Sept. 3, 2026

Congratulations to our newly promoted faculty. Please join us in celebrating this achievement.

Promotion to Professor

Dr. Celia Heppner, Psy.D., is the Chief Psychologist and Director of Psychological Services at Children's Health, where she also oversees the hospital's APA-Accredited Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology. Her patient care and research have been in pediatric craniofacial and plastic surgery, with a focus on psychosocial outcomes and quality of life in youth with facial differences. Her current professional activities on a national level include her role as a specialty board officer for the American Board of Clinical Health Psychology, acting as Section Editor for the Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, and serving as a mentor for a mid-career psychologist in a leadership role through the Society for Pediatric Psychology (APA Division 54) Leadership Excellence and Advancement Program. 

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Florida School of Professional Psychology

Internship: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Fellowship: Children's Health/Children's Medical Center Dallas

Dr. Elena Ivleva, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician-scientist specializing in schizophrenia and broader severe mental illness. She leads The COURSE lab, a research program focused on developing brain-based biomarkers using multimodal MRI and linking them to cognitive dysfunction and broader clinical manifestations of schizophrenia across the lifespan. Dr. Ivleva founded and directs the Early Psychosis (HOPE) Program, which provides expert, team-based care for individuals with early psychosis and their families, striving to restore real-world functioning and improve long-term outcomes.  

Track: Clinical Scholar

Medical School: Voronezh State Medical Academy, Russia  

Graduate School: Voronezh State Medical Academy, Russia  

Postdoctoral Research Training: Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan; UT Southwestern Medical Center

Residency Training: Voronezh State Medical Academy, Russia; UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Sarah Spain, Ph.D., ABPP, is Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health Service at North Texas VA Medical Center, the second largest VA health care system in the United States. In this role, she provides oversight for the management and coordination of veteran mental health services for inpatient, residential and outpatient treatment, and oversees compliance, patient safety, employee and veteran engagement, clinical disciplines, programming, education, and training. Dr. Spain is Board Certified in Clinical Psychology. Her primary areas of clinical interest are cognitive behavioral interventions for depression, insomnia and PTSD. Dr. Spain is passionate about supporting and guiding the professional development of VA employees and is actively involved in community outreach and engagement.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: University of South Florida

Internship: Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Dr. Collin Vas, M.D., is an attending psychiatrist on an inpatient forensic psychiatric unit at the Texas Behavioral Health Center. Since joining the faculty in 2007, Dr. Vas has been actively involved in medical student and psychiatry resident education, teaching at the bedside and in didactics across multiple settings including the outpatient clinic at the Dallas VA, the emergency department and inpatient psychiatric unit at Parkland, and the outpatient and inpatient units at UT Southwestern. His academic interests include ADHD, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and restoration of competency to stand trial.

Track: Clinician

Medical School: St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru, India

Residency Training: Mayo Clinic

Dr. Nicholas Westers, Psy.D., ABPP, FSAHM, works in Outpatient Psychiatry at Children’s Health where he provides psychotherapy, psychological testing, clinical supervision, teaching, and consultation. He often collaborates with the media relations team by speaking about issues related to child and adolescent mental health on television, radio, and other news outlets. He specializes in adolescent depression and anxiety, with particular emphasis on non-suicidal self-injury, suicide prevention, and trauma treatment. He serves as president of the International Society for the Study of Self-Injury, and he is the host and producer of The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast.

Track: Clinician-Educator

Graduate School: Regent University

Internship: Jackson Memorial Medical Center/University of Miami

Postdoctoral Training: Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. William Brown, Ph.D., DBSM, is a sleep psychologist at Children’s Health. A Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Dr. Brown has co-authored several books about sleep for children, adults, and academic settings.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Internship: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Additional Training: Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas Sleep Evaluation Center

