Honors & Awards

Dror Ben-Zeev profiled by the NIH Fogarty International Center

Department News | April 30, 2026

Dror Ben-Zeev, PhD, director of the BRiTE Center, is profiled in the Fogarty International Center’s March/April edition of Global Health Matters about his work in West Africa to improve treatment and reduce symptom severity for people with serious mental illness.

In 2017, Dr. Ben-Zeev saw news coverage of the plight of people with serious mental illness in West Africa. “I'm a pretty unflappable person,” he said, “but seeing the footage of men, women, and children chained and shackled to concrete slabs or to trees — or being intentionally harmed — was jarring.”

Dr. Ben-Zeev read widely about this topic and then traveled to West Africa and the University of Ghana where he met Professor Angela Ofori Atta — who would later become his co-PI — and began to refine his ideas around what a digital health researcher might do to make things better. Read the story here

CBHL named in honor of Frank Chopp

Department News | April 30, 2026

We are proud to announce that on April 28, UW Medicine officially dedicated the newly named Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning. The new name was approved by the UW Board of Regents to honor the visionary leadership and legacy of former state Rep. Frank Chopp, who was a member of the Washington Legislature for 30 years. Chopp was also the longest serving Speaker of the House of Representatives in state history and a primary sponsor of the legislation to provide funding for the construction of the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning.
 
In his leadership role, Chopp recognized the need for greater access to behavioral health services in our state. At the opening of the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning last year, he spoke  about his own sister’s struggle with mental illness and his gratitude for the care and support she received from her family and her UW Medicine caregivers. By creating a new inpatient care and teaching facility with state funding and in partnership with UW Medicine, he looked forward to bringing supportive care and treatment advances to patients and their families for generations to come. Chopp passed away in March 2025 at the age of 71.
 
During the official dedication, new exterior building signage was unveiled along with a plaque including a tribute to Chopp near the ground floor elevators. Department Chair Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA made remarks, as did a number of state and local elected leaders and Chopp’s wife, Nancy Long. She can be seen in the above photo as Dr. Unützer and Ian Goodhew, JD unveil the plaque in Chopp’s honor.
 
In honor of Rep. Chopp, our department plans to establish a Chopp Scholars Program in Behavioral Health Policy that will help train clinicians working in behavioral health in Health Policy. Chopp Scholars will have opportunities to meet and work with UW Medicine government relations team and/or state legislators, complete an independent self-directed behavioral health policy project, participate in networking  dinners and events with health policy experts, and become part of a state-wide network of clinicians engaged in behavioral health policy. Please reach out to Andie Uomoto, MPA (uomotoa@uw.edu) or David Chow (chowd@uw.edu) if you would like to learn more about this program.

Kat Bruzios accepted to the CHIPS Research Training Institute

Department News | April 30, 2026

Kathryn Bruzios, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar with the SMART Center, has been accepted to the 2026 CHIPS (Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services) Research Training Institute. CHIPS is a one-year interdisciplinary training institute for early career researchers who are preparing for an NIMH grant that’s focused on child mental health interventions or service delivery. She applied because she is preparing her K award, which will apply a leadership adaptation of BASIS (Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools) to the implementation of a depression prevention program. Dr. Bruzios is hoping to learn how to better blend mental health and implementation science as priorities in the K award as well as expand her network and learn from others who are in the process of or have been awarded a K.

Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education

Department News | March 30, 2026

The American College of Psychiatrists recently held its annual conference in Florida where Jennifer Piel, MD, JD received the 2026 Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education. The award recognizes her medical-legal and legislative advocacy training for psychiatric learners. 
 
Dr. Piel’s program, “Legislative Advocacy in Psychiatry Education,” is a pioneering curriculum that equips psychiatry residents with the knowledge and skills needed to engage effectively in mental health policy and legislative advocacy. Designed to address a longstanding gap in psychiatry training, the program combines structured weekly didactics on the legal system, statutory interpretation, and ethics with mentored, individualized advocacy projects that allow residents to apply what they learn in real-world contexts.

Elizabeth McCauley’s career profiled in journal’s Past Presidents Series

Department News | February 25, 2026

Elizabeth McCauley, PhD has long been known as an influential figure in clinical child and adolescent psychology, with a career defined by the integration of science, clinical innovation, public service, and mentorship. In a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Dr. McCauley’s career is profiled as part of a special series entitled “Leaders in the History of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology: Past Presidents Series.”
 
Dr. McCauley’s election to president of the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology in 2007 came at a critical time when increasing focus was placed on the development and implementation of evidence-based practices and integration of research into clinical practice. Dr. McCauley’s research and advocacy in these areas, as well as her broader research career, have had a transformative impact on youth access to care, adolescent depression treatment, and the training of the next generation of clinician-scientists.
 
The article provides a professional biography of Dr. McCauley, including her education and early career, contributions to the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology, and accomplishments during her tenure as president of SCCAP.

Read the profile at Taylor & Francis Online

Highly cited researchers and scholars 2025

Department News | December 30, 2025

We’re proud to announce that two of our faculty have been named on the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list from Clarivate. Congratulations to Aaron Lyon, PhD and Cara Lewis, PhD, HSPP (now with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute).

The annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. See the UW Medicine Newsroom story for a list that includes 45 scientists whose work was conducted at the UW School of Medicine or Fred Hutch Cancer Center.

A number of other department faculty have been recognized as Highly Ranked Scholars – Lifetime by ScholarGPS, an AI-driven scholarly analytics platform that ranks over 30 million researchers, 58,000 institutions, and countries based on publication, citation, and h-index metrics. It highlights the to 0.05% of scholars as "Highly Ranked Scholars" and the top 0.5% as "Top Scholars" in their respective fields.

Congratulations to all of our department faculty for being recognized for their exceptional productivity and impact, and the quality of their scholarly work!

Aaron Lyon receives School Mental Health Research Award

Department News | December 30, 2025

The National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) and the School Mental Health Research Summit Planning Committee have selected Aaron Lyon, PhD as the recipient of the 2025 School Mental Health Research Award! 

This award was started in 2018 to recognize leaders in school mental health whose scholarly work has made a significant contribution to advancing research and practice in school mental health.

Dr. Lyon was presented with the award at the 2025 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health in Orlando, FL. He was nominated and selected as the winner by the School Mental Health Research Summit planning committee along with the award’s previous winners and planning committee members. Congratulations, Dr. Lyon!

Community-Based Integrated Care Fellowship team receives Innovations in Education Award

Department News | December 30, 2025

We’re proud to announce that our Community-Based Integrated Care Fellowship team received the Stoudemire Innovations in Education Award at the year’s Academy of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP) meeting in San Antonio, TX. Congratulations to Amy Bauer, MD, MS; Jennifer Erickson, DO; Mark Newman, MD; Katherine Palm-Cruz, MD; and Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD! 
 
The Stoudemire Innovations in Education Award is given to an individual or individuals who developed a creative educational program in the area of consultation-liaison psychiatry that is outstanding by virtue of its innovation and impact. This award is named for Alan Stoudemire, MD (1951-2000), a highly respected clinician and educator who was a professor of psychiatry at Emory University.