April 2, 2026

NEW! 'Concept to Clinic' program focuses on researchers developing novel technologies

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is providing an opportunity for researchers developing a novel technology to participate in the Concept to Clinic: Commercializing Innovation Education (eC3i) Program.

The eC3i Program is a virtual summer entrepreneurial training program that gives researchers the tools to answer the question “Does my technology have commercial potential?” This program is for academic researchers associated with a NIMH grant developing an innovative technology. It is not a general entrepreneurial training course. Participants can be anyone involved in the research, from grad students and post docs to PIs and grant collaborators, with a strong understanding of the project science and innovation, and a desire to learn and apply business concepts to explore the commercial potential of the invention. This year's program runs from June 1-Aug. 21. All applications must be received no later than April 17.

To be eligible to participate, you must be associated with a NIMH-funded grant award that is active or in a No-Cost Extension through September 2026. Please contact Paige Anderson with any questions about the program and to confirm your eligibility if you plan to apply.

NEW! Introducing the FY27 Department Retreat Committee

Planning for the FY27 Department Retreat is in full swing. Retreat Committee members (pictured above) are your best resources for all retreat-related questions or information. Feel free to connect with them anytime. The Retreat Committee members are: (back row from left) Miguel Garza, Dr. Jamylah Jackson, Ph.D., Dr. Kipp Pietrantonio, Ph.D., Dr. Chadrick Lane, M.D., Dr. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., Dr. Ram Madabhushi, Ph.D., (front row) Lilian Hong, Dr. Alyson Nakamura, M.D., Dr. Izabella De Abreu, M.D. Yolanda Barner-Thomas, Tamara Campbell, and Katie Elder. Not pictured: Mariam Andersen, Dr. Sabrina Browne, M.D., Cari Norz, Dr. Tarek Rajji, M.D., Sangita Sethuram, Shelly Sheets, and Jasmina Vuksanovic.

NEW! Postdoctoral Fellowships have been announced

Congratulations to the Class of 2026 Clinical Psychology Program graduates on their postdoctoral fellowships. These highly competitive positions reflect their exceptional talent, dedication, and hard work. This is a significant achievement, and the Department of Psychiatry wishes them success as they embark on the next phase of their professional journeys.

It's a Match! See Psychiatry's new residents

Match Day 2026 is in the books! On March 20, 239 UT Southwestern Class of 2026 students learned where their medical educations would lead them next. Seven of those students matched with UT Southwestern Psychiatry and will be returning to start their residencies here next year. Psychiatry was the third-most matched into residency specialty for UT Southwestern students this year. Want to see where UT Southwestern's grads ended up? See a full list of matches broken down by specialty here.

Learn more about Promotion & Tenure process

The 2026 Promotion and Tenure (P&T) season is currently underway. The Medical School Faculty P&T Committee plans to review 224 declared candidates this year. To prepare faculty members for future promotion, Faculty Development provides recorded information sessions from previous years, including the "Demystifying the P&T Process Symposium" and track-specific workshops to explain the process.

A Clinical Scholar Track workshop has been announced for Wednesday, April 15 at Noon. Register for that workshop at the link below. Additional workshop dates should be announced soon. Visit the P&T webpage for the most up-to-date scheduling information.

Complete your compliance training by April 15

All staff/faculty are required to complete all four modules of annual compliance training by April 15. If you have not completed your training, please log into Taleo Learn > My Required Training > FY 2026 Annual Compliance Training Bundle and complete all four sections. Please note that you may have to go to the second page of the My Required Training to see the assigned training bundle. Each session takes about 30 minutes to complete, but the training can be paused and, once you log back in, it will return to your stopping point. 

Yolanda Barner-Thomas will be pulling a report for the Psychiatry Department later this week and reaching out to those individuals who haven't completed the training and their managers/administrators. Please keep in mind that there is a discipline matrix for those who don’t complete the training by April 15, and the department does not want any Psychiatry staff/faculty on that list. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Yolanda Barner-Thomas.

Check the Standard Operating Procedures section on SharePoint regularly

Be sure to check the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) section of the Psychiatry Department SharePoint regularly for the latest updates on department procedures. Some of the SOPs added recently include the process and requirements for obtaining signatures from the Department Chair, Vice Chair, or Department Administrator, shift differential compensation for work in the Parkland Emergency Services, and guidelines for placing plant/flower orders, among others. The SharePoint page also has SOPs on a variety of other important subjects that you may find useful.

'Accessibilty 101' is a great monthly resource

The UT Southwestern Accessibility Team is launching monthly "Accessibility 101" live virtual sessions to maintain momentum and build broad awareness across the organization, with a focus on new hires. "Accessibility 101” is an interactive, foundational session that provides a broad overview of accessibility in everyday work. Through real examples and guided discussion, participants explore why accessibility matters, what is expected by policy, and how to approach documents, presentations, and meetings. The session emphasizes simple, actionable improvements and how to access support resources.