Dr. Izabella Dutra de Abreu, M.D., is board-certified in both General Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2017 after completing her geriatric psychiatry fellowship at UTSW and psychiatry residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to moving to the United States, she practiced psychiatry in Brazil for eight years and earned a master's degree in Geriatric Psychiatry from the University of São Paulo (USP), one of Latin America’s leading academic institutions. Her scholarly work has focused on behavioral symptoms in dementia, cognitive decline, functional autonomy, caregiver burden, and evidence-based treatments for mental health conditions in older adults, resulting in peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and educational contributions. In addition to her clinical practice, she is actively involved in medical education and is part of the UTSW Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Core Faculty.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora Faculdade De Medicina

Residency Training: Fundacao Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais, FHEMIG; Baylor College of Medicine

Fellowship Training: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Suzanne Holm, Ph.D., ABPP, specializes in working with children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and is embedded within the oncology teams in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD) at Children’s Health. She co-founded RISE, a hospital-wide program promoting resilience, integrated ethics, and staff support to mitigate secondary trauma and stress. Dr. Holm has evolved her passion for this work into developing programs to support the resilience of medical and psychology trainees across the system and operates as a resilience/moral distress champion for medical staff within CCBD. Her academic interests include pediatric psycho-oncology, death and dying, and reflective practice.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Internship: The University of Texas Medical Branch

Fellowship: Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin/Medical College of Wisconsin

Dr. Joshua Hubregsen, M.D., is an interventional psychiatrist whose clinical practice focuses on electroconvulsive therapy and other neuromodulation treatments for severe psychiatric illness. As Associate Medical Director of Interventional Psychiatry at the UTSW Multispecialty Clinic and Associate Program Director for the psychiatry residency at UT Southwestern, he is passionate about integrating neuromodulation into residency education, developing a required neuromodulation rotation for all residents, and directing the residency's Interventional Psychiatry Concentration. His academic interests include neuromodulation, competency-based medical education, and magnetic seizure therapy, and he has been recognized nationally for excellence in psychiatric education.

Track: Clinician-Educator

Medical School: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Residency Training: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Mohsin Khan, M.D., serves as the Psychiatry Team Lead at the Rees-Jones Center for Foster Care Excellence, where he provides psychiatric care to children and adolescents with current or prior involvement in the child welfare system. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he is actively involved in the education and mentorship of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows, Triple Board Fellows, and Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Child Psychiatry Fellows. Dr. Khan is also engaged in professional and academic leadership roles, serving as Program Committee Chair for the Texas Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (TSCAP) and as a member of the planning committee for the Child Welfare Summit.

Track: Clinician

Medical School: Medical University of Lodz

Residency: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

Fellowship: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Dr. Hillary Kimbley, Ph.D., ABBP, is a board-certified psychologist at Children’s Health/Children’s Medical Center, where she provides evidence-based psychological services to youth with epilepsy and functional seizures within the Pediatric Epilepsy Center. She also serves as a Team Lead within Psychological Services and is actively involved in the education and training of medical and psychology trainees. In addition, she serves as a Faculty Advisor for the UTSW Clinical Psychology Graduate Program. Dr. Kimbley leads and serves on psychology and epilepsy committees within professional organizations. Her academic interests focus on understanding the psychosocial impact of epilepsy and functional seizures in youth and identifying effective interventions.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Texas A&M University

Internship: Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Fellowship: Children’s Health/Children’s Medical Center

Dr. Brad Nederostek, Psy.D., is a clinical health psychologist with the VA North Texas Health Care System, where he provides psychological services through the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) program to medically complex, homebound veterans. He developed and leads the VA North Texas Virtual Sexual Health Clinic, specializing in the evaluation and evidence-based treatment of veterans with a broad range of sexual health concerns. He also provides didactic instruction on sexual dysfunction for the VA North Texas Psychology Internship Program. Dr. Nederostek is an AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist and a Board-Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Sexology. In addition to his VA role, he maintains a part-time private practice in sex therapy and serves as a faculty lecturer at UT Southwestern, where he teaches medical students, physician assistant students, and psychiatry fellows on sexual dysfunction, paraphilic disorders, and impulsive-compulsive sexual behavior. 

