Dr. Herbert Ward, MD

Expert Publications

• Effects of prenatal stress on defensive withdrawal behavior and corticotropin releasing factor systems in rat brain.
• Effects of reduced frequency of milk removal on gene expression in the bovine mammary gland.
• Combination of antidepressant medications from treatment initiation for major depressive disorder: a double-blind randomized study.
• Structure of a human pulmonary acinus.
• Mapping a quantitative trait locus for the concentration of beta-lactoglobulin in milk, and the effect of beta-lactoglobulin genetic variants on the composition of milk from Holstein-Friesian x Jersey crossbred cows.
• A formalised, more considered and ethical approach to resuscitation.
• Failure of systemic N-acetyl cysteine to protect the rat lung against bleomycin toxicity.
• Deferoxamine infusion does not inhibit bleomycin-induced lung damage in the rat.
• Improved hospital mortality with a low MET dose: the importance of a modified early warning score and communication tool.
• Six-Nine Year Follow-Up of Deep Brain Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
• The effect of L-glutamic acid on airway function and reactivity in the rabbit.
• Effect of inhaled formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine on airway function.
• Ventilation by external high-frequency oscillation in cats.
• Down's syndrome with a familial D/D reciprocal translocation and a G/G chromosome.
• Departments of dental education. XI. Fixed prosthodontics.

Media Releases

Get to know Psychiatrist Dr. Herbert E. Ward, who serves patients in Gainesville, Florida.

An expert in internal medicine and psychiatry and their area of overlap, Dr. Ward is in practice with UF Health Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration, UF Health Adult Psychiatry – Springhill, and UF Health Bariatric Surgery Center – Shands Hospital.

His clinical interests include deep brain stimulation, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, major depression with psychotic features, obesity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, panic disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

Currently, he is on the Shands at UF Executive Committee, continuing to be both a role model for medical psychiatry and actively involved in bringing evidence-based practices to UF College of Medicine, clinics and inpatient psychiatric settings.

UF Health is the Southeast’s most comprehensive academic health center and part of one of the nation’s Top 10 public research universities. It represents the commitment of more than 26,500 employees to reach higher and farther, both translating scientific discoveries into patient care advances and implementing them to help people get back to living their best possible life. The mission of UF Health is to promote health through outstanding and high-quality patient care; innovative and rigorous education in the health professions and biomedical sciences; and high-impact research across the spectrum of basic, translational and clinical investigation. 

With administrative experience at UF Health, Dr. Ward has served as the acting director of psychiatry for UF Student Health, medical director for the Department of Psychiatry, medical director for the VA PTSD program, director of psychiatric specialty clinics, co-director of the UF Weight Management Program, and interim director for the general adult clinic. In addition, he has chaired four faculty search committees, the Anxiety Disorders Program Development Committee, and the Weight Management Program Development Committee.

Academically, Dr. Ward holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Francis Marlon University. He received a Master of Science degree in Pharmacology from University of South Carolina before attending medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina. He then went on to complete a combined residency training program in internal medicine and psychiatry at West Virginia University, completing his training in 1989.

With experience in outpatient, medical, and primary care settings, the doctor is board-certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). The ABPN is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to serving the professions of psychiatry and neurology.

Furthermore, he is board-certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ABIM is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world.

Dr. Ward’s research interests come out of a background in pharmacology and specialty training in anxiety disorders. He is interested in the neurobiology of anxiety and the development of new treatment strategies, including combination therapies for optimal synaptic benefit and reduction of adverse effects. Additionally, he is interested in improving recognition of anxiety disorders in primary care and testing a parallel model for delivery of medical and psychiatric services.

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behavior, cognition, and perceptions. Psychiatrists evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. They conduct thorough psychiatric evaluations, develop treatment plans, prescribe medication, and evaluate treatment results.

As a testament to his investment in clinical teaching and administrative experience, Dr. Ward has been the recipient of various honors, including: Founder Award, UF Health Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases (2019); Endowed Kaine Professorship, University of Florida – College of Medicine (2016); Resident Mentor Award, Department of Psychiatry – University of Florida (2016); Exemplary Teacher Award, Department of Psychiatry – University of Florida (2016); Teacher of the Year Award, Department of Psychiatry – University of Florida (1998); and Faculty Teaching Award, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry – West Virginia University School of Medicine (1993).

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