July 16, 2026

NEW! CE Broker upgraded accounts will be available soon

Effective Sept. 1, the Texas Medical Board (TMB) will use CE Broker to track continuing education compliance prior to license renewal. A free Basic CE Broker account is sufficient to meet the tracking requirement; however, to support clinicians during this transition, UTSW is partnering with CE Broker to provide eligible TMB-licensed clinicians with an upgrade to CE Broker Professional membership at no cost. The Professional membership includes real-time renewal tracking, alerts for missing requirements, a centralized CE transcript, and credential tracking.

The Office of Continuing Education, in partnership with clinical departments, will begin the CE Broker Professional membership code rollout in the coming weeks. The rollout schedule will be developed with department administrators to support readiness and a smooth implementation. Codes must be redeemed within 30 days of receipt and can be used to upgrade a basic membership to the professional tier.

What you can do now: 

1. Review and update your TMB license information in your UTSW EthosCE profile to ensure proper reporting of credits provided by our CE Office to CE Broker.

2. Create or confirm your free Basic CE Broker account. If you have questions, contact CE Broker client support.

3. Watch for an email from your department administrator with your unique code and instructions to redeem your complimentary upgrade to Professional membership.

NEW! Conflict of Interest policies have been updated

The Conflict of Interest Office recently revised policies ETH-104: Conflict of Interest and RES-401: Financial Conflicts of Interest in Research. 

These revisions clarify conflict of interest policy requirements to make them more consistent with federal and state regulations. Most of the revisions apply to the conflict of interest review process. However, there are two revisions that apply directly to Covered Individuals – members of the UT Southwestern community who are required to disclose their financial interests in the COI-Info Portal. According to ETH-104, Covered Individuals must complete conflict of interest training when there are material revisions to conflict of interest policies that affect Covered Individuals’ obligations. The Conflict of Interest Office will also incorporate this information into training materials by or before the 2027 Conflict of Interest annual certification period. 

1. ETH-104, Disclosure Timing. See p. 2, #1(c) under Required Disclosures by Covered Individuals. This requirement was revised to clarify that Covered Individuals must disclose "[n]o later than the 30th day after discovering or acquiring (e.g., through purchase, marriage, or inheritance) a new financial interest or outside activity." The prior version did not include "discovering" or the examples.

2. ETH-104, Reimbursed or Sponsored Travel. See p. 2, #1(c)(i) under Required Disclosures by Covered Individuals. The following was added: "This includes each occurrence of reimbursed or sponsored travel." The prior version included unclear language regarding disclosure of such travel. a) Reimbursed travel = An outside entity reimburses the Covered Individual for out-of-pocket travel expenses, e.g., Uber ride. b) Sponsored travel = An outside entity pays for travel arrangements on the Covered Individual's behalf, e.g., hotel stay. c) This requirement applies to reimbursed or sponsored travel directly to or on behalf of the Covered Individual by an outside entity regardless of whether the activity itself is pre-approved in EMP-158 (Outside Activities and Conflict of Commitment). It does not apply to travel reimbursed or sponsored by UT Southwestern (even if the funds UT Southwestern uses to pay for the travel are derived from an institutional agreement with an outside entity). d) Note that since this requirement is included under the first requirement above, each occurrence must be disclosed within 30 days. A summary at the end of the year will not suffice. e) The Conflict of Interest Office is working to improve the COI-Info Portal to better capture this information. For now, be sure to check "Travel required for any activity/interest" in Question 6 of the Statement of Financial Interests and answer the travel questions that appear. You will note the specific instances of travel and dollar amounts in Question 6j.6.

Team members in the Conflict of Interest Office are available to answer any questions you may have about disclosure requirements at this email. If you need help navigating the COI-Info Portal, please see help guides here. 

NEW! New and Emerging Children's Mental Health Researchers Awards will open soon

The Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium recently released its Notice of Funding Opportunity for the FY2028/FY2029 New and Emerging Children's Mental Health Researchers (NECMHR) initiative. Three types of grant opportunities will be available: Post-Doctoral Fellow and Trainee, Research Career Development, and Research Project. Informational webinars are planned for July 30 at 10 a.m. and Aug. 5 at 11 a.m.

Other key dates for the NECMHR are:

• Request For Pre-applications Release date – Sept. 1, 2026  
• Deadline for pre-application – Sept. 30, 2026 
• Full Application invitations – Oct. 1, 2026 
• Full application deadline – Feb. 1, 2027 
• Notify candidates of conditional award – July 1, 2027 
• Start of FY2829 grant – Sept. 1, 2027 

More information about the grant types is available at the website linked below, and applicants can use CRI's Intent to Submit form if they would like assistance with an NECMHR application.

