NEW! Ethics in AI Survey

The Ethics in AI group at UT Southwestern, a self-assembled group comprising clinicians, researchers, staff, students, and faculty across various offices and departments, would like your thoughts on a virtual "Ethics in Artificial Intelligence Symposium" to be held in Fall 2025. They are considering dynamic discussions on topics such as: 

• Tools and apps to reduce clinician burden and assist clinician diagnoses in patient care
• Medical/graduate education applications
• Models for research, such as analyzing large patient datasets to predict disease prognoses
• Tools for talent acquisition and other business applications

If you have a UT Southwestern Office 365 account, please complete a very short, 3-question survey to share your input for developing the sessions.

EDU (Educator Development at UTSW) 2025, sponsored by the Office of Faculty Development, in partnership with Southwestern Academy of Teachers, is now available online. The series includes ten videos, designed for all levels of faculty, that critical educational topics. Adriane dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., is a subject expert on the Kern Framework Steps 1 and 2, and Sarah Baker, M.D., on the Struggling Learner.

NEW! Fall 2025 SUCCESS Program

The Office of Faculty Development's Fall 2025 SUCCESS (Starting University Clinical Careers Effectively, Scholarly, and Successfully) Program provides brief presentations on numerous topics relevant to career success as academic physicians and provides key information, resources, and contacts for newly hired and current Instructors and Assistant Professors on the Clinician-Educator, Clinical Scholar, and Clinician tracks.

Part 1 will focus on adjusting to being a faculty member and educator development and conclude with an educational leadership panel discussion:

• Tuesday, September 16, 2025, 8:00am-11:30am (virtual) - Register

Part 2 will focus on P&T success, work/life integration, scholarly productivity, and an opportunity to engage with successful peers in a Q&A panel discussion:

• Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 8:00am-12:00pm (virtual) - Register

NEW! Transition in Clerkship Directors

Ashley Woolbert, M.D., has transitioned from Associate Clerkship Director to Clerkship Director, in replacement of Chadrick Lane, M.D., who has accepted new roles as Associate Program Director for the Psychiatry/Neurology Combined Residency Program, Director of the Educator Area of Concentration in the General Psychiatry Residency Program, and Chair of the Retreat Committee. Latoya Frolov, M.D., is our new Associate Clerkship Director.

OBI Trainee Travel Grants

The O'Donnell Brain Institute is accepting applications for grants that support OBI-affiliated trainees who are presenting original research at national and international conferences. A trainee is defined as a Ph.D. student, postdoctoral scientist, resident, or clinical fellow, and the grant awards are up to $2,500 each. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis for the remainder of 2025.

APP Celebration Week Award Nominations

Nominations are being accepted for the 2025 APP Outstanding Achievement Awards through June 27 in the following categories:

• Teaching 
• Ambulatory Clinical Practice 
• Inpatient Clinical Practice 
• Leadership  
• Professional and Community Service 
• Scholarly Endeavors
• APP CHAMPion (non-APP leader/faculty/staff partner/advocate for APP)

Nominations are also open for the APP CHAMPion of the Year, which recognizes a non-APP leader, faculty, or staff member who excels in partnership and advocacy for APPs in their daily work.

UT Southwestern faculty and employees are eligible to submit to each category. Winners will be announced during APP Celebration Week, September 22-26.  

Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program Incoming Class of 2029

We are thrilled to announce the incoming class of 2025, who will be joining us this August!

A special thank you to the Admissions Committee, chaired by Laura Lacritz, Ph.D., and co-chaired by Aleksandra Foxwell, Ph.D., for their dedication and hard work.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to our new students.

NEW! Anuratha Subbareddi, M.S., holds a master’s degree in microbiology and brings six years of hands-on experience in a clinical laboratory setting to her role as a Research Assistant I in the Gospocic Lab. Her goal is to continue growing in science and to contribute meaningfully to the field that inspires her every day.

Kaltra Dhima, Ph.D., ABPP, a Boston native, earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UT Southwestern. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Cleveland Clinic.

Starting in 2020, Dr. Dhima served as Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, working primarily with patients with movement disorders, clinically and in research. She is thrilled to return to UT Southwestern as a faculty member. 

Valerie Loehr, Ph.D., was featured in Southern Methodist University's alumni spotlight.

Betsy Kennard, Psy.D., participated in a live Good Morning Texas interview on how the SPARC program at Children's Health offers support for patients experiencing mental health challenges and suicidal ideation.

Sam Baker of KERA News (NPR for North Texas) interviewed Maria Chahrour, Ph.D., regarding her research into the role of genetics in autism.

Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our department members who have achieved 25 to 40 years of UT Southwestern service. We are thankful for all their contributions in supporting our operations, leading our educational endeavors, and advancing our scholarship. A special collection on Center Times Plus shares their perspectives and some surprising facts. 

NEW! Joshua Hubregsen, M.D., has received the Early Career Development Award from the Association for Academic Psychiatry.

Dr. Hubregsen was selected from an extremely strong set of applicants for this very high achievement that places a great value on outstanding leaders, educators, researchers, and clinicians in psychiatry. 

NEW! The Association for Academic Psychiatry has selected Kayla Murphy, M.D., a resident in the Internal Medicine-Psychiatry Combined Residency Program, to receive its Resident Psychiatric Educator Award.

NEW! Snoben Kuruvila, PA-C, earned the Certificate of Added Qualifications in Psychiatry (CAQ-Psych).

