Achab Sophia is psychiatrist, senior lecturer, lead researcher and Head of WHO Collaborating Centre for Training and Research in Mental Health at Faculty of Medicine of Geneva University,

She has been part of several TAGs and Panels on public health issues, policy making and capacity building regarding addictive behaviors for Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and other Swiss regional bodies and for WHO.

She is part of the WHO EURO Mental Health Coalition, of the WHO Global Clinical Practice Network. and of the Lancet Commission for Global Action on Problematic Internet Use.

Her Research line is "Populational and clinical perspectives of addictive behaviors* and she contributed to the efforts leading to their inclusion in ICD-11, including directing Swiss Field Testing of ICD-11 criteria for addictive disorders (WHO research project on their utility, feasibility and added value).

She runs the Swiss pioneering treatment Centre ReConnecte specialized in addictive behaviors (Gambling, gaming, shopping, work..) since 2007 at University Hospitals of Geneva in Switzerland.

She supports early career professionals in addiction medicine in Europe and worldwide, acting for example as co-Chair of the Executive Committee of ISAM NexT (New professionals Exploration Training and Education) at International Society of Addiction Medicine https://isamweb.org/committees/#next-committee-new-professionals-exploration-training-and-education .She teaches in several countries Barcelona (Spain)- Louvain la Neuve (Belgium)- Besançon (France), Changsha (China), Hong-Kong (SAR, China), Sherbrook (Canada), and San Diego (USA).

She has been invited to join different scientific boards in the field of addiction medicine:

-Co-chair of Addictive Behaviors Scientific Section of European Psychiatric Association 

-Steering Committee Member of the Global Expert Network (ISAM-GEN) https://isamweb.org/global-expert-network/

-Representative for European continent of Regional Council of ISAM : http://isamweb.org/regional-council/

-Board member of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral addictions (ISSBA) http://issba.elte.hu/

-Member of transcultural network putting women on the scientific agenda at ISSBA

Educational background :

-Medical doctorate achieved in 2009, France; 

-PhD in Life sciences-Neurosciences-Human behaviors completed in 2014 , France;

-Swiss degree in Psychiatry and psychotherapy in addiction medicine in 2017;

-Master in Advanced Studies in Strategic Management of Health institutions at Geneva executive School for Business and Management, University of Geneva, Switzerland (2020);

-Improving Quality and Safety in Global Health at Harvard Global Health Institute, USA (2020);

-The Science of Happiness at University of California, Berkeley, USA (2021); and

-Drug Policy by Global Health Centre, Graduate Institute, University of Geneva, Switzerland (2021).

Publications