Issue 17 | September 8, 2020 |
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A Letter from the Chair
Dear Faculty, Trainees, and Staff:
The FY20 academic year has officially come to a close, and our many accomplishments will be highlighted in the upcoming State of the Department on September 17. However, I would like to thank all of our faculty and staff now for a great year. The energy, team work, and effort that have been expended to keep moving us forward and to maintain and build on our successes have been impressive. It is truly an honor to be part of such a passionate and engaged group! Please remember to accept the recent calendar invite that was distributed, and I look forward to our upcoming virtual gathering.
I would like to acknowledge the hard work of Robert White, LCPC, with this year's Tuerk Conference. The annual Conference will be held virtually on September 10 in collaboration with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Maryland (NCADD-MD). The mission is an important one, ensuring individuals affected by the disease of addiction have access to resources and services critical for treatment and sustained recovery.
Additionally, I would like to recognize Mark Ehrenreich, MD, Chief of Education, who will take the helm as the MPS President for FY21. We wish you the best of luck in this additional role.
And finally, I want to further highlight the ongoing work many of us are engaged in to identify and address the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion within our Department. (More highlighted below.) Several weeks ago, I recommended White Fragility by Robin Diangelo to all faculty to read. I want to extend this suggestion to all staff and trainees as well. I have found it profoundly thought provoking to the degree that I invite anyone who is interested to join me in a series of one-hour discussions exploring the issues that Ms. Diangelo forces us to think about. Please email me if you are interested.
Sincerely,
Jill RachBeisel, MD
Interim Chair, Department of Psychiatry
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THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
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The Diversity Committee, led by Dr. Anique Forrester, has continued its work to expand the message of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Department of Psychiatry. We are also proactively and systematically evaluating structural racism and its effects across our Divisions and individual programs.
On Wednesday, August 19, the Department leadership participated in Part I of a guided leadership retreat. The retreat consisted of exercises examining systemic racism and structural inequality. The goal is to empower leaders to establish their own efforts to create a supported and sustained system to effect change.
For those who have not been directly involved in these efforts, information was disseminated to leaders at Part II of the retreat on Tuesday, August 25, so that individualized programs can begin their own internal evaluations and processes to further expand these efforts.
For the entire Department, we recommend participating in an upcoming Virtual Symposium:
Advancing the Response to COVID-19: Sharing Promising Programs and Practices for Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities
September 17 from 12-6pm
We also recommend the following reading resources:
Resources to Fight Racism and Unconscious Bias
Dismantling Racism in Psychiatry
The next Diversity Committee meeting will be held on September 25th at 4pm. All members of the Committee are invited. The meeting remains open to any members of the Department who are interested to learn more about our efforts or would like to join the Committee. These meetings will continue on the fourth Thursday of each month at 4pm.
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On August 27, the Department of Psychiatry and Dr. Marissa Flaherty hosted the webinar, "Everyday Bias in Medicine and The Bystander Effect."
The lecture focused on implicit bias and the bystander effect in the medical community, and Dr. Sandra Quezada (left, above) and Dr. Rebecca Carter (left, below) graciously volunteered their time to educate us on these important topics.
Thanks for your time, and thank you to all who attended!
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THE JUSTICE, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN MENTAL HEALTH
JOURNAL CLUB
The Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Mental Health Journal Club will be meeting on September 16th at 6:30pm. The topic this month is mental health and criminal justice. Please contact Amit Suneja at Amit.Suneja@som.umaryland.edu for copies of the readings and/or to be added to the listserv announcing future journal club meetings.
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ANTI-RACIST BOOK CLUB
A resident-run Anti-Racist Book Club has blossomed this summer. Not only have residents from each class attended each meeting, we now include psychiatry residents from Hopkins. We had an illuminating discussion of Ta Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me in July and Jonathan Metzl's The Protest Psychosis in August. Our next book will be Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington on 9/30 at 8 PM.
Please contact Ann Marie at ann.gustafson@som.umaryland.edu for the zoom link if interested. All are welcome.
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY
DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION RESOURCE LIST
The Department has been continually updating our Diversity and Social Justice Education Resource List.
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PSYCHIATRY UPDATES
The Department of Psychiatry would like to update you on an open position, newly awarded grants, presentations, media mentions, & publications.
We are also excited to introduce our incoming
Residents!
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SAVE THE DATE!
Check your email & save the date for the virtual
State of the Department
September 17
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
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Drs. L. Elliot Hong and Peter Kochunov of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC), along with Dr. Braxton Mitchell of the Department of Medicine, were recently awarded $3,108,746 for their grant, entitled "Lifespan Vascular Biology on White Matter."