NEW! H-1B Prevailing Wages increase in 2026-2027

Effective July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated the H-1B Prevailing Wage (PW) rates for many occupations. The prevailing wage is the minimum salary an employer must pay an H-1B employee for a specific occupation and geographic area, as established annually by the DOL. Although prevailing wages are updated annually, this year's increases, particularly in the Dallas area, are the largest seen in many years and are expected to significantly increase the cost of sponsoring new H-1B employees.

For example, the prevailing wages for DOL Occupational Code 19-1021.00 (Research Scientist) in Dallas County increased substantially. Wage Level 1 increases from $55,619 to $96,803. Wage Level 2 increases from $58,698 to $145,808. Wage Level 3 increases from $61,776 to $194,792. Wage Level 4 increases from $64,854 to $243,797.

These increases will significantly affect the minimum salary required for new H-1B cases and may impact departmental hiring budgets and workforce planning. The new wage rates apply only to Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), as part of the H-1B application, certified on or after July 1, 2026. They do not affect previously certified LCAs or require salary increases for current H-1B employees. OIA's prevailing wage process will not change. Before filing an H-1B petition, your designated OIA Immigration Advisor will continue to determine the appropriate prevailing wage and ensure compliance with DOL’s H-1B regulations. Because of the magnitude of these changes, departments should verify the applicable prevailing wage early in the recruitment process rather than relying on prior-year wage rates. If you have questions about how these changes may affect your current or future H-1B hires, please contact your designated OIA Immigration Advisor.

Take a Texas Behavioral Health Center video tour

Take a peek inside the Texas Behavioral Health Center and learn more about its mission and services with the video tour linked from the. main page of the Psychiatry Department website. The tour includes views of many interior spaces and an overview of plans for the hospital. Visit the Department of Psychiatry homepage for a link to the tour.

NEW! Use tables for functionality, not design

Often in Microsoft Word, tables are employed as a design element rather than a data display. For accessibility, the best practice is to avoid tables and instead use headings and paragraphs, with the column layout design as an option for altering the flow of the text. If a table is truly displaying data, ensure that each column has a header row and that the header row repeats if a table extends to another page. Do not use the fixed width setting for columns or merge the cells. Use the Alt Text option in Table Properties to state a caption or title for the table.

Accessible docs need 'Titles' not just 'filenames'

All documents have filenames when saved, but for accessibility, documents also need a title in the file properties. In Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, click on “File” in the menu bar at the top left of the screen, and then click “Info” (fourth item down the list on the left on a PC), and click “Properties” in the top middle of the resulting screen. Click the button “Advanced Properties,” and in the “Summary” tab of the box that appears, enter text in the Title box and click OK. On a Mac, click “Properties” under the “File” menu, and fill out the title there. 



Not all accessibility tools are available in Office 365. To open a OneDrive or SharePoint file on your desktop, click on the "File" menu from the top left of the online document screen, then click on "Info" (the last item of the list), and then select "Open in desktop" at the bottom of the file properties list to ensure you have full functionality for making your documents accessible while keeping the file up to date on the shared drive. 

Jane Skief joins the Psychiatry Department with more than 20 years of dedicated clinical nursing experience across a diverse range of health care specialties. A dual-certified Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), she holds certifications as both a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) and a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC). She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and her Post-Master’s PMHNP certificate from the University of Massachusetts (UMASS Global). Returning to the UTSW community brings her career full circle. In her early years, Jane worked as a Registered Nurse at Zale Lipshy-UTSW.

Lauren Holmes recently joined the Department of Psychiatry as a Clinical Research Assistant II for Dr. Jennifer Coughlin, M.D. In this role, she supports molecular imaging research on neuropsychiatric conditions through participant recruitment and study coordination. Lauren graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. 

Dr. C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., was part of the team who contributed to a study on the role of gait tests after exertion in determining whether an athlete is ready to return to sports after a concussion. A news release on the study was published by UT Southwestern. Read it here.

Dr. Collin Vas, M.D., and Dr. Courtney Sanders, Ph.D., were interviewed for a MedBlog titled, "The neuroscience behind bad habits – and 7 tips to help you break them." Click here for the MedBlog.

NEW! Dr. Tarek Rajji, M.D., has been awarded the 2025 Publication of the Year Award from the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Neuropsychiatric Syndromes PIA. The paper, "Escitalopram for agitation in Alzheimer’s dementia: a randomized controlled phase 3 trial," was published in Nature Medicine.

