Elizabeth Dodge, M.D., retired on June 30, 2025. Dr. Dodge received her undergraduate degree from Yale and graduated from medical school at UT Southwestern, where she also completed psychiatry residency training. Dr. Dodge completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and served as a psychiatrist for a residential/outpatient program in Los Angeles until she returned to Dallas. In addition to maintaining a private practice, she has served as a psychiatrist for the Dallas Independent School District, Youth and Family Centers. She joined the faculty at UT Southwestern in 2017 as an Assistant Professor in Student Wellness and Counseling (SWaC), where she has provided personal counseling, psychotherapy, group therapy, and psychiatric services for students in the Medical School, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and School of Health Professions, helping students maintain wellness and thrive. She also has served on committees for student behavioral intervention, student wellness/resident wellness, and peer advocacy mentoring, and she has interviewed medical school applicants. She has supervised residents weekly in a student wellness elective as well as in psychodynamic psychotherapy and has taught courses on topics from boundary setting to bystander intervention training in transition to clerkships and more. Dr. Moore shared that Dr. Dodge “exemplifies what it means to be part of a team- she offers mentorship to earlier career faculty, is always available for thoughtful consultation with peers, and really reminds me team why we love student wellness.” Dr. Wolff added, “She also has been a wonderful colleague to the psychiatrists and psychologists at SWaC.” Dr. Dodge’s thoughtful approach in mentoring, teaching, and counseling has been an asset to our department and to learners both inside psychiatry and across the institution. We wish her well in her new stage of life.

NEW! Sandarsh Surya, M.D., has accepted the role of Medical Director for the Parkland Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic, effective following the retirement of Timothy Wolff, M.D., Aug. 31. Dr. Surya joined UT Southwestern and Parkland earlier this year, bringing a wealth of experience in clinical care, education, and leadership. He is a board-certified psychiatrist with subspecialty certification in geriatric psychiatry and nationally recognized for his work in neurostimulation and treatment-resistant mood disorders, with extensive publications on electroconvulsive therapy, clozapine safety, and innovative treatments in psychiatry. Dr. Surya has already made a significant impact through his work as Assistant Medical Director of the Behavioral Health Clinic. His collaborative spirit, clinical expertise, and deep commitment to education and quality improvement make him an ideal leader to guide our outpatient behavioral health services into the future.

Kala Bailey, M.D., M.B.A., has been appointed as the Executive Clinical Director of Neuroscience, leading the service line in partnership with the associate vice president for neuroscience clinical programs. In this new aspect of Dr. Bailey's work, she will develop strategies to advance clinical performance and quality and to provide equitable access to operational resources in alignment with Health System goals, as well as serve as a liaison for clinical department, hospital and ambulatory leaders, UT Southwestern clinical partners, and referring physicians. Alongside this executive leadership role, Dr. Bailey will continue her role as Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, overseeing the clinical programs, patient care operations, and faculty and providing strategic and operational leadership for all clinical activities in the Department of Psychiatry.

TARCC Application Deadline Extended

The Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium has extended the deadline to July 23 at 11:59pm CST for its 2025 Request for Applications to support innovative, translational based research in Texas and to ensure well-trained basic and translational researchers and clinician-scientists are available in Texas to aid in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Applications from junior investigators and projects that reflect cutting-edge science that will provide pilot data for larger proposals are particularly of interest.

Call for Nominations: Shine Academy

UT Southwestern may submit up to four nominees for the prestigious honor of membership in the University of Texas System Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education, which recognizes excellence in teaching across many disciplines in health science education.

Outstanding performance in any of the following categories will qualify faculty for consideration:

• Direct teaching
• Curriculum development and instructional design or redesign
• Assessment of learner performance
• Mentoring and counseling
• Educational administration and leadership
• Educational scholarship and research

Submissions are due July 25. For more information, email Pamela Munoz.

CTSA Writing Accountability Groups

The next two cohorts of the UT Southwestern Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Writing Accountability Group will begin in Fall 2025, from August to September and from October to November. The aim of the group is to help writers stay focused, inspired, and productive. Group members will have dedicated time once a week for six weeks with a community of writers committed to staying accountable, making consistent progress, and successfully achieving their goals.

NEW! Kirk Dickey, a long-time communications professional, has joined the Chair’s Office as the Marketing and Communications Manager. In this role, Kirk will lead our department's reputation-building activities, including newsletters, social media, and flyers, among other opportunities for sharing our announcements, activities, and achievements. Originally from northwest Louisiana, Kirk started his career in journalism before transitioning to public relations and marketing, a field that he has worked in for more than a decade.

NEW! Ashanti Thomas, L.M.S.W., obtained a bachelor's degree in social work at Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas. Ashanti then obtained a master’s degree in social work at the University of Texas in Arlington, TX. Ashanti will be working with the Transitional Adult Youth program, along with other case management projects.

Cynthia Fung, M.S.N., APRN, PMHNP-BC, is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). Ms. Fung completed her B.S. in Nursing at The University of Texas at Arlington and worked as a registered nurse at Parkland Hospital and at UT Southwestern Medical Center for several years. After earning her M.S. in Nursing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, she then completed the Advanced Practice Provider Psychiatry Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center and has now joined our outpatient psychiatry clinic as a full-time provider.

