NEW! Call for posters: Celebration of Excellence

UT Southwestern is accepting poster submissions for its 8th Annual Celebration of Excellence in May. The Celebration of Excellence is an opportunity to learn more about UT Southwestern's accomplishments over the past year and what to expect going forward. As part of that celebration, organizers are requesting posters for display and judging. Winners will have an opportunity to speak about their work during the celebration. Submissions are open to UT Southwestern staff, faculty, and medical students. The categories for submission are People (i.e., employee engagement and retention), Safety (i.e., harm reduction, event reporting), Quality (i.e., mortality, safety, efficiency, access to care), Service (i.e., hospital, ambulatory), and Financial Performance (i.e., finance, volume/growth). Posters are due by March 17. Poster coaching is available at this link. You can learn more about the Celebration of Excellence by clicking the link at the top of this article or by emailing the Celebration of Excellence organizers here.

NEW! International Play Therapy Week celebrated

Play therapy is an evidence-based counseling intervention for children. To celebrate International Play Therapy Week (Feb. 1-7), Autumn Brown, LCSW, RPT-S, Sara Loftin, LPC-S, RPT-S, Sami Falk, LPC Associate, and Alexis Santa-Cruz, LPC Associate, delivered baskets filled with treats to various units at Children’s Medical Center. They also hosted other events, including a Play Therapy Play Break and handing out items on the sky bridge. Play therapy provides a safe environment for children to express their feelings and gain a sense of control to better cope with medical experiences. It is a way of being with the child that honors their unique developmental level and looks for ways of helping in the “language” of the child – play. This intervention is evidence-based for children who are developmentally 2-10 years old.  

NEW! Library acquires Read and Publish agreements with Springer Nature and JAMA Network

The University of Texas System has negotiated with Springer Nature to support open access (OA) publishing. All articles accepted for publication from corresponding UT Southwestern authors are eligible to be automatically published as OA under the terms of this agreement, with no separate article processing charges, and will be available under a CC BY, CC BY-NC, or CC BY-NC-ND license. Psychiatry journals in this agreement are Academic Psychiatry, Current Psychiatry Reports, Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Molecular Psychiatry, and Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Also, UT Southwestern has negotiated a 1-year Read and Publish agreement with the JAMA Network (including JAMA Psychiatry), which enables corresponding UT Southwestern authors to publish research articles as open access in most JAMA Network publications without incurring article processing charges from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2026.

2026-2027 UTSW Psychiatry Fellows announced

Congratulations to the newly matched fellows for the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year!

Addiction Psychiatry 

• Dr. Rachael Carstens, M.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center 
• Dr. Anastasiya Haponyuk, M.D., University of California – Davis 
• Dr. Ahmed Mohammed, M.D., Griffin Memorial Hospital 
• Dr. Tristan Pulliam, M.D., University of Florida 
• Dr. Maxwell Ritzer, M.D., John Peter Smith Hospital

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 

• Dr. Tanisha Adams, M.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Dr. Lydia Ademuwagun, M.D., Duke University
• Dr. Arnold Aslanian, M.D., Texas Tech Health – El Paso
• Dr. Lauren Ford, M.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Dr. Ashley Huang, M.D., UTHealth Houston at McGovern
• Dr. Celine Lee, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine
• Dr. Fayeza Malik, M.D., University of Miami/Jackson Health System
• Dr. Gregory Morissey, M.D., University of Kansas-Wichita
• Dr. Alycia Ovalle Joseph, M.D., Texas A&M University

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Community Track

• Dr. Temitope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., UT Southwestern Medical Center

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry 

• Dr. Jesse Swantek, M.D., Wayne State University 
• Dr. Min Chih Wang, M.D., Texas Tech Health – El Paso 

Forensic Psychiatry

• Dr. Jason Green, M.D., St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Dr. Courtney Schattle, M.D., Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Remote access from some countries is now restricted per state law and executive order

Because of UT Southwestern’s obligation to comply with recent state laws and executive orders – including HB 130 Texas Genomic Act, HB 127 Higher Education Research Security, and Executive Order GA-48 – the university has made the difficult decision to prevent remote access to the internal UTSW network, Bio HPC, and UTSW-managed cloud-based applications from all comprehensively sanctioned countries (Cuba, Iran, and North Korea), regions (Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson), and countries defined as foreign adversaries by EO GA-48 (China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela [specifically the regime of Nicolas Maduro]). UT Southwestern faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and employees physically located in these countries or regions will not be able to remotely access the UTSW internal network, Bio HPC, or UTSW-managed cloud applications including Outlook, Box, Office, or OneDrive.