The project is from 8/15/20 to 8/14/24, and the study will track the lifespan relationships between vascular functional mechanisms and white matter lifespan changes to identify mechanisms that may aid prevention of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease as well as promote successful aging. Congratulations on this tremendous achievement!
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Mark Ehrenreich, MD
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Ehrenreich, Chief of Education, who has been named as the new incoming President of the Maryland Psychiatric Society for FY21.
Thank you for all of your hard work that you do for the Department, and we look forward to your continued leadership!
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WELCOME TO OUR INCOMING RESIDENTS! |
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Caroline Quaglieri, PGY-1 |
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Andrew van der Vaart, PGY-1
Physician Scientist Track
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Gustavo Costa Medeiros, MD, PGY-4 |
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OPEN RANK FACULTY POSITION
DIVISION OF PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES RESEARCH
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The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine invites applications for an Assistant/Associate/Full Professor position in the Division of Psychiatric Services Research. This position is for a health services researcher or interventions researcher with training and experience in the field of mental health care, including substance abuse treatment services, and is open to any faculty rank. Candidates may be appointed on either the tenure- or research-faculty track, depending on qualifications and preference. Candidates must have a PhD, MD, or other doctoral degree in health services research, pharmaceutical science, economics, computer science, psychology, health policy, epidemiology, or related field. Successful candidates will have either a record of external research funding or strong potential to obtain external funding for services research and/or intervention research projects. This is a full-time research position funded by both internal and external sources.
UMB is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law or policy.
For the full position, click here. To send a letter of introduction,
contact Melanie Bennett, PhD, at mbennett@som.umaryland.edu.
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The 25th Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
Celebrate with the National Center for School Mental Health on Thursday, October 29, as we host the 25th Annual (virtual) Conference on Advancing School Mental Health.
We are excited to offer three hours of cutting-edge content in addition to unlimited access to pre-recorded sessions!
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School Mental Health Virtual Learning Series
The National Center for School Mental Health, in collaboration with the Mideast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center run by the Danya Institute, has launched the School Mental Health Virtual Learning Series.
This webinar series covers a variety of topics relevant to school mental health and will continue through the school year. Existing webinars from the series can be found at schoolmentalhealth.org/Connect/Webinars/ and include the Trauma-Responsive School Implementation Assessment; Youth Perspectives on COVID-19, Racism, and Returning to School; The School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System; and What Can Schools Do to Address COVID-19, Racism, and Social Justice.
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The Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
A Virtual Visit to Kentucky
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Kris Scardamalia, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, facilitated a virtual meeting on August 6th on developing comprehensive school mental health services for state and district behavioral health and education leaders in Kentucky.
The meeting focused on building a good foundation for school mental health supports and services, as well as teaming strategies within school districts, between districts and community partners, and between district and state agencies.
Thank you Dr. Scardamalia for your hard work!
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BHIPP & NCSMH Resilience Break
Drs. Sharon Hoover and Nancy Lever, co-directors of the National Center for School Mental Health, facilitated the August 21st Resilience Break for the Maryland Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care (BHIPP). The topic was School Mental Health During COVID-19.
The BHIPP and NCSMH teams were excited to collaborate on this event, and we thank you for your efforts!
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Sarah Sweeney, MSW, MPH, Kelly Coble, LCSW-C, Elizabeth Connors, PhD, Kathleen Rebbert-Franklin, LCSW-C, Christopher Welsh, MD, and Eric Weintraub, MD, of the MACS team, recently published their first publication. The article, "Program development and implementation outcomes of a statewide addiction consultation service: Maryland Addiction Consultation Service (MACS)" appeared in Substance Abuse.
The full article can be found here, and we look forward to reading more on your work!
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Additionally, Dr. Postolache co-authored "Psychological Stress: A Predisposing and Exacerbating Factor in Periodontitis," which can be found here.
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Maryland Medicine Front Line News |
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The Telemental Health Program was recently featured in the article, "The University of Maryland Delivers Telehealth Services to Underserved Communities."
In the article, Dave Flax, MBA, MHA, Director of Information Systems, detailed the infrastructure of telehealth to allow for telepsych consults to rural Maryland communities by way of a specially equipped RV with video capabilities. Flax emphasized the need to provide interoperable tools for multiple devices and platforms, and helped to implement an interoperable design that could be monitored remotely.
The RV is parked in various locations in Caroline County for walk-ins throughout the week, enabling access to individuals who otherwise might not have the opportunity to seek consults and treatment.
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Maryland Medicine Front Line News |
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Drs. Weintraub, Greenblatt, and Amoroso were quoted in a recent video produced by Maryland Medicine Front Line News.