Kaylea Gawf, originally from Arkansas, graduated from Baylor in December 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and experience in psychoneuroimmunology research. Kaylea has joined the Kitamura Lab as a research technician. Outside of work, Kaylea's hobbies include reading and trying new coffee shops.

NEW! In consideration of the tragic flooding in the Hill Country, UT Southwestern updated a Q&A with Betsy Kennard, Psy.D., and James Norcross, M.D., about how to best talk with children about sensitive topics in the wake of traumatic events.

NEW! The UT Southwestern MedBlog "Treating functional neurological disorder by retraining the brain and body" includes a "Doctor's Notes" video featuring Chadrick Lane, M.D. Dr. Lane explains key aspects of functional neurological disorder.

The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center highlighted the work of Gavin Sanders, Ph.D., a neuropsychology postdoctoral fellow, in its Quick Review of Model System Research feature: Barriers to Driving and Psychosocial Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury.

NEW! Master Educator Fellowship

Juan Sosa, M.D., has received the Association for Academic Psychiatry's 2025 Master Educator IDEA Fellowship. Psychiatric educators in the program become effective leaders in health professions education in psychiatry and develop advanced teaching skills and expertise in educational theory and educational scholarship to foster a positive learning experience.

NEW! NIMH Outstanding Resident Award

Cesar Montelongo-Hernandez, M.D., M.S., Ph.D., a resident in our Research Track program, has been invited to present his research as an Honorable Mention Awardee in the Outstanding Resident Award Program at the National Institute of Mental Health.

NEW! Golden Heart Award

Amanda Bower, LCSW-S, has received our Golden Heart Award for Clinical Excellence this month. 

NEW! Service Milestones Celebration

Department Chair Tarek K. Rajji, M.D., hosted a luncheon to celebrate Department of Psychiatry members who have reached milestone years. View photos from the event and the list of faculty and staff celebrating their achievements.

Klingenstein Fellowship Award

Seungwon (Sebastian) Choi, Ph.D., has received the Klingenstein Fellowship Award in Neuroscience for "Unraveling the Cancer-Neuron Crosstalk: Pathological Interactions Between Cancer and Pain Circuits." The award supports highly promising early career researchers in cutting-edge investigations with $150,000 per year for three years ($450,000 total).

Staff from the Chair's Office and Financial Affairs enjoyed a lunch out in appreciation for all their efforts on behalf of our department.

4th year Clinical Psychology student Emma Reutimann won the annual Dallas Psychological Association Dissertation Award for her project titled "Measuring the Prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress and Related Factors in Burn Care Clinicians." 

Graduation Celebration for Psychiatry Residents and Fellows

NEW! Kipp Pietrantonio, Ph.D., presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social issues Conference in Portland, Oregon, in a symposium titled "Advancing Economic Justice with Psychological Science."

ADMSEP Meeting

At the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Boston, Lia Thomas, M.D., co-presented the workshop "Addressing Ambivalence: How to Advise Medical Students Uncertain about a Career in Psychiatry." Dr. Thomas will serve the ADMSEP Council as Past President for 2025-2026.

Adriane dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., presented two workshops: "Getting the Most Out of ADMSEP: Optimizing Mentoring Relationships in Professional Societies" and "Implementing Curriculum Revision Even If You Don’t Want To: A Discussion for Preclinical Educators." Dr. dela Cruz will continue to serve on the ADMSEP Awards Committee and as Chair of the Posters Awards Subcommittee.

Ashley Woolbert, M.D., presented the poster "From Theory to Practice: Teaching Social Determinants of Health Through a Human Rights Framework" with medical students Bilal Rehman, Margaret Vo, and Cole Ferguson.

Darlene King, M.D., was a plenary speaker for "The Last of Us: Developing Resilient Policies to Survive the Era of AI."

AACN Meeting

Our department was well represented at the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology meeting in Chicago. Among other presenters and attendees, Psychology Doctoral Candidate Matt Hutnyan presented his work with Dr. Leslie Rosenstein on a case of normal pressure hydrocephalus and HIV encephalopathy. Jeffrey Schaffert, Ph.D., Christian LoBue, Ph.D., Munro Cullum, Ph.D., and Matthew Clem, Ph.D., presented a workshop on the forensic aspects of concussion, aging, and dementia.

Lia Thomas, M.D., co-presented "Optimal Strategies for Your Residency Application, with a focus on Psychiatry (For Applicants and Advisors)" as part of a webinar hosted by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Jane Foster, Ph.D., spoke at "The Barcelona Debates on the Human Microbiome" about the microbiome and depression.

Waiting to Exhale - A Journey to Self-Discovery

UT Southwestern Medical Center Faculty Wellness Panel Discussion

Wednesday, July 23, 12-1pm via Zoom

Moderator, Jaime Harry, LCSW

Speakers: Julie Trivedi, M.D., Alejandra Alfaro, Marvin Washington, LPC, Terrie Jenkins, LCSW-S