Communication to and from UTSW email addresses by people in these countries or regions who use non-UTSW email addresses will still be possible. Thus, the university does not expect this new policy to impact communication between UTSW and applicants for graduate school or postdoctoral training, or between UTSW investigators and collaborators located in these countries or regions. The university understands this decision necessitated by recent legislation and the Governor’s Executive Order may pose practical challenges for members of the UTSW community. As the institution continues to strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities and technical environment over the coming months, it will be working to develop and implement technologies and compliance processes that will allow short-term network and email access as an approved exception.

Learn how to find and make the most of 
UT Southwestern's biostatistical support services

Do you know how to find and use UT Southwestern's biostatistical support services? UTSW has many options to help you, including Biostatistics and Data Science Core (BDSC), Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD), Population Research Support Services (PRSS), Children and Adolescent Population Health Program (CAPHP), and Shared Resources at Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC). Learn which of these services will work best for your project and how to access them in the slideshow linked below.

UTSW wants you to show them who you are

‌The UT Southwestern Social Media team would love to capture the full range of who we are and is asking people to share their stories, let their personalities shine through, and help them spotlight the people who make the UTSW community so special. 

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‌Day in the Life: Behind the Scenes at UTSW 

‌Are you comfortable on camera and feel like people would love to see what your role really looks like behind the scenes? They are looking for employees to feature in a Day in the Life series. If that’s you – or you know someone else who’d be great – please fill out the form below. 

‌UTSW Off the Clock 

‌Do you have a cool hobby, collect something unexpected, or nurture a hidden talent outside of work? Think of this as your grown-up “show and tell.” The UTSW Off the Clock series highlights what makes our employees unique beyond the workplace – and they want to show it off! If this sounds like you (or someone you know), please fill out the form below and share your passion.

Dean's Scholar in Clinical Research program application cycle opens in February

The UT Southwestern Dean’s Scholar in Clinical Research program provides promising early career faculty with financial resources, career guidance, research training, and protected research time to facilitate their development as successful clinical physician scientists. The goal is to provide transitional support to allow these faculty with an opportunity to launch their independent research careers. 

Candidates must be nominated by a clinical department at UTSW. Nominations for the program's spring application cycle opened Feb. 1 and close on May 1. For more information on the program, including application links, visit this webpage or email with any questions about the program including eligibility or for assistance with applications.

Intent to Submit form is now available

The Clinical Research Infrastructure (CRI) team is excited to share that its CRI Intent to Submit Form is live! Please utilize this form to submit CRI requests (e.g., assistance with grant submissions, contracts, etc.). For more information about the form, contact Yelonda Williams, Opal Brown, or Mariam Andersen. 

Residents, faculty take part in point-in-time count

Dr. Temitope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., Dr. Emily Heydemann, M.D., Dr. Juan Sosa, M.D., and Dr. Enrique Chiu Han, M.D., (all pictured above from left) joined the Metrocare Homeless Services Outreach Team for the point-in-time (PIT) count in the lead-up to the winter storm that struck much of the country late last week. A PIT count is a single-night count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness.

NEW! Introducing our new accessibility-focused section

As part of UT Southwestern's efforts to meet state and federally mandated accessibility guidelines by April 2025, the Psychiatry Department is introducing this new accessibility-focused section to The Pulse newsletter. Watch this space for tips on how to make your electronic documents, videos, and websites more accessible, so that everyone can interact with them on an equitable basis. And be sure to take advantage of the learning opportunities provided by the Digital Accessibility Office listed in the Save the Date section at the bottom of the newsletter.

NEW! Tools to meet accessibility requirements

Are you wondering how to ensure your electronic documents meet the accessibility requirements going into effect in April? Use the "Check Accessibility" feature in Microsoft Office applications. Achieve a "Looks good! No issues found" confirmation on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files before sharing them.

Not sure what to do when the app flags issues that need correction? View helpful advice within the Microsoft application, as well as resources prepared by the Digital Accessibility team at UT Southwestern. Need more help? Complete a Digital Accessibility Service Request.

NEW! Dr. Adrianna Martin, Ph.D., has joined the Sickle Cell Clinic as an embedded faculty psychologist. Dr. Martin will split her clinical time between UT Southwestern and Parkland. She was born in Jamaica and grew up in Houston. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she also completed an APA-accredited internship with rotations at Moncrief Cancer Institute (now Simmons Cancer Center) and Parkland Memorial Hospital’s Consultation-Liaison Psychology Service. She recently completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, with specialized training in both the PTSD Clinic and the Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Dr. Martin’s clinical interests include trauma, addiction, and health psychology in medically complex populations.