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: LaSalle University

Internship: VA North Texas Health Care System

Fellowship Training: University of Minnesota Medical School/Program in Human Sexuality

Dr. Joy Neumann, Psy.D., ABPP, is a bilingual pediatric neuropsychologist at Children’s Health. She evaluates Spanish-bilingual pediatric patients with a variety of medical conditions that affect brain function, and more specifically those undergoing phase I pre-surgical epilepsy work-up. She is a primary supervisor of the bilingual rotation and a published researcher on topics of interest, including bilingual assessment and demyelinating diseases.  

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Albizu University

Postgraduate Training: Children’s Health 

Internship: Texas Children’s Hospital  

Dr. Jenna Oppenheim, Psy.D., ABPP, is a pediatric psychologist in the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and clinical manager within Psychological Services at Children’s Health. Her clinical work includes provision of health and behavior services for youth diagnosed with cancer and blood disorders. She is the Associate Training Director for the APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship in clinical child psychology at Children’s and is involved in teaching and supervision of trainees at all levels. Dr. Oppenheim is board certified in Clinical Health Psychology and has served in national leadership positions both through APA Division 54 (Society for Pediatric Psychology) and ABPP.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Pepperdine University

Internship: Texas Child Study Center/Dell Children’s Medical Center

Fellowship: Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Dr. Kipp Pietrantonio, Ph.D., ABPP, serves as Director of Psychological Services for University Hospitals and Clinics at UT Southwestern, where he leads the development and delivery of psychological services across the health system. His work has emphasized expanding access to evidence-based psychotherapy, developing specialty clinical programs, and building systems of care capable of serving a large and diverse patient population. He founded UT Southwestern’s specialty service for obsessive-compulsive disorder and has contributed clinically to transplant psychology serving on both the heart and liver transplant teams. His academic interests center on social class, socioeconomic inequality, multicultural psychology, psychotherapy, and economic justice. Dr. Pietrantonio has contributed to national scholarship and professional initiatives examining the role of social and economic conditions in psychological health and practice. He is also committed to the training, mentorship, and professional development of psychologists and psychology trainees.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: University of North Dakota

Internship: University of California, Santa Cruz

Postdoctoral Training: University of Michigan Counseling and Psychological Services

Dr. Stevie Puckett-Perez, Ph.D., leads the GI Psychology team at Children’s Medical Center, where she treats children, adolescents, and young adults with complex gastrointestinal diseases and disorders. She cares for patients at the inpatient and outpatient levels as well as serves multiple multidisciplinary clinics, including the Abdominal Pain Clinic and the Colorectal and Pelvic Center. Dr. Puckett-Perez is passionate about helping youth maximize comfort and coping in the context of chronic and acute medical challenges. She is highly involved in supervision and mentorship, engages in supplemental patient activities like facilitating support groups, and actively supports community partners in better understanding and caring for youth with Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI).

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Texas A&M University

Internship: Primary Children’s Hospital, Salt Lake City

Fellowship: Children’s Medical Center

Dr. Caitlin Reese, Ph.D., is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and UTSW Neuropsychology Assistant Training Director who contributes to the leadership and training of doctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows. She specializes in assessing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral sequelae of medical multimorbidity. Additionally, Dr. Reese is a course instructor and research reviewer within the UTSW Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program, and she is primarily published in performance and symptom validity.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Ohio University

Internship: Minneapolis VAMC

Postdoctoral Fellowship: Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation

Dr. Diana Robinson, M.D., is the Associate Medical Director of the CL Psychiatry Service at Parkland Hospital. She has a passion for providing psychiatric care for acutely medically ill patients. Since joining the faculty at UTSW in 2019, she has worked on the inpatient consult psychiatry teaching team, is a founding member of the Parkland Psycho-Oncology Behavioral Health Clinic. She has been a member of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium’s Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network (PeriPAN) since its founding. Dr. Robinson is the author of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her academic interests are neuropsychiatry (particularly catatonia and delirium), the intersection of CL and addiction psychiatry, and academic psychiatry topics.