These sessions will start on April 8 and will be held monthly on the second Wednesday at noon. Register for an upcoming session below.

Is your CV accessible and up-to-date?

It is easy to take a CV posted in your faculty bio for granted and let it fall out of date. You also may not have considered accessibility when designing or updating your CV. UT Southwestern's effort to improve accessibility across the institution will include an examination of public-facing CVs in faculty profiles in the coming weeks. If you have uploaded your CV to your faculty profile, it may be removed from the site if it is flagged for lack of accessibility.

If you choose to post a CV in your profile, be sure to run an accessibility check. When building or updating in Microsoft Word, you can use the automated accessibility tool - Tools > Check Accessibility. Other tips include choosing a simple format with text aligned to the left. Use standard size fonts and styles. Use clear headings and subheadings to organize information. Avoid graphics or tables that might cause issues in a screen reader. Simplify text where possible, using easily understood language, short sentences, and bullet points.

Accessibility is a must when sharing PowerPoint slides

Do you create PowerPoint slides for your role at UT Southwestern? If so, chances are good that you share them digitally with others in addition to giving presentations. Creating accessible files is an essential step in ensuring that everyone who uses them receives the message as intended. For instance, did you know that the screen reading order on a page can be affected by the order in which elements were added? What about videos embedded in your slides? A transcript can be very helpful for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Learn more quick tips on how to make your PowerPoint docs more useful with this UTSW accessibility page or take a deep dive into PowerPoint accessibility with best practices and specific advice for multiple operating systems.

Dr. Amanda LeBel, Ph.D., joins UT Southwestern's Department of Psychiatry as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Anila D'Mello's lab, where she will investigate semantic and linguistic processing in autistic individuals using fMRI. Dr. LeBel earned her doctorate in Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, studying the role of the cerebellum in semantic processing using fMRI and naturalistic stimuli. Prior to that, she worked as a research assistant at The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Jing Jin, Ph.D., joins the Psychiatry Department as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Hamed Ekhtiari’s lab. Her current work focuses on conducting clinical trials for fMRI-informed individualized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) interventions in addiction and related conditions, while investigating the underlying neural mechanisms driving these therapeutic effects. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychiatry from Capital Medical University, China, where her research centered on neuroimaging analysis and the application of individualized TMS for depression.

Latasha "Tasha" Davis joins the Psychiatry Department as a Medical Assistant. She has worked at UTSW for seven years after starting in the call center as a CSA I&II. She worked there for three years and later transferred to the float pool as a Float Medical Assistant. As time permits, she works as a travel agent and loves to travel. She also enjoys arts and crafts. 

NEW! Dr. Jeff Schaffert, Ph.D., was recently featured in two articles about concussions and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) wrote an article about a recent manuscript published in Neurology and written by UT Southwestern researchers, including Dr. Schaffert, Dr. C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., and Dr. Christian LoBue, Ph.D., and members of other departments on the research team. The group's work and Dr. Schaffert's recent appearance on "Learning from Leaders," were also the basis for an article about head trauma in former athletes. That research is funded by the Cary Council.

Dr. Jane Foster, Ph.D., was recently mentioned in a UT Southwestern overview of new research. Dr. Foster was noted in a section on poor sleep quality being linked to relapses in major depressive disorder. Read more about the subject here.

Dr. Foster was also recently interviewed for an article in The Economist, titled "Faecal transplants - a treatment for bipolar disorder?" Read the story here (may be subject to a paywall).

Dr. Sarah Baker, M.D., Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Psychiatry, was quoted in a Match Day 2026 article in Center Times Plus.

Dr. Meitra Doty, M.D., was recently profiled for a departmental article about a growing interest among residents in women's mental health training. Read the article here.

NEW! Savannah Dieste, a Clinical Psychology Program graduate student, has been selected as the recipient of the Dallas Psychological Association (DPA) Outstanding Student Dissertation Award for this year. This award recognizes excellent scholarly achievement and the significance of her dissertation research that is titled: A Mixed Methods Study of Trauma and Family Factors in an Intensive Outpatient Program for Suicidal Adolescents.

Five residents were inducted into honor societies last week. Dr. William Burton, M.D., was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society on March 18. The Gold Humanism Honor Society is a community of medical students, physicians, and other leaders who have been recognized for their compassionate care. Dr. Tope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., Dr. Enrique Chiu Han, M.D., Dr. Nabila Haque, M.D., and Dr. Renae White, M.D., were all officially inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society on March 19. Election to Alpha Omega Alpha is an honor signifying a lasting commitment to professionalism, leadership, scholarship, research, and community service. 

NEW! Clinical Psychology Doctoral Students Rose Talebi and Sarah Taghavi presented posters at the annual American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) conference in New Orleans. Talebi presented "Brief suicide assessment among AYA and older adult neuro-oncology patients." Taghavi presented "Understanding the needs of young adults diagnosed with a Primary Malignant Brain Tumor (PMBT)."