NEW! Dr. Courtney Tran, Ph.D., has joined the Weight Wellness Clinic as its new embedded Psychologist. Dr. Tran was born and raised in Plano with a significant part of her upbringing spent in Garland within the Vietnamese American refugee community. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and completed her internship at UT Southwestern Medical Center, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at UT Southwestern within Parkland Hospital’s Behavioral Health Clinic. Dr. Tran’s clinical background is rooted in health psychology, with particular interests in medical and interpersonal trauma, chronic disease management, and the impact of social determinants of health on access to care, including mental health services, among individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

NEW! Dr. Aref Pariz, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Physics from IASBS in Iran and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Ottawa and The Royal Institute for Mental Health Research in Ottawa, Canada, studying neuromodulation and brain networks. He joins UT Southwestern’s Department of Psychiatry as an Assistant Instructor in Dr. Hamed Ekhtiari’s lab, where he investigates how tES/tCS and other stimulation methods can be optimized to personalize treatment for individuals with addictive and related conditions.

Mally Townsend graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2023 as a Polymathic Scholar, earning a bachelor's degree in Neuroscience along with a Certificate in Evidence and Inquiry. After graduation, she worked in research at Cook Children’s, where she supported magnetoencephalography (MEG), EEG, and fMRI studies focused on drug-resistant epilepsy and autism. In her free time, she enjoys reading, taking ballet classes, and spending time with friends and family. At UTSW, she will work as a Clinical Research Assistant 2 in Dr. Graham Emslie, M.D.'s lab. 

Dr. Kallene Vidal, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Department of Psychiatry as an Assistant Professor. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Friedrich-Alexander Universität (FAU) Erlangen–Nürnberg, Germany, from 2017 to 2018. Dr. Vidal worked previously as a psychiatrist and researcher at the Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation Service of the Institute of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (IPq-HCFMUSP), one of the largest academic medical centers in South America. She also received formal training in clinical research and clinical trials at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on neuromodulation treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders and on psychophysical and electrophysiological assessment of the visual system, guided by the concept of the “eye as a window to the brain,” to study neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.

NEW! Dr. Ruth Asch, Ph.D. was recently interviewed for the Society of Biological Psychiatry newsletter about her paper, "In Vivo PET Imaging of Presynaptic Density Reveals Stress-Associated Synaptic Deficits Related to Behavioral and Molecular Alterations in Rats" published in Biological Psychiatry CNNI. Read the interview with Dr. Asch here.

Dr. Kathy Niu, M.D., is the co-editor of Psychiatric Neurology: A Clinical Approach, a new textbook from American Psychiatric Association Publishing. The book is co-edited by Dr. Sheldon Benjamin, M.D., and includes "contributions from more than 30 experts (that) summarize neurological diagnoses and their neuropsychiatric presentations."

Dr. Darlene King, M.D., was quoted in the MedPage Today article, "Regular AI Chatbot Use Linked to Depressive Symptoms." Read the article here.

Maya Hubbard has been elected as an American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Member-at-Large. APAGS provides an important forum for student representatives to contribute to the APA on issues that matter to graduate students. Dr. Richard Robinson, Ph.D., said, "We are confident that Maya will represent UTSW and our program with excellence."

UT Southwestern Psychiatry residents Jennifer Oruebor, Rachel Grushan, and Nicholas Champagne-Aves led a presentation at the NAMI North Texas webinar series on "Beating the New Year Blues" on Jan. 29. The presentation is a part of the ongoing community partnership between the UTSW Adult Psychiatry Residency and NAMI North Texas led by Lia Thomas and Joseph Guillory." NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

UT Southwestern faculty and trainees recently joined other educators, community partners, and the leadership of The Sixth Floor Museum for a focused exploration of extreme overvalued beliefs – how they form, how they escalate, and how they intersect with history, violence, and public memory. The special seminar was co-organized by residents Dr. Temitope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., and Dr. Thomas Pak, M.D.

