A year ago in this newsletter, we reported on the groundbreaking at the Harry Hines site for the new Texas Behavioral Health Center at UT Southwestern. Now we have beautiful renderings of the inside and outside of this hospital (such as shown below). More than those drawings, we can now see in real time the floors of the new hospital in its adult and its child sections. Recently, the building progressed to having walls go up, providing even more structure to the promise of a building. Fortunately, the hospital is going up fast; surely, Texans living with serious mental illness in the metroplex need its services. It is a promise being kept from UT Southwestern to its community and school. We are thrilled to watch the construction and talk about the goals for this special hospital and its services.

The Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN) is a state-funded program that is part of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC), comprising a network of child psychiatry access centers that provide child and adolescent behavioral health consultation services and training opportunities for pediatricians and primary care providers. Mili Khanderia, M.D., serves as the program's medical director, along with Brittany Mumford as the team lead. In bringing UT Southwestern and Children's Health together as partners, CPAN takes a peer-learning approach in providing care and aims to eliminate the barrier for behavioral health services due to the shortage of child psychiatrists. To learn more about CPAN and the benefits of enrolling, visit the website. Pictured from left to right: Brittany Mumford, LPC, Michael Lee, M.D., Ameena Khan, M.D., and Mili Khanderia, M.D.

As of December 1, all designated individuals who have contact with minors at on- or off-campus events will be required to complete both the state-mandated training and the campus security training hosted on Taleo learn. If another state-mandated approved training has been completed, you must send a certification of completion to [email protected]. The combined training for both sections is 1.5 to 2 hours long, and it is required biannually.

Takashi Kitamura, Ph.D., was elected as an associate member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology at the 62nd Annual Meeting,

December 3-6, 2023, in Tampa, Florida.

Adriane dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., pictured left, and Lia Thomas, M.D., pictured right, have been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) program offered by UT Southwestern's Faculty Development office in partnership with University of Texas.

As Sarah Baker, M.D., begins serving the institution as Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Chad Lane, M.D. (pictured above left), has stepped up as our new Clerkship Director. In his relatively short time in our department, Dr. Lane has made an enormous impact in education; his creativity and enthusiasm for teaching are infectious. Ashley Woolbert, M.D. (pictured above right), will replace Dr. Lane as Associate Psychiatry Clerkship Director. Dr. Woolbert completed residency at Baylor College of Medicine before arriving to UTSW as a fellow in geriatric psychiatry. Following fellowship, she joined the faculty and has been tirelessly committed to medical student education. Dr. Woolbert has served as the VA site training director for medical students since 2020 and was the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Medical Student Education Award.

Academic Psychiatry Distinguished Reviewers

The Academic Psychiatry journal named Molly Camp, M.D. (pictured left), and Lia Thomas, M.D. (pictured right), Distinguished Reviewers for 2023 in a special article of the December 2023 issue. View the article.

The journal also acknowledged in the article the following psychiatry department members for their work as peer reviewers for the journal over the past year: Sarah Baker, Amy Brenner, Sabrina Browne, Alexander Cole, Karen Duong, Aleksandra Foxwell, Joseph Guillory, Manish Jha, Abhisek Khandai, Darlene King, Chadrick Lane, Michael Laney, Chengxi (Vincent) Li, Carrie McAdams, Diana Robinson, Kathlene Trello-Rishel.

Matthew Hutnyan, a Clinical Psychology Graduate Student, has been selected to serve on the American Psychological Association for Graduate Students Science Committee.

A gift was made to UT Southwestern in support of psychiatry research at UT Southwestern in honor of the excellent care provided by Eric Shellhorn, M.S.N., APRN, PMH-NP (bc), who works in our Empire Central Psychiatry clinic.

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Post-Graduate Clinical Social Work Fellowship. This 2-year program will be led by Melanie Chung-Sherman, DSW, LCSW-S as Director, and it will serve to prepare holders of MSW degrees to attain their License in Clinical Social Work in Texas. Graduates of the program will be prepared to integrate biopsychosocial and neurodevelopmental frameworks to diagnose and provide psychotherapy for disorders across the lifespan.

Addiction Psychiatry Faculty, Fellowship Alumni, and Trainees connected at the 2023 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry Meeting in San Diego.

Numerous Psychiatry faculty, including Erin Cox, Psy.D., Ellie Hakim, Ph.D., Anitha Joseph, Ph.D., Preston Wiles, M.D., Elizabeth Dodge, M.D., Jessica Moore, M.D., Sarah Baker, M.D., Charlotte Haley, Ph.D., and Enedelia Sauceda, Ph.D., and medical students Brian Torres and Joseph Da led the Bystander Intervention Training for the 2nd year medical students during their Transitions to Clerkship course. The students were enthusiastic about the training as they learned about how to recognize and respond to distress in their peers.

Maya Hubbard, a first-year student in the Clinical Psychology program, presented the posters The Effects of Mental Health Services on Housing Stability in Omaha Public Housing and A Gender Comparison of Substance Use Prevalence in Suicide Risk Screening Utilizing the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale at the 57th annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference in Seattle.

Thank you to all who joined us for a night of fun and food at the department holiday party and a special thank you to the psychiatry department band, Led Kraepellin (some in the band have been playing together for over 25 years!). Happy Holidays!

Campus-wide “Ugly Sweater Contest,” complete with swag prizes! Pull on the best of your festive worst, have someone take your photo, and email your ugly holiday sweater photo to [email protected] by December 24 to enter. Winners will be announced on the EAC website and by email in early January.

The Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee is accepting abstracts in basic science, clinical/translational research, and public health/education research for a poster session on March 7, 2024, following the History of Women in Science and Medicine at UT Southwestern Lecture. Submit your abstract by Jan. 1, 2024.

Tuesday, January 9, 2023; 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (online only)

Newton E. Kendig, M.D.

Clinical Professor of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

While there is no fee to attend, participants must register. Register to attend virtually. Upon registration, participants will receive the Zoom event ID and link to join the webinar. For additional information, please see the announcement.

UTSW Health System’s Celebration of Excellence will take place on April 26 -- an opportunity to showcase the exceptional work happening across our hospitals and clinics every day. Find all the details on the newly designed Celebration of Excellence SharePoint site (UTSW login required), including an entire section on the poster submission process, as well as a list of key dates, information on coaching help, and more. Those already familiar with the process can also submit their proposal directly through this digital form. Final poster submissions are due March 4. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

The Southwestern Academy of Teachers Small Grants Program is now accepting applications. If you’re a faculty member or trainee working in collaboration with a UT Southwestern faculty member, you could be eligible for up to $3,500 per project. These grants are intended to fund education research projects related to the teaching priorities of the UT Southwestern schools. In turn, the program promotes educational research conducted by faculty and staff and innovation in the UTSW educational community. The submission deadline is May 1.

UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care are honored to support the Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation by bringing the conversation to light in creating a world without suicide. We enjoyed celebrating a decade of their dedication to our community.