July 23, 2026

NEW! DHS rule change could affect F-1, J-1 nonimmigrants

Effective Sept. 15, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is eliminating the "duration of status" (D/S) policy for F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants and replacing it with fixed admission periods. This means that individuals arriving in the United States on or after Sept. 15, will be admitted for a fixed period (the length of their approved program, not to exceed four years) rather than for "D/S."

Historically, D/S allowed international students, scholars, and physician trainees to remain lawfully in the United States without a fixed departure date while completing their academic program, training, or degree. Under the new rule, however, admissions for F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants will generally be limited to a maximum of four years unless the individual submits a timely Extension of Stay (EOS) application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

As a result, if an F-1 or J-1 nonimmigrant's program or training extends beyond their fixed admission period (for example, if additional time is needed to complete a degree or to participate in OPT or STEM OPT), the individual may be required to file an Extension of Stay application directly with USCIS rather than through the Office of International Affairs (OIA). Current filing fees are $420 for online filing or $470 for paper filing, plus an optional $2,075 premium processing fee if expedited adjudication is requested.

OIA staff are actively reviewing and analyzing the final rule to develop implementation plans and guidance for our international community, department administrators, and other stakeholders. OIA will share additional information, including next steps, frequently asked questions, and upcoming webinar opportunities, in the coming days. Check the OIA news alerts webpage regularly as additional information and guidance become available.

UPDATE: TMB- and TBHEC-licensed physicians will receive complimentary CE Broker upgrades soon

Effective Sept. 1, the Texas Medical Board (TMB) will transition to CE Broker as its official platform for tracking continuing education compliance for license renewal. As a result, all TMB licensees will be responsible for maintaining and monitoring their continuing education records in CE Broker. The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (TBHEC) has been already using CE Broker.

To support our TMB and TBHEC licensees during this transition, UT Southwestern Medical Center is providing eligible TMB- and TBHEC-licensed clinicians with a complimentary upgraded CE Broker Professional membership. This enhanced membership offers tools such as renewal tracking, alerts for missing requirements, centralized transcript management, and credential tracking to help simplify continuing education compliance.

Eligible licensees should have received an email from the department administration with detailed instructions on updating their information, redeeming their complimentary Professional membership, and accessing their unique redemption code. Please check your email for your unique redemption code. Codes must be redeemed within 30 days of receipt. 

Licensees should also review or create an EthosCE profile at the EthosCE webpage and confirm that their information is current. Maintaining accurate license information in EthosCE helps ensure eligible UTSW CME credits are automatically reported to CE Broker. For UTSW assistance, email the Office of Continuing Education or schedule a 1:1 appointment.

If you have any questions, please email Shelly Sheets.

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 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.

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.

UTSW Psychiatry Residency ranks 14th in Nation

The UT Southwestern General Psychiatry program is ranked #14 in the Nation, #1 in the South, and #1 in Texas according to the recently published 2026-2027 Doximity Residency Navigator reputation rankings. Department leadership believes this consistently high ranking speaks to the quality of the educational program, the hard work of our education faculty and staff, and the willingness of our educational leadership to listen to and respond to our residents' needs. As a reminder, Doximity surveys its members annually for these numbers and leadership thanks the faculty and alumni who voted in this year's survey.

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.

NEW! Dr. Alex Preston, M.D., M.P.H., recently joined the department as a Clinical Assistant Professor after graduating as UT Southwestern's first Women’s Mental Health fellow. She earned a Master’s in Public Health at Columbia University specializing in Sexual and Reproductive Health and found a desired focus in Reproductive Psychiatry beginning as a medical student at UT Dell in Austin. She is passionate about helping women experience improved mental health and live fuller lives, whether that be addressing perimenstrual exacerbation of psychiatric disorders, healing from a perinatal mood disorder, or thoughtfully designing interventions to maintain psychiatric wellness during the menopause transition or during a breast or gynecologic cancer. 

NEW! Kelly Jeong recently joined the Department of Psychiatry as a Clinical Research Assistant II in Dr. Manish Jha's lab. She graduated from The George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychological and Brain Sciences and brings hands-on experience working with veterans and vulnerable populations through her volunteer work at the VA Medical Center. In her new role she will contribute to psychiatric research through participant screening and enrollment, clinical data collection, and regulatory compliance.

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.

NEW! Dr. Andre Russowsky Brunoni, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., has been named as a Distinguished Reviewer by JAMA Psychiatry. To be considered a Distinguished Reviewer, a reviewer must consistently provide high-quality peer review ranked very good or excellent by the journal's editorial team, which in turn has allowed its editors to make timely decisions.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

NEW! A group of Clinical Psychology Doctoral students and faculty recently provided mental health screenings and resources at an event at The Shops at RedBird. From left to right, Tara Driskill, Leah Bullinger, Dr. Tyler Evans, Ph.D., Maya Hubbard, Briana Johnson, and Alex Woolsey are pictured with Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Sam Williams (center).

NEW! Dr. Joseph Guillory, M.D., was invited to serve as an expert panelist at the Texas Society of Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Galveston on July 19. The panel was titled, "Developmentally Informed Advocacy and Accommodations Across Childhood and Adolescence."

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.

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.