The segment covered comprehensive care provided by the University's drug and alcohol abuse treatment center at 1001 W. Pratt Street in West Baltimore, as well as expansion efforts while adapting to the ongoing pandemic. The center was expanded by a generous donation, which houses the Health and Recovery Practice (HARP).
HARP is the establishment of reverse integrated care by placing a primary care program with a focus on the identification and management of infectious diseases. In collaboration with the Departments of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease and Family Medicine, and the Department of Psychiatry, physicians have come together in a highly coordinated program to serve the needs of our West Baltimore Community.
Drs. Anthony Amoroso, Eric Weintraub, Michael Obiefune, Britt Gayle, Shiva Narayanan, Sarah Kattakhuzy, and Aaron Greenblatt have been the prime-mover physicians on the project. Kate Dunn, RN, has been the nurse and practice manager and has done a great job as well. Dr. RachBeisel has been a steadfast supporter, and we couldn’t have done it without the MA Tamara Banks and Tiffany Moritz, LCSW, from IHV. Thanks to all for your tremendous support!
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ESKETAMINE ADMINISTRATION CLINIC |
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The Department of Psychiatry is working to develop an Esketamine Administration Clinic at the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus.
Esketamine is a nasal spray approved for treatment resistant depression. The administration of the nasal spray must be monitored by a healthcare professional, and the patient should be monitored for two hours after administration. The Department is currently developing guidelines and procedures for referrals for this outpatient clinic and administration techniques for the clinic. The medication is currently undergoing additional review by the FDA for other diagnoses, which may expand the scope of the use of the medication.
We are very excited about the potential possibilities of the medication clinic and the additional ventures the clinic could bring to the Midtown and Downtown campuses!
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The Department would like to welcome its new incoming faculty, Dr. Sonia Basal! We would also like to wish Jackie Highland, BS, best wishes on her dissertation! |
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Dr. Sonia Bansal has been a Postdoctoral fellow at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC), where she is involved in studies on cognitive and perceptual deficits in schizophrenia. She completed her PhD in Neuroscience at George Mason University,VA, studying predictive mechanism-related visuomotor behavior in schizophrenia.
Her research interests lie in examining how a breakdown in predictive mechanisms across sensory systems can lead to perceptual and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. Along with continuing her critical involvement in two ongoing RO1 projects, she will take on more leadership and mentoring responsibilities in her new faculty role and will teach eye-tracking, psychophysical and Bayesian statistical methods as part of the T32 fellowship training program -- along with mentoring new fellows and research assistants at MPRC.
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Jackie Highland, BS, of Dr. Gould's Lab, recently presented her PhD dissertation, "Characterization of ketamine’s (2,6)-hydroxynorketamine metabolites: pharmacokinetic and behavioral considerations for antidepressant applications."
Highland is currently investigating novel, rapid-acting antidepressant drugs. Her recent work in the laboratory has demonstrated that a metabolite of ketamine, (2R,6R)-HNK has rapid and sustained antidepressant effects, but lacks the negative side effects of ketamine. Following up on this finding, she is currently investigating the antidepressant efficacy of additional ketamine metabolites and the mechanisms by which ketamine and/or its metabolites exert antidepressant effects. She is also evaluating sex differences in the pharmacokinetic profile of ketamine as they relate to differences in its antidepressant efficacy. Additionally, she is investigating factors that mediate susceptibility to maladaptive stress-induced behaviors relevant to depression, and assessing pharmacological manipulations that may enhance stress resilience as a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent the development of depression or exacerbation of its symptoms.
Congratulations, and thank you for all of your hard work!
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COVID COLLABORATIONS & RESOURCES |
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Teo Postolache, MD, was recently featured in Maryland Medicine Front Line News for his work in JAMA Psychiatry on COVID19 and its effect on cognitive impairment and psychiatric disorders.
The article is entitled "Targetable Biological Mechanisms Implicated in Emergent Psychiatric Conditions Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection," and Dr. Postolache mentions that, oftentimes, infections and illnesses that require hospitalization can lead to increased risk of mental disorders, like anxiety, depression, and more. His continued work contributes toward the understanding and subsequent lessening of mental illness, and we look forward to updates.
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Thanks for your patience as most of our events are now cancelled or postponed.
We will continue to keep you updated!
Rescheduled to September 10, 2020
Tuerk Conference
8:00 am-5:00 pm
State of the Department
September 17, 2020
Separate announcement will be forthcoming
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Thanks to all for your contributions, and please email Lisa Cleary at lcleary@som.umaryland.edu with submissions. Our suggested categories include:
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- Clinical trials and studies
- Community service
- Education
- Events, lectures, panels, & workshops
- Faculty appointments
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- Grants and contracts, and collaborative opportunities
- Honors and awards
- IT news
- Media press
- Publications
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