Department news | December 30, 2019

The Psychology Internship Program is pleased to announce that Will Pelham, PhD, of the General Child Track has been selected as the winner of this year's Joseph Becker Research Award for his project titled, “How Well and How Early Can We Screen for Early Onset Substance Use?”

The Joseph Becker Research Award was established in recognition of the significant contributions of Joseph Becker, PhD, a former Training Director of the Psychology Internship Program, to the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and to the Psychology Internship Program. The award honors Dr. Becker's vision of a scientist-practitioner internship and his long-term presence as a model of the principles this embodies. The award further acknowledges his nationally recognized stature as a clinician-researcher, and as a strong, compassionate teacher and leader. In keeping with Dr. Becker's vision, the purpose of this award is to stimulate quality research by rewarding an intern for independence, creativity and intellectual depth in a research effort of the internship year.

Dr. Pelham is mentored by Erin Gonzalez, PhD. He will receive a plaque at the graduation ceremony in June, as well as an award in support of his research this year

Department news | December 30, 2019

Richard Veith, MD, was awarded a Certificate of Merit for contributions to Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy (CTUMP) in Vietnam during their 40th anniversary celebration. While there, Dr. Veith provided lectures for staff and medical students, interviewed patients at the Can Tho Psychiatry Hospital and visited nearby psychiatric facilities in the Mekong Delta region to teach and discuss mental health workforce and program development.

Dr. Veith has worked with CTUMP since 2013 to develop an educational and research exchange between the two institutions including ongoing, twice-yearly visits to share in educational, clinical, and research activities at CTUMP. Participants from the UW faculty have included psychiatrists, child psychiatrists, psychologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, obstetrics/gynecologists, internal medicine and family medicine specialists, neurosurgeons, nurses, medical educators, social workers, public health researchers, dentists, and nutritionists. CTUMP faculty members from several disciplines have also visited UW in educational exchanges. In April, 2019, the Memorandum of Understanding between CTUMP and UW was renewed for an additional five years.

Department news | November 30, 2019

Congratulations to Sarah walker, PhD, who received the 2019 Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Award for The Juvenile Justice Transformation Project . The Juvenile Justice Transformation Project works to change the Juvenile court system and is a program that embodies the principles of Community-Campus Partnership for Health (CCPH) by partnering with numerous community organizations to promote social justice for the youth and families affected by the juvenile court system of Pierce County. "The RWJF-CCPH award brings visibility to translational methods that are relatively marginalized in academia,” said Dr. Walker. “Our department is currently reviewing faculty promotion standards for public impact and this award assists in making the case that pursuing practice partnerships are valuable and valued by influential funders."

Department news | November 30, 2019

Congratulations to Carolyn Brenner, MD, who received the Fall 2019 UW Medicine CARES Award in the provider category. The award signifies that Dr. Brenner is one of UW Medicine’s highest performers, as voted upon by the HMC Recognition Program. The CARES Award was established in 2013 to formally recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and excellences of those in the UW Medicine community who consistently exemplify the UW Medicine Service Culture Guidelines – professional standards that ensure anyone who encounters UW Medicine receives the same great care and service throughout the system

Department news | November 30, 2019

The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Board of Directors and the 2020 APOS Awards Committee selected Jesse Fann, MD, MPH, as the awardee of the APOS Outstanding Education & Training Award. The award is presented to a leader who has enhanced the field of psychosocial oncology through the education and training of new investigators and/or clinicians.

Department news | June 30, 2019

The Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates sustained commitment to the creative, scholarly, professional and personal development of research mentees. The award honors Wayne Katon, MD, a gifted and dedicated mentor who supervised medical students, psychiatry residents, research fellows and junior faculty across several departments, many of whom have become principal investigators of their own grant funded research programs. He directed an NIH-funded T-32 Fellowship Program in Primary Care Psychiatry for over 25 years that produced more than 30 successful researchers at the interface of medicine and psychiatry, including many members of our department. The award is funded by the Wayne Katon Memorial Fund for Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Development.

The recipient of this year’s award is Christine Lee, PhD. An excerpt from her nomination packet sums up her commitment to mentoring: “It is remarkable to see how successful Dr. Lee has been in her own field of addictions research while also dedicating large amounts of her time to fostering the growth of her mentees. She spends as much if not more time helping us develop into strong, independent researchers with many opportunities to continue being successful in our chosen fields of study and for that I feel lucky to be working under her supervision.”

