Issue 51 | July 3, 2024

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Dear Faculty, Trainees, and Staff,

We saw a tremendous display of hard work and talent on Research Day, June 6, as dozens of interns, undergraduate, and postgraduate students, post-doc fellows, research assistants, and even some precocious middle school students presented their research and findings.

We awarded prizes for four different poster categories this year.

For Observational Studies—hypothesis-generating studies using case reports, cohort studies, or retrospective studies—first place went to Jenina Ezra David. For Experimental Studies—projects designed to test hypotheses using basic and clinical research, as well as meta analyses—Carolyn Doty won first place. For Quality Improvement—an integral process to the healthcare system in achieving better outcomes for patients—the first place prize went to Mackenzie Sayer. For Research Design—the art of transforming an idea or question into a finished, polished, publishable product—we awarded Phylicia Cooper first place.

I want to congratulate each of this year’s winners once more for the extraordinary work they demonstrated! 

In addition, I would like to congratulate Drs. Sai Korrapati, Sarah Clark, and Stephanie Hare for the distinguished awards they received (more on that below).

In the spirit of Research Day, I also want to highlight the incredible work that our faculty has done in recent months with regards to research publications.

Each month, I’ve asked every faculty member of our Department to submit any impactful articles and research findings that have been published in recent months. A reminder to please send anything you’d like featured to Will Dahl for inclusion in this letter as well as exposure on our social media channels!

Thanks to everyone for your hard work and dedication in serving our community, be it our academic community, our students and residents, or our patients!

Sincerely,

Jill A. RachBeisel, MD

Dr. Irving J. Taylor Professor and Chair, Department

of Psychiatry

Faculty Spotlight

Once again, Dr. Gloria Reeves and her team played a major role in the success of Research Day, after overseeing and implementing just about every detail of the event. Amazingly creative and collaborative, while always putting others before herself and keeping an eye out for the junior person, Gloria embodies the term "team player."

Congratulations, on yet another successful Research Day, Gloria!

Staff Spotlight

Last Wednesday, we celebrated Pat Connor's 34 years of contributions at our Department, and congratulated her on her retirement and the commencement of a new chapter!

I know I speak for all of us in saying I can't imagine working without Pat. I know we will all miss her keen attention to detail, her unflappability under deadlines, and her "can-do" spirit around the office.

Congratulations on a long and fruitful career, Pat!

The Department of Psychiatry Diversity Committee

The Diversity Committee wants to extend our sincerest thanks to everyone who has participated in circles in support of our FY24 Theme of Belonging and Inclusion. 

Circles will continue into the next academic year and beyond. Please attend the DEI Year in Review presentation on Thursday, July 11 from 12-1:30 to hear more. 

Zoom link: https://umaryland.zoom.us/j/92663499974?pwd=Q3RxWjNrK1draSsyQktyZEVtZS9VUT09

The committee will be on hiatus for the summer and resume meetings in September. Please be on the lookout for the new meeting link.

Please see this informational about our DEI initiatives.

Honors & Awards

Dr. Sai Korrapati (second from left) won the Betty Huse Foundation Research Grant Award, supporting his mental health research study, “Prenatal Tryptophan Restriction in Rats: Effects on Kynurenic Acid Levels in Fetal, Adolescent and Adult Animals, and on Postnatal Behavior."

Dr. Stephanie Hare (center) won the H. McKee Jarboe Fund For Mental Health Award to support research and the study of causes, treatment and cure of chronic serious mental disorders.

Dr. Sarah Clark (second from right) won the Ronald J. Taylor M.D. Endowed Fellowship in Psychiatry Award for demonstrating exceptional ability and commitment to medical education or research.

From the Awards Ceremony: Celebrating Wanda Binns' 30-Year Career at Our Department

On Monday, June 10, Wanda Binns (center) was celebrated for her 30-year anniversary at our Department.

Wanda has been a wonderful employee of the Department of Psychiatry for 30 years. She is the Manager of the EAP and is a highly trained and respected professional. She holds a master’s degree in social work and has continued to improve her skills each year. 

She treats all of the employees and family members with the utmost respect and they respond to it. One of her roles over the years has been to train new EAP interns from the School of Social Work. She has trained many new interns and new EAP Counselors in the proper way to treat employees. She also has a very good understanding of the balance between the need for kindness and the need for responsibility. 

Recently Published

In the Media

Dr. David Gorelick gave an interview on Iowa Public Radio's "River to River" show.

The topic was cannabis, including its proposed rescheduling.

You can listen in at this link--his segment is in the second half hour.

Dr. Tiffany Beason presented on “Integrating Healing with Social Justice: Supporting Educators to Create Trauma-Informed, Anti-Racist School Environments” at the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) All Network Conference held in Bethesda, MD in May.