Track: Clinician-Educator

Medical School: Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple

Residency Training: University of Virginia, Charlottesville

Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston

Dr. Lisa Schuster, Ph.D., ABPP, specializes in trauma with her clinical responsibilities centered within the REACH program at Children’s Health, a hospital-based multidisciplinary child maltreatment team that provides specialized care for children with concerns of abuse or neglect. In her role, Dr. Schuster addresses the mental health needs of patients and helps families as they navigate both the immediate aftermath of suspected abuse and its long-term impact. She also supports the well-being of team members by helping other professionals engage more fully in their practice, reducing secondary traumatic stress, and maintaining and improving performance, well-being, and professional effectiveness. Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Schuster serves as a consultant and mentor to colleagues across disciplines. She is actively involved in education and training, teaching within the pediatric psychology training program, supervising psychology trainees at all levels, providing clinical education to medical trainees and other healthcare professionals, and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences and community events.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: University of Detroit Mercy

Internship: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Fellowship: Children's Medical Center

Dr. Megan Tierney, Psy.D., ABPP, PMH-C, is the Manager of Psychological Services at Children’s Health: Children’s Medical Center Dallas, where she oversees the work of embedded psychology providers in various inpatient and outpatient medical settings such as Solid Organ Transplant, Oncology, Cardiology, Sleep and the Integrated Therapy Unit. Her clinical focus is primarily on delivery of services within the Fogelson Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery Center at Children’s Health. Dr. Tierney trains UTSW predoctoral interns, residents and medical students within her clinical work and through the pediatric health psychology training program including the APA accredited postdoctoral fellowship program. 

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Roosevelt University Chicago

Internship: University of Louisville Medical School and Kosair Children’s Hospital

Postdoctoral Training: Children’s Medical Center

Residency Training: Children’s Medical Center

Dr. Daniela Vela, Ph.D., is a board-certified clinical geropsychologist working in the Geriatric and Neuropsychiatry Clinical Program within the Multispecialty Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic. In her role she provides psychotherapy to older adults and family caregivers struggling with depression, anxiety, and neurocognitive disorders. Dr. Vela also serves as a psychotherapy supervisor and a course instructor for the Clinical Psychology Graduate Program. Additionally, she serves in the ABGERO credentials committee reviewing applications and determining if applicants meet education, training, and experience criteria for geropsychology board certification. 

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: University of North Texas

Internship: VA Central Texas Health Care

Fellowship: VA North Texas Health Care 

Dr. Andrea Wahlberg, Ph.D., ABPP, NCSP, is a pediatric neuropsychologist at Children’s Health, Children’s Medical Center in Plano. She is also a Neuropsychology Team Lead and Co-Training Director of the Pediatric Neuropsychology training program at Children’s Health. Her clinical and research interests include neuropsychological outcomes of various conditions, including epilepsy, cancers, stroke, concussion, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, meningitis/encephalitis, transplant, genetic conditions, congenital brain malformations, among others.

Track: Clinician

Graduate School: Texas A&M University

Internship: University of Minnesota Medical School

Fellowship: Children's Health Children's Medical Center

NEW! State Employee Charitable Campaign kicks off

The annual State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) is underway. Giving to your favorite charity has never been easier. The SECC works with hundreds of local, state, national, and international charities, providing needed funding for the causes you care about. You can make a one-time donation or choose a monthly payroll deduction. If you donate through PeopleSoft you will be registered to potentially win one of 50 donated prizes, including signed Dallas Mavericks apparel, tickets to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Dallas Arboretum, Children’s Aquarium Dallas, top DFW art museums, the State Fair of Texas, sporting events, and more. Email Kirk Dickey in the Chair's Office with any questions about the SECC.

National Institutes of Health issue K award notices

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued two notices affecting K awards and clinical trial training. The notices are NOT-OD-26-098 and NOT-OD-26-095. Key changes (effective for due dates on/after Oct. 12, 2027) include consolidation and simplification:

• Consolidating individual K notice of funding opportunities (NOFOs). For example, K08 and K23 will both be called KC1.
• Eliminating the requirement for data management and sharing (DMS) plans on Ks.
• Clarifying allowable uses of K award funds for clinical trial research activities.

