Jones, Bo Cao, Suzette Brémault-Phillips, Kristopher Wells, Xin-Min Li, Carla Hilario, Andrew J Greenshaw, Vincent Israel Opoku Agyapong

JMIR Research Protocols. 2022 April; 10.2196/30680

---

Du, Bingying, Zhang, Yanbo, Bi, Xiaoying

Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2022 January; 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1115180

---

Al-Shamali, Huda F, Winkler, Olga, Talarico, Fernanda, Greenshaw, Andrew J, Forner, Christine, Zhang, Yanbo, Vermetten, Eric, Burback, Lisa

The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry. 2022 January; 10.1177/00048674221077029

---

Liu, Juan, Liu, Zhuang, Wei, Yange, Zhang, Yanbo, Womer, Fay Y, Jia, Duan, Wei, Shengnan, Wu, Feng, Kong, Lingtao, Jiang, Xiaowei, Zhang, Luheng, Tang, Yanqing, Zhang, Xizhe, Wang, Fei

The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry. 2022 January; 10.1177/00048674211031477

---

Zhang, Luheng, Zhang, Ran, Han, Shaoqiang, Womer, Fay Y, Wei, Yange, Duan, Jia, Chang, Miao, Li, Chao, Feng, Ruiqi, Liu, Juan, Zhao, Pengfei, Jiang, Xiaowei, Wei, Shengnan, Yin, Zhiyang, Zhang, Yifan, Zhang, Yanbo, Zhang, Xizhe, Tang, Yanqing, Wang, Fei

Schizophrenia research. 2022 January; 10.1016/j.schres.2021.06.014

---

Mao, Wanying, Adu, Medard, Eboreime, Ejemai, Shalaby, Reham, Nkire, Nnamdi, Agyapong, Belinda, Pazderka, Hannah, Obuobi-Donkor, Gloria, Owusu, Ernest, Oluwasina, Folajinmi, Zhang, Yanbo, Agyapong, Vincent I O

International journal of environmental research and public health. 2022 January; 10.3390/ijerph19159759

---

Mao, Wanying, Eboreime, Ejemai, Shalaby, Reham, Nkire, Nnamdi, Agyapong, Belinda, Pazderka, Hannah, Obuobi-Donkor, Gloria, Adu, Medard, Owusu, Ernest, Oluwasina, Folajinmi, Zhang, Yanbo, Agyapong, Vincent I O

Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland). 2022 January; 10.3390/bs12030069

---

Al-Shamali, H., Zinchuk, N., Yan, R., Jackson, M., Morrissette, M., Greenshaw, A., Zhang, Y.

European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists. 2022 January;

---

Zitong Wang, Akanksha Baharani, Zelan Wei, Davin Truong, Xiaoying Bi, Fei Wang, Xin‐Min Li, Valerie M. K. Verge, Yanbo Zhang

Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology. 2021 August; 10.1111/1440-1681.13490

---

View additional publications