NEW! Dr. Siddarth Prasad, M.D., M.Ed., a resident in General Psychiatry, has been selected for Doximity's inaugural Clinical AI Leader fellowship.

NEW! Dr. Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., and Dr. Yingxi Lin, Ph.D., have each been awarded $10,000 Special Grant Incentives (SGI). The SGI program provides funding to UT Southwestern faculty members who are successful in obtaining federal awards and encourages faculty to further pursue federal awards to advance science and benefit patients.

NEW! The 2026-2027 Psychiatry Residency Chief Residents have been announced. They are (left to right): Dr. William Burton, M.D., Dr. Sarah Elmer, M.D., Dr. Gameli Anthonio, M.D., and Dr. Seena Ounsinegad, M.D.

NEW! Davon Breedlove, a Chief Resident of the Clinical Psychology doctoral program, has been awarded a Division 53, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology travel award for the 2026 American Psychological Association Convention in Washington, D.C. He will be presenting the posters, "Parenting Stress as a Developmental Mechanism in Pediatric Functional Neurological Disorders (FNDI)" and "Comparative Autism Spectrum Disorder Profiles in Girls with Turner Syndrome."

Dr. Adam Brantley, M.D., a PGY3 resident in General Psychiatry, has been selected for the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative (NNCI) Ambassadors program.

Davon Breedlove and Joann Chen have been named Chief Residents for the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Dr. Richard Robinson, Ph.D., and Dr. Veronica Bordes-Edgar, Ph.D., thanked outgoing Chief Residents Matt Hutnyan and Logan Shurtz for their service.

Dr. Ashley Woolbert, M.D., has been honored with an Association for Academic Psychiatry Early Career Development Award.

Dr. Darlene King, M.D., has been elected to serve on the Epic Behavioral Health Steering Board. This committee of 10-12 individuals elected from across the country make recommendations to Epic on how to improve its functionality for psychiatry and behavioral health. Her two-year term began on July 1.

Dr. Eman Rettig, Psy.D., received the 2026 Mentor Award presented by the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) Student and Trainee Affairs Committee, Mentorship Subcommittee at the recent AACN annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Catherine Karni, M.D., DFAACAP, and Dr. Alexis Clyde, Ph.D., ABPP, ABPA, presented a poster at the 27th World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) in Hamburg, Germany, July 1-4. The title of their poster was "The Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Preschool-Aged Children in an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic: A Decade of Findings."

Dr. Tyler Evans, Ph.D., was the guest speaker at Sisters Network Inc. Dallas’ C.A.R.E. Brunch (above). Sisters Network is a national African American breast cancer survivorship organization with affiliates all over the country.

Dr. Chadrick Lane, M.D., recently participated as an invited panelist at the 6th International Conference of the Functional Neurological Disorder Society in Baltimore, Maryland. He spoke on contemporary formulations of and treatment approaches to chronic fatigue, as well as addressing the role of avoidance and fear as impediments to treatment response. Dr. Lane also joined the UT Southwestern Department of Neurology for Grand Rounds (pictured above), exploring brain-mind-body interface disorders, their underlying pathophysiology, and the essential role of varying medical specialties in collaborative care.

NEW! Save the date for the 2026-2027 Psychiatry Department Retreat

The 2026-2027 Psychiatry Department Retreat will be Friday, Oct. 23, from 12:30-5 p.m. The location is on campus and will be announced soon. Be ready to learn, have fun, and get to know your coworkers. Watch for a Save the Date in your email.

CE tracking requirement webinar planned July 22

All health care practitioners in Texas are required to have their continuing education compliance verified through a CE tracking system prior to license renewal. This new requirement is mandated by state law. Beginning Sept. 1, 2026, licensees renewing their license must:

• Have an active CE Broker account (basic accounts are free)
• Ensure all completed continuing education is reported in CE Broker

If the Texas Medical Board cannot verify CE compliance through CE Broker, affected physicians will not be able to complete their license renewal. The Texas Medical Board (TMB) has partnered with CE Broker as the official CE tracking platform. ALL TMB licensees should, at a minimum, establish a free, basic account with CE Broker.

A webinar covering multiple aspects of the CE Broker system as it relates to physicians is planned from 6-7 p.m., on Wednesday, July 22. Register for the webinar here. Additional webinar dates and registration opportunities will be shared on the Texas Medical Board website, TMB Bulletin, and social media as they become available.

OBI Physician-Scientist Trainee Symposium is July 17

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., Friday, 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.