Also, K funds may no longer support conducting clinical trials, feasibility studies, or ancillary studies, which means:

• “Independent Clinical Trial Required” K NOFOs will end.
• K awardees can still gain experience by participating in mentor-led trials and developing protocols.
• Separate funding (institutional, other grants, etc.) is required to lead a trial as PI.

NIH is also seeking input (by Sept. 30, 2026) on new models that would let mentored K recipients lead trials via separate limited-competition Research Project Grants (RPGs) or phased K-to-R awards. Thus, it sounds like K awardees will still have opportunities to conduct clinical trials, but the trials will not be funded through the K award.

UTSW provides DEA registration fee exemption

As a reminder, UT Southwestern clinical providers are eligible for a DEA registration fee exemption if your DEA registration is used exclusively in the performance of your official duties at UT Southwestern. When completing your DEA registration or renewal application, you will need to indicate that you are requesting the fee exemption and provide the following information:

Institution Name: UT Southwestern Medical Center

UTSW Tax ID#: 75-6002868

Certifying Official: Tarek K. Rajji, M.D.

Title: Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry  

Certifying Email: PsychFacultyAffairs@UTSouthwestern.edu

Certifying Phone: 214-648-5555

If you have any questions regarding the DEA registration process or your eligibility for the fee exemption, please contact Jasmina Vuksanovic for assistance.

Girls Empowered by Mavericks (GEM) seeks speakers

UT Southwestern is proud to be the Official Team Doctors of the Dallas Mavericks and presenting sponsor of the Girls Empowered by Mavericks (GEM) program. GEM aims to engage, inspire, and empower girls (9-14) through continued development and success. Participants learn to value their whole self, discover and develop their inherent strengths, and receive the support they need to navigate challenges. UTSW provides speakers on a variety of health topics for their school visits and hoop camps. Individuals interested in being added to the GEM roster of speakers should fill out the form below. 

Reading order reviews are manual checks

Accessibility checkers often flag the reading order for a manual check. In the menu option “Review” in Microsoft Word, select the “Read Aloud” option and press the play icon in the box that appears to learn how the screen reader interprets your text. Note that wherever an image anchor is placed is where its alt text will be announced. In PowerPoint, reading order will be flagged as an item to investigate from the accessibility checker. In the resulting screen, the checker will show you the order of the slide elements for you to make sure they follow your intended flow to rearrange items as needed to retain the intended meaning.

NEW! Ashlyn Bimmerle, LMSW, has joined the Psychiatry Department as a Clinical Social Work Fellow. She is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Master of Social Work and a clinical concentration. She completed her undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University-Commerce, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in counseling.

Dr. Jeffrey Bogard, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry. Dr. Bogard earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma and subsequently completed psychiatric residency at the University of Kansas in Wichita. He then completed a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at UT Southwestern, and will now be serving as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist at Parkland Health.

Dr. Charles Ho, M.D., earned his medical degree from UT Southwestern and completed General Psychiatry residency and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at UT Southwestern. Dr. Ho joins the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry division as a faculty psychiatrist in the Behavioral Health Integration and Guidance (BHIG) initiative, Children’s Health Outpatient Clinic, and Community Psychiatry Workforce Expansion (CPWE) program.

Madison Cooper recently joined the Department of Psychiatry as a Clinical Research Assistant II in the Jha Lab. She graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, and brings experience working with children and families through her previous lab work at SMU's Kids in Development Lab.

Jack DeSalvo recently joined the Psychiatry Department as a Clinical Research Coordinator, coordinating study operations, managing protocols, and supporting clinical data collection across research initiatives. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience with a minor in chemistry. Prior to joining UT Southwestern, he worked in respiratory neurobiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where his research focused on fentanyl-induced respiratory depression using translational physiological models. 

Emily Manasian recently joined the Cullum Lab as a Clinical Research Assistant. She earned her master's in clinical psychology from Eastern Michigan University. Her previous research experience includes collecting neuropsychological data from toddlers and using EEG to better understand phonological processes in younger and older adults.

