Anne Richards, M.D., M.P.H., is a PTSD, sleep, and sex differences researcher in the Stress and Health Research Program at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr. Richards also serves as an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco and is a Staff Psychiatrist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr. Richards completed her undergraduate education at Harvard University and subsequently received her M.D. and M.P.H. from Columbia University. 

Dr. Richards has expertise in the treatment of PTSD and sleep disorders gained through years of experience treating male and female veterans with PTSD with medication and psychotherapy. In 2015, she transitioned from a predominantly clinical role at the SFVAMC/UCSF to a VA research Career Development Award focused on understanding how sleep disturbance contributes to the consolidation and maintenance of PTSD in male and female veterans. 

Her primary research interests are: 1) Sleep disturbance and understanding the ways in which sleep and disturbed sleep contribute to cognitive function and posttraumatic mental illness, 2) sex differences in the neurobiology of PTSD and factors contributing to differential risk for posttraumatic mental illness (especially PTSD) in women, and 3) translating evidence into effective psychopharmacological and therapy interventions for posttraumatic stress and related sleep disturbances.

Dr. Richards is the principal investigator on projects funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Veteran Affairs, and the University of California, San Francisco. She has also served as co-investigator on several DoD, VA, and NIH - funded projects performed at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.