Edna Normand, MD, PhD

Edna Normand, MD, PhD is a resident physician at the Yale Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP).

Dr. Normand completed her PhD at Princeton University with Dr. Mala Murthy and her MD at Rutgers RWJ. Using tools such as machine learning, whole-brain connectomics, and optogenetics, she mapped sexually dimorphic brain circuits in flies and studied how audiovisual signals are transformed into real-time motor responses during natural social interactions. Her dissertation sits at the intersection of circuits and systems neuroscience, computational neuroscience, and neuroethology, with a focus on multisensory signal processing. Her work was funded by an NIH F30 grant and presented at national and international conferences. She has been recognized by awards such as Merck’s Top 10 Global Innovator and the NIH BRAIN Initiative highlight award.

In addition to her medical training and scientific background, she has had over 15 years of award-winning service and leadership experience, including during public emergencies such as Hurricane Sandy.

Originally from New York City, Dr. Normand earned dual bachelor’s degrees in neurobiology and media studies on a full merit scholarship at the Macaulay Honors College (CUNY-Hunter). She speaks Russian and English.

At Yale, she is interested in building an interdisciplinary research program involving psychotic disorders, brain-body intersections, and neuromodulation, drawing on her expertise in neural circuits and signal processing. Clinically, she is interested in public psychiatry (including serving patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia) as well as providing integrated care for patients with complex neuropsychiatric and medical needs (including functional disorders). She is committed to serving the New Haven community and aims to provide outstanding and compassionate care to her patients, including those who have limited access to care, while advancing science toward future treatments.