NEW! Dr. Hamed Ekhtiari, M.D., was featured in an article titled "Non-Invasive Low-Power Electrical Stimulation Is Shown in Trial to Modulate Brain Circuitry Involved in Regulating Drug Craving in Opioid Addiction" on the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation website. Read the article here.

NEW! Dr. Manish Jha, M.D., was quoted in an article in Nature, titled "The baffling science of SSRIs: how do they really work?" Read the article at this link.

NEW! Dr. C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., ABPP, was quoted in an article in Prevention titled, "Taking Screenshots Might Worsen Your Memory, Study Suggests." Read more here.

Wayne Young, M.B.A., M.Ed., CEO of the Texas Behavioral Health Center (TBHC), recently participated in a Q&A with Center Times Plus. Read about his history, his personal and professional philosophies, and more in the article. Read it here.

Dr. Sidarth Wakhlu, M.D., was interviewed for a Dallas Morning News article titled, "Why gambling addictions are becoming a problem among younger adults." Read the article at this link (may include paywall).

Dr. Salahuddin Kazi, M.D., Co-Program Director of the Combined Medicine/Psychiatry Residency reflects on a remarkable journey that began in Karachi, Pakistan, and led to a career dedicated to medicine, education, and service in the latest Unscripted video by UT Southwestern. Watch the video here.

Dr. Kenneth Dekleva, M.D., contributed to the new exhibition, "Camouflage: Designed to Deceive," at the The International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. He was interviewed for the exhibition last year. Dr. Dekleva is a former U.S. State Department clinical psychiatrist with more than 70 overseas assignments including stints in Moscow, Mexico City, New Delhi, and Vienna. The exhibition notes that Dr. Dekleva "counseled intelligence officers and other U.S. agency workers on how to live under constant surveillance by foreign governments."

Dr. James Norcross, M.D., cut the ribbon for the opening of the new Children’s Plano Autism/Outpatient Clinic on July 30. 

Dr. Shawn McClintock, Ph.D., has been accepted to the Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT). Comprising leaders from UT Southwestern's four schools, the academy provides a focus for the exchange of ideas and a platform for enhanced interactions among basic, clinical, and social scientists. Membership in SWAT comes with the title "Distinguished Teaching Professor." 

Dr. Adrianna Martin, Ph.D., has been selected as a recipient for the UT Southwestern and Parkland Health Equity Scholars program for the 2026-2028 cohort, focusing on integrating behavioral health in adult sickle cell care. Dr. Martin joined the faculty in 2026 to help develop psychological services in the Sickle Cell Center. She is a graduate of the UTSW Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program and returned to UTSW after completing a fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Adam Brantley, M.D., PGY3, has been chosen to receive one of the two 2026-2027 Psychiatry Resident In-Training Examination (PRITE) Fellowships at the American College of Psychiatrists.

NEW! Dr. Adam Brenner, M.D., and a large group of UT Southwestern Psychiatry Department chief residents attended the Texas Psychiatry Chief Residents Retreat on Aug. 28 and contributed to the retreat discussions. Pictured above from left to right are Dr. Alaa Hajeissa, M.D., CAP chief resident, Dr. Seena Ounsinegad, M.D., General Psychiatry chief resident, Dr. Brenner, Dr. Gameli Anthonio, M.D., General Psychiatry chief resident, Dr. William Burton, M.D., General Psychiatry chief resident, Dr. Hannah Gomez, M.D., CAP chief resident, Dr. Sarah Elmer, M.D., General Psychiatry chief resident, Dr. Kayla Murphy, M.D., Internal Medicine/Psychiatry chief resident, Dr. Layne Jordan, M.D., Medicine/Psychiatry chief resident, and Dr. Enrique Chiu-Han, M.D., Neurology/Psychiatry chief resident. Dr. Brenner also presented a talk titled “Walking The Path: Taking Charge of Your Mission and Your Time."