Tope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., was selected as Deputy Representative for Area 5 to the Assembly Committee of Resident-Fellow Members at the American Psychiatric Association.

Abhisek Khandai, M.D. was appointed as Chair for the American Psychiatric Association Council on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.

Congratulations to our outstanding residents who have received American Psychiatric Association / APA Foundation Fellowships for 2025-2026!

NAMI North Texas honored our Psychiatry Team Confabulous with its 2025 Walk of Fame award for "energy, heart, and hustle" in its annual walk to raise funds and awareness for individuals and families in the community to access free mental health education, support groups, and other needed resources.

The Suicide Prevention & Resilience in Children (SPARC) team, including Betsy Kennard, Psy.D., Mehak Gupta, and Jessica Heerschap, Ph.D., received the Dallas Psychological Association's Pam Blumenthal Community Service Award for adapting the SPARC intensive outpatient program to the child and adolescent outpatient clinics at Metrocare.

Jessica Churchwell, LCSW, was honored with a Golden Heart Award for clinical excellence in service to patients at the Richardson Clinic.

NEW!

Snoben Kuruvila, PA-C, attended the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology annual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he chaired the session "Individual Research Reports: Advances in Psychosis and Neurocognitive Disorders Research." Additionally, he was a discussant on the presentation "Novel Therapies for Individuals with Cocaine / Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Findings from Studies Within the NIDA Clinical Trials Network."

NEW!

Carmen Cruz, Psy.D., presented a full day CE workshop on Multicultural and Relational Clinical Supervision for training faculty at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 

Residents well represented our training program at the American Psychiatric Association's residency fair portion of its annual meeting, speaking to interested candidates about our many opportunities for postgraduate education. Temitope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., Courtney Chineme, D.O., Brendalyn Iweh, M.D., Isreal Munoz, M.D., Jasmine Liu-Zarzuela, M.D., M.P.H. and Abibat (Tobi) Saliu, M.D., volunteered at the event, and Enrique Chiu Han, M.D., helped with the swag.

Jeffrey Schaffert, Ph.D., presented a webinar on "Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: Overview and Neuropsychological Outcomes" for the National Academy of Neuropsychology's Online Learning program.

In the General Session at the American Psychiatric Association meeting in Los Angeles, Jonathan DeVries, D.O., and Diana Robinson, M.D., presented with colleagues a workshop in on "Improving Management of Critically Ill Patients in the ICU."

UT Southwestern Medical School graduate and rising PGY1 in our triple board program Abigail Lewis, M.D., presented the poster on "Treatment of Catatonia in Bipolar 1 Disorder with NMDA-Receptor Antagonist Memantine: A Case Series," with Dr. Robinson at the APA meeting.

Upon selection from an international applicant pool, Enrique Chiu Han, M.D., and Christian S. Monsalve, M.D., participated in the APA's 2025 Research Colloquium for Junior Psychiatrist Investigators in Los Angeles. 

Christian S. Monsalve, M.D., chaired the APA's General Session "Comparison of Clinical Guidelines for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: What is the Role of Systematic Evidence Reviews?" Speakers included Stephen Levine, M.D., Kristopher Kaliebe, M.D., and Kathleen McDeavitt, M.D., stretching the capacity of the meeting room with around 250 attendees.

Training program alumni, and incoming faculty members, Bernice Yau, M.D., and Matt Yung, M.D., presented with Adam Brenner, M.D., for the APA Meeting's Trainee-Track on the topic "No Publications, No Problem! How to Write a Paper and Get Involved in Psychiatry Research as a Trainee," which was co-written by Maravet Baig-Ward, M.D., Ph.D. (not pictured). Our residents Thomas Pak, M.D., Ph.D., and Tope Adedolapo, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., were among the standing room only attendees.

Our department was superbly represented at the NAMIWalks North Texas event on May 17. In addition to walking and interacting with many members of the community, we hosted a booth about our interventional psychiatry program. Joseph Guillory, M.D., Psychiatry Team Captain and President of NAMI North Texas, presented to the assembled participants about the NAMI mission.

The Multispecialty Psychiatry Clinic Therapy Team completed a team-building/strength-building seminar.

The UT Southwestern Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, directed by Kehinde Obikoya, M.D., held its annual mock trial on May 1. Justice Nancy Kennedy presided over a mock medical malpractice suit following a death by suicide, with attorneys Alina Caratas and Elena Hartnett from the Dallas County District Attorney's Office representing the plaintiff and the defense for the hospital along with fellows from psychiatry and psychology working the case with faculty member participants for each side.

NEW! UT Southwestern Pinnacle Awards Celebration

The entire UT Southwestern community is encouraged to join the celebration honoring the recipients of the inaugural Pinnacle Awards at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 17, in the Tom and Lula Gooch Auditorium on South Campus, with a reception to follow. The ceremony will be hosted by UT Southwestern President Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D. and include remarks from institutional leaders and award recipients. The ceremony will also be livestreamed.

NEW! Ethics Grand Rounds

The Ethics Program has announced its 2025-2026 schedule. The series will take place monthly on Tuesdays, September 9, 2025, to May 12, 2026, 12-1pm, and be presented virtually, except on February 10, which will be a hybrid event, with the in-person option located on the North Campus, in the Simmons Biomedical Research Building, room NB2.100A.

Psychiatry, Brains and Behavior WIPs

Wednesday, June 18, 11:00am-12:00pm, ND4.218

Neehar Girimaji (Yamamoto Lab), who recently graduated with a master’s degree, will present. This series is hosted by the Psychiatry Neuroscience Division.