May 18, 2023, was graduation for the UT Southwestern Graduate School, and June 8, 2023, for the UT Southwestern Medical School Department of Psychiatry--two wonderful nights. While graduations are always remarkable, this year was altogether special because we had in-person celebrations, after too many years of isolation with COVID. The Department of Psychiatry put forward many successful graduates at both celebrations. We can all feel proud of the many graduate students, clinical psychology graduates, psychiatry residency graduates, and fellows who finished our programs in 2023. These graduates are people who will carry forth the clinical and research ideals of this department many years into the future, many of whom will become teachers themselves. Congratulations to all of you! And, thanks to our teachers!

The Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS) has the largest mental health service in the VA system, with over 80 full-time psychiatry and 100 full-time psychologist positions embedded in 15 different teams at multiple sites across North Texas, primarily in Dallas and Fort Worth. From October 2021 through September 2022, for example, the mental health service saw 42,518 unique patients, with 359,696 total patient encounters. The VANTHCS offers medical training to UTSW learners as well. Medical student clerks get exposure to both inpatient and outpatient teams, and first- and second-year residents rotate among the inpatient, silver, and gold teams as core requirements of the general residency program, serving as on-call physicians and night float, where they are supervised by the consultation-liaison (CL) psychiatry attendings. Third- and fourth-year residents can engage in a variety of electives and obtain supervision for evidence-based psychotherapy at the VA. In addition, CL, geriatric, and addiction fellows spend 25%-50% of their time on VA services. Below are the six UTSW faculty leaders.

As a part of UT Southwestern's Employee Recognition Program, we congratulate the following staff members on reaching milestone years. We appreciate your hard work!

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other agencies recently sent communications regarding mandatory education related to opioid and other substance use disorders. We have collected these educational resources on the department SharePoint site for reference. Visit the site for more information. (UTSW log in required).

William Dauer, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Director of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, is chairing the committee conducting a national search to identify Dr. Tamminga’s successor as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. Other Search Committee members:

UT Southwestern Psychiatry was well represented at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. Pictured below: Mustafa Husain, M.D. (middle), with third-year medical students Madeline Tovar (left) and Ambriale Davis, M.P.H. (right).

Diana Robinson, M.D., and Dr. Khandai presented with APA colleagues the workshop "Innovative vs Inappropriate: Examining a Psychiatrist’s Role to Support Mental Health in a Politically Divided Society!"

Second-year resident Swetha Ramamurthy, M.D. (pictured), presented with medical student Namita Saraf and Dr. Khandai the poster "Challenges in Recognizing and Treating Prolonged Zolpidem Withdrawal: A Case Report."

By consensus of all Child Fellows, Medha Iyer, M.D., Ph.D., was chosen out of all Child and Adolescent Psychiatry faculty members who teach in the clinic, on rotations, or in didactics to receive the David A. Waller Outstanding Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Teacher of the Year 2022-2023.

The Erin Bain Jones Scholarship is awarded to individuals that demonstrate high scholastic achievement and goals.

Randi Cheatham-Johnson, Ph.D. (pictured on the left with 2023 APA President Dr. Thema Bryant), was selected as a fellow for the 2023 Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) Leadership Education to Advance Diversity (LEAD) Institute, held virtually on June 3. LEAD provides graduate students and early career professionals from diverse groups the opportunity to gain leadership and professional skills and increase their professional network. Dr. Cheatham-Johnson also participated in the second Racial Equity Think Tank, held by the American Psychological Association June 12-13 in Washington, DC. Designed to disrupt siloed ways of working and inspire collective action, this event brought together thought leaders across different industries and disciplines to engage in discussions intended to foster meaningful systemic and sustainable advances toward racial equity.

Tammy Young, M.B.A., Administrative Coordinator for the Education Division, graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Master's Degree in Business Administration. While in graduate school, she earned a 3.97 grade point average and was named to the President's List. She is also a member of the Delta Mu Delta International Business Honor Society and the Golden Key International Honor Society.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023; 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (online)

Join the Clinical Research Catalyst June Didactic Session by Suzanne Farmer, Ph.D., Assistant VP of Organizational Development and Training. Register to attend.

For additional information, click here.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023; 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. (online)

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, click here.

The Psycho-Oncology team at Simmons Cancer Center is developing a Psycho-Oncology Special Interest Group within Psychiatry. All who are already involved or interested (at all!) in clinical work, research, and/or training within oncology in any way or within any site or location are invited to join. Please email Laura Howe-Martin to express interest (this is not a commitment). The plan is to have a general brainstorming/roundtable as a group sometime soon and then routine meetings thereafter to build our collective expertise and strengths in the area of Psycho-oncology.

The CDRC is excited to welcome 12 summer research trainees to join the team for 8 weeks. The group, which includes students from high school through medical school, will work with mentors on a wide range of tasks and participate in various experiences, including lectures from faculty and hands-on involvement in different aspects of clinical and translational research.

The trainees pictured include (back row from left) Harrison Kimatian, Namita Seelam, Pranali Vora, Lokitha Ananth, Kate Gonzalez, and (front row from left) Jordan Tharakan, Amrita Ghose, Jacquelyn Garza, Christiane Mandes, and Sonia Patel. Not pictured: Maya Kalaria, Nupur Kanani.