Charles C. Engel, MD, MPH

Dr. Charles Engel (he/him) is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Core VA HSR&D Investigator in the Seattle Center for Innovation, Codirector of the Center’s Advanced Fellowship on Learning Health Systems, and Adjunct Physician Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation. Engel’s work focuses on trauma-informed health systems and strategies for improving the quality of primary care for chronic mental and physical health conditions. His research has covered traumatic injury and post-trauma syndromes ranging from blast injury, mild traumatic brain injury and Gulf War syndrome to PTSD and depression. Engel is experienced at mixed qualitative and quantitative methods and has led large pragmatic randomized trials, program evaluations, and implementation science studies. He has authored or coauthored nearly 200 scholarly papers, including in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the American Journal of Psychiatry. Funding for his work has come from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and other organizations. Before joining UW Psychiatry and the AIMS Center in 2021, Dr. Engel was Senior Physician Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation from 2013 to 2020 and Associate Chair (Research) at Uniformed Services University’s Department of Psychiatry from 2001-2013. Engel has served on the board of directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, has testified twice before Congress, received a number of awards, and delivered invited lectures in over 10 countries. He received both his MD and MPH from the University of Washington.

Education

MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle WA
MPH, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle WA
Fellowship, Psychiatry in Primary Care (Consult-Liaison Psychiatry), University of Washington, Seattle WA
Residency, General Psychiatry, Letterman Medical Center, San Francisco CA

Department Affiliations

Other Affiliations

Seattle Center of Innovation for Veteran Centered and Value-Based Care (HSR&D COIN)

Recent Publications

Clinician actions in response to Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening.
(2024 Nov)
Prev Med Rep 47(): 102887
Scott Ashwood J, Malika N, Williamson S, Engel C, Machtinger E, Thompson N, Shekarchi A, Thyne S, McCaw B, Lightfoot M, Kuo A, Fein E, Benedict D, Gantz L, Perry R, Yap N, Eberhart N

Progress Toward Meaning-as-Goal and Its Association with Pain, Functioning, and Global Meaning and Purpose Among Veterans with Co-occurring Chronic Pain and PTSD.
(2024 Sep 12)
Int J Behav Med
Reed DE 2nd, Palitsky R, Engel CC, Williams RM, Kroenke K, Bokhour BG, Zeliadt SB

Sequenced Treatment Effectiveness for Posttraumatic Stress (STEPS) Trial: A protocol for a pragmatic comparative effectiveness trial with baseline results.
(2024 Sep)
Contemp Clin Trials 144(): 107606
Fortney JC, Kaysen DL, Engel CC, Cerimele JM, Nolan JP Jr, Chase E, Blanchard BE, Hauge S, Bechtel J, Moore DL, Taylor A, Acierno R, Nagel N, Sripada RK, Painter JT, DeBeer BB, Bluett E, Teo AR, Morland LA, Heagerty PJ

Correction to: Heterogeneity in Unmet Treatment Need and Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services Among U.S. Military Service Members with Serious Psychological Distress.
(2024 May 4)
Adm Policy Ment Health
Dunbar MS, Breslau J, Collins R, Beckman R, Engel CC

Improving Pain Care for Service Members: Administrator, Provider, and Patient Perspectives on Treatment, Policies, and Opportunities for Change.
(2023 Dec)
Rand Health Q 11(1): 3
Hepner KA, Sousa JL, Roth CP, Huilgol SS, Jean C, Schulson LB, Gandhi P, Malika N, Engel CC

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