Past recipients of the award include Raphe Bernier, PhD, Mary Larimer, PhD, and Kathleen Myers, PhD.

Department news | June 30, 2019

The Gary J. Tucker Career Teaching Award, named in honor of the Chair of our department from 1985 through 1997, recognizes exceptional career achievement in teaching and education and honors Dr. Tucker's significant contributions to our academic programs, his leadership and dedication as a teacher, clinician, and scholar, his love of teaching, and his ability to inspire and encourage trainees.

The award is given to a member of the academic or clinical faculty who has demonstrated, throughout his or her career, outstanding skills as a teacher and dedication to education. This year, the award was given to Andrew Saxon, MD.

Dr. Saxon has shaped the careers of numerous addiction psychiatrists over the course of his career. He developed our Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship which he has directed for almost 25 years and he co-leads the Addiction Psychiatry interest group. Excerpts from his nomination packet say he is ”kind, caring, and warm,” "motivates mentees to do what they love,” and "is the type of clinician, educator, and mentor I aspire to be.”

Past recipients of the award include Jack Carr, PhD, Johan Verhulst, MD, Chris Varley, MD, Joan Romano, PhD, Deb Cowley, MD, Dick Miyoshi, RPh, Marcella Pascualy, MD, and Elizabeth McCauley, PhD.

Department news | June 30, 2019

The Outstanding Mentor Award, Clinician Teacher Pathway honors extraordinary and sustained dedication, commitment, and effectiveness in fostering the professional and personal development of faculty members in our Clinician Teacher pathway. This year the award goes to Anna Ratzliff, MD, PhD. Dr. Ratzliff has displayed a consistent and passionate commitment to mentoring clinician teachers, in both individual and group settings. She has led the UWMC clinician teacher peer mentoring group and over the past few years has mentored over 20 faculty members through a curriculum development project for the Integrated Care Training Program (ICTP). Mentees describe her as “an amazing mentor,” praise her for her “genuine desire to help others succeed coupled with her willingness to provide meaningful opportunities for growth for those that she works with” and state that her mentorship has been very valuable in their career development.

Department news | June 30, 2019

The Exceptional Staff Award is a new award that honors and celebrates the valuable efforts staff members make toward supporting the mission of the department and upholding our core values of collaboration, continuous learning and mentorship, and integrity and accountability. We had six amazing nominees this year: Alison Laing, department research administration; Jessica Leith, Evidence Based Practice Institute; Kim Nguyen, department research administration; Juliann Salisbury, AIMS Center; Gayle Schneider, psychiatry clerkship program; and Emily Taylor, HaRRT Center. Two staff members were chosen for this year's award: Kim Nguyen and Gayle Schneider.

Kim supported our research post award activities for over 16 years until her retirement this month. Excerpts from her  nomination packet describe her as exceptional, effective, outstanding, and open-minded. Her nominator, Michael V. Vitiello, PhD, said, "I can safely say that, in my thirty-plus years as faculty member and active researcher who worked closely with a fair number of very qualified and competent fiscal managers and supervisors, Kim is far and away the best fiscal staff member it has been my privilege to work with."

Gayle serves as the Psychiatry Clerkship Administrator, shepherding all of the UW medical students through their required, six-week Psychiatry Clerkship every year as well as the 4th year UW and visiting students. Adjectives in her nomination packet include exemplary, exceptional, hardworking, caring and dependable. Said one nominee, "Gayle is one of the most dedicated and most intelligent people I have worked with. She always brings her impressive analytical abilities to any team she is on. She is a superb employee and fabulous person. The department has greatly benefited from her excellent service."

Department news | May 31, 2019

Pamela Y. Collins, MD, MPH, was honored at the APA/APAF Minority Fellows and Alumni Reception this month for receiving the 2019 Jeanne Spurlock, MD Minority Fellowship Achievement Award. Dr. Collins is recognized as an outstanding psychiatrist who has taken innovative and supportive efforts to raise awareness of mental illness in under-served minority communities, increasing the need for early recognition, increasing the availability of treatment and how to access it, and addressing the culture barriers to treatment. She has increased access to quality mental health services for under-served minority communities and improved the quality care of underserved minority populations, particularly those in the public health system or with severe mental illness.