Faculty and Clinical Psychology doctoral students presented at the recent at the American Psychology Association (APA) convention. Dr. Kipp Pietrantonio, Ph.D., and Clinical Psychology doctoral student Maya Hubbard presented the poster, "Supporting Student Parents and Care Givers: Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions. Dr. Pietrantonio also presented a symposium titled, "Rethinking Inequality: Averaging Psychological Science to Advance Economic Justice." Clinical Psychology graduate student Davon Breedlove presented two posters and offered speaker introduction for two sessions at the convention. His two posters were titled, "Parenting Stress as a Developmental Mechanism in Functional Neurological Disorder" and "Comparative Autism Spectrum Disorder Profiles in Girls with Turner Syndrome and 7p22.3 Microdeletion."

NEW! O'Donnell Brain Institute WIPS series begins

Join the next O’Donnell Brain Institute WIPS Seminar on Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 5:30-7 p.m., at the A.W. Harris Faculty-Alumni Center. The WIPS Program is a forum for OBI faculty across the full spectrum of laboratory and clinical research to present an overview of their research and focus on key questions, overarching goals, and future directions. The format is meant to be highly interactive with the shared aim of advancing our work together as an intellectual community.

The speakers for Sept. 23 are Dr. Jay Lusk, M.D., M.B.A., Assistant Professor of Neurology, Internal Medicine, and Public Health, speaking on “Data Science to Advance Clinical Research in Dementia," and Dr. Sam McBrayer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Children’s Research Institute and Pediatrics, speaking on “Metabolite Signaling in Neurodevelopment and Gliomagenesis." Light food and drinks will be served.

Psychiatry Grand Rounds kick off Sept. 9 with first in-person event the next week

Psychiatry Grand Rounds begin on Wednesday, Sept. 9 from Noon-1 p.m. with Dr. Rakesh Karmacharya, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor at Harvard University presenting "Investigating psychiatric disease biology using patient-derived stem cells." This is the first weekly Psychiatry Grand Rounds of the year. Log into Zoom through this link.

This year's first in-person speaker is Dr. Patrick Triplett, M.D., of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Triplett will speak on "The Benefits and Evolution of Proactive Psychiatric Consultation." The presentation will be Noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The presentation will be held in NG3.112 with a reception and food in NG3.108. In-person Psychiatry Grand Rounds provide opportunities to learn from visiting physicians and educators, and attendance reflects well on the Psychiatry Department. Attendance also offers you the opportunity to interact directly with the visiting speaker.

Leadership series continues in September

The next session in the Psychiatry Department Leadership Series will be held from Noon-1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14. This month's topic is "Leadership and Well-Being," and will be presented by Dr. Olufunke Awosogba, Ph.D. Watch for an Outlook calendar invitation for the session.

Recordings of past sessions are available on the Psychiatry Department SharePoint site, along with a listing of upcoming topics. A final session for this series is planned from Noon-1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12.

Registration opens for New Faculty Research Forum

Registration is now open for the 2026 UT Southwestern New Faculty Research Forum, the signature research event highlighting the innovative work of UTSW's newest faculty members. The forum will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12. Join the event for a day of discovery, collaboration, and engagement with colleagues from across the UT Southwestern community.

The forum provides an opportunity to:

• Learn about cutting-edge research from newly recruited faculty
• Explore opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration
• Connect with colleagues from across campus.

Ethics Grand Rounds starts Sept. 8

The first Ethics Grand Rounds lecture for the 2026-2027 series will be presented on Tuesday, Sept. 8, from Noon-1 p.m. The speaker will be Dr. Emily E. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., Professor of Bioethics in the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. She will present "Ethical Considerations for Conducting Health Research During Armed Conflict." Additional information about this lecture may be found on the university events calendar.

The full 2026-2027 Ethics Grand Rounds schedule is available here. For additional information, contact Ruth Vinciguerra.

TARCC Symposium is now accepting abstracts

Abstract submissions are now being accepted for the 2027 Texas Alzheimer's Research and Care Consortium (TARCC) Scientific Symposium. Applications are due by midnight on Oct. 19. Submissions will be subject to review and will be chosen based upon scientific merit and relevance to the TARCC mission. The TARCC Symposium will take place on Jan. 14, 2027. Click here for more information on the TARCC Symposium.