NEW! Dr. Tyler Evans, Ph.D., (left) and Dr. Jessica Stone, Psy.D., partnered with UTSW's O'Donnell Brain Institute and the Dallas Mavericks for their Brain and Mental Health Awareness Game on March 23 with giveaways and mental health awareness facts. 

Several faculty and residents presented at the American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA) 36th Annual Meeting in March. Pictures from the meeting include (clockwise from top left): Dr. Victoria Ragland, M.D., presented "Role of Habenula-Striatum Circuit in Anticipatory versus Consummatory Anhedonia"; Dr. Victor Liaw, M.D., presented "Cognitive Impairment in Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome"; Dr. Kathy Niu, M.D., pictured with Dr. Jaclyn Hozumi, M.D., presented "Post Stroke Psychosis Following L ACA Medial Frontal Lobe and L MCA Cortical Infarcts"; and Dr. Moez Bashir, M.D., pictured with co-author Dr. Chadrick Lane, M.D., and Dr. Niu, presented "A Feasibility Analysis of Using Quantitative Pupillometry in Evaluating Functional Neurological Disorder."

Leadership Series covers 'Coaching vs. Managing'

The next session in the Psychiatry Department Leadership Series will be held from Noon-1 p.m. on Monday, April 13. This month's topic is "Coaching vs. Managing," and will be presented by Dr. Mona Robbins, Ph.D., ABPP. Watch for an Outlook calendar invitation for the session.

Recordings of past sessions are available on the Psychiatry Department SharePoint site, along with a listing of upcoming topics. Future sessions are planned from Noon-1 p.m. on the second Mondays of each month from January through October 2026 (excluding August).

2026 Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Symposium planned for late April

"Interconnected Pathways: Exploring Brain–Mind–Body Interface Disorders beyond FND," the 2026 Virtual Functional Neurological Disorder Symposium, is scheduled for 8 a.m.-3:10 p.m. on Friday, April 24 via Zoom. There is no fee to attend, but registration is required. Click the button below to register.

Key Topics Include: POTS and Dysautonomia in FND, Disorders of Gut–Brain Interaction, Bladder Dysfunction in FND, Chronic Pain and Alexithymia in FND, Virtual Reality and Neuromodulation in FND, Psychedelics and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches, and The Lived Experience of Recovery in FND. Q&A sessions with the speaker panel are also scheduled.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. This live activity is approved for 5.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. 

Ethics Grand Rounds focuses on end-of-life sedation

The next Ethics Grand Rounds lecture will feature Dr. Joseph Raho, Ph.D., a Clinical Ethicist at the UCLA Health Ethics Center and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He will present "Continuous Sedation at the End of Life: When Is It Ethical?" by Zoom from Noon-1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14.

Details on this lecture can be found on the University events calendar. For additional information about this lecture, email Ruth Vinciguerra.

NAMIWalks North Texas is set for May 16

Join the UT Southwestern team at NAMIWalks North Texas, a community event dedicated to raising awareness and support for mental health from 8 a.m.-Noon on Saturday, May 16 at Grandscape in The Colony.

Ways to get involved:

• Walk with our team
• Volunteer on walk day

A kickoff party is planned from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 at Heritage Pizza and Taproom, 3750 Plano Pkwy., in Plano. Come enjoy pizza, conversation, and Walk Day poster decorating as the group prepares for the 2026 walk.

OBI Physician-Scientist Trainee Symposium set

Medical students from UT Southwestern and institutions around the U.S. will present their neuroscience research at the updated OBI Physician-Scientist Trainee Symposium, from 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m., July 17, in the T. Boone Pickens Auditorium (NG 3.112). Join us to hear about their exciting original work and network with our clinician/scientist community. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Full talk titles are included in the calendar invitation, which will be sent to individuals who complete the RSVP link below. Have questions? Contact Mary-Colette at Mary.Lybrand@utsouthwestern.edu. 

In-person Psychiatry Grand Rounds continue

Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg, M.D., of the Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, will present "Understanding the opioid effects of ketamine: implications for treatment development" at an in-person Psychiatry Grand Rounds from Noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13. The presentation will be held in NG3.112 with a reception and food in NG3.108.

This is the latest in-person Psychiatry Grand Rounds. Don't miss your opportunity to learn from visiting physicians and educators when they come to UT Southwestern. In-person attendance reflects well on the Psychiatry Department and offers you the opportunity to interact directly with the visiting speaker. The final in-person grand rounds of this year is listed below.

May 22

Dr. Frederick Nucifora Ph.D., D.O., M.H.S., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Presenting "Schizophrenia, subtyping and treatment resistance"

Please watch for more information about all Grand Rounds via calendar invitations or by checking the UT Southwestern Events Calendar.