The program began with a guided tour of museum located in the former Texas School Book Depository, the site associated with President John F. Kennedy's assassination by Lee Harvey Oswald. Dr. Tahir Rahman, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis, clinical psychiatrist, and a consultant to the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, delivered a keynote lecture outlining the clinical and forensic dimensions of extreme overvalued beliefs. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Dr. Kenneth Dekleva, M.D., Dr. Mitchell Dunn, M.D., Dr. Susana Lampley, M.D., Dr. Kehinde Obikoya, M.D., and Dr. Juan Sosa, M.D. A central educational aim of the seminar was helping residents clearly differentiate obsessions, delusions, and extreme overvalued beliefs – three constructs that are often confused in clinical practice, particularly when evaluating individuals with rigid or dangerous ideation. These distinctions were further explored in small‑group sessions facilitated by the panelists alongside Dr. Adam Brenner, M.D. (pictured above), Dr. John Burruss, M.D., and Dr. Adriane Dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., allowing participants to apply the framework to nuanced clinical scenarios and deepen their understanding.

NEW! Next Psychiatry Department Town Hall is March 4

Mark your calendars for the next Psychiatry Department Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, March. 4, from Noon-1 p.m. via Zoom. This meeting will include a presentation and Q&A session by members of Health System leadership. Watch your email inboxes for a Zoom link to the meeting.

NEW! Take advantage of Digital Accessibility presentations

Learn how to create more accessible digital documents with the following presentations and by working with the Digital Accessibility Office.

Creating Accessible PowerPoint Presentations
Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m. (Click here to register.)
Monday, Feb. 23, at Noon (Click here to register.)

Creating Accessible Word Documents
Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8:30 a.m. (Click here to register.) 
Wednesday, Feb. 25, at Noon (Click here to register.)

Digital Accessibility Office Hours
Every other Tuesday at noon on Microsoft Teams (Click this link.) 
Feb. 24, March 10, March 24, April 7

Registration is now open for 9th Annual Charles Morris Ginsburg Quality Improvement and Research Forum

This year's Charles Morris Ginsburg Quality Improvement and Research Forum celebrates the remarkable scholarly achievements emerging from our simulation community, showcasing innovative work by students, trainees, faculty, scientists, and educators. Whether you're conducting research, implementing quality improvement initiatives, or simply passionate about advancing simulation education, this forum is for you. The featured keynote speaker will be Dr. Laurah Turner, Ph.D. She will share insights on Applied Intelligence in a talk titled Integrating AI Technologies into Health Professions Education. The hybrid forum will be held Wednesday, April 22 in the T. Boone Pickens Auditorium (NG3.112) on the UT Southwestern North Campus.

In-person Psychiatry Grand Rounds are coming up

Dr. Zafiris "Jeff" Daskalakis, M.D., Ph.D., from the UC-San Diego Department of Psychiatry will present "Harmonizing effectiveness & physiology: an exploration of magnetic brain stimulation in depression" at an in-person Psychiarty Grand Rounds from Noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The presentation will be held in NG3.112 with a reception and food in NG3.108.

This is the first of three upcoming 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. Other in-person grand rounds are listed below.

March 11, 2026
Dr. Chadi Calarge, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine

Presenting "Iron deficiency and adolescent brain development"

o Location: NG3.112

o Food will be: NG3.108

March 25, 2026

Dr. Benoit Mulsant, M.D., M.S., FRCPC, DLFAPA, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto

Presenting "Can we predict the future of psychiatry?"

o Location: NG3.112

o Food will be: NG3.108

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

Meg Bouvier Master the R Series Bootcamp Registration is now open

The Master the R Series Bootcamp is designed for those preparing to write an NIH submission and the people who advise them. Key takeaways from the training include learning effective NIH writing strategies, the application of those strategies in drafting a submission, sharper skills through examining others' submissions, and other skill development opportunities. The four-date bootcamp will be delivered in two-hour sessions on Feb. 17 and 24 and March 3 and 10. Recordings of each session will be available a few days after the live event.

High Impact Science Writing and Manuscript Writing workshops set for early February

Dr. Susan Marriott, Ph.D., President of BioScience Writers and Professor of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, will lead two upcoming virtual writing workshops.

Great scientific communicators effectively convey complex ideas to broad audiences with passion and in understandable terms. The High Impact Science Writing workshop can help you become great scientific communicator by teaching you how to write with clarity and brevity. Learn how to identify and understand your audience, choose the best word to use for specific situations, and structure your sentences and paragraphs in an engaging way. Learn fundamental tools and thought processes that will help you highlight the most important parts of your work and increase the impact and visibility of your science. The workshop is planned for Thursday, Feb. 12 from 4-5:30 p.m.