Department news | June 30, 2018

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. In this inaugural year, we had two recipients: Pam Collins and Brenna Boyd.

Pam started working in the department as a part-time secretary for Wayne Katon, MD, and delved into fiscal management when she was hired to work at the AIMS Center. Pam learned on the job by taking ad hoc POD classes, completing a Fiscal Management Certificate and attending National Council of University Administrators trainings and conferences. She continually increased her knowledge and effectiveness and eventually was promoted to Division Administrator for Population Health a few years ago. She has become an extremely valuable resource for other Division and Center administrators who seek her out for her knowledge as well as her ability to remain calm and respond with humor in the most stressful situations. Pam has had a profound, positive effect throughout the department and her 16 year tenure has deeply supported our success.

Brenna joined the department in March, 2019 as a Research Study Coordinator for the Bernier Lab and has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the lab, the department, and the scientific community ever since. Her commute regularly involves a 9+ mile run from Columbia City, which is unparalleled to the effort she places in her work. The Bernier Lab sees complicated families of children with special needs, and Brenna does a tremendous amount of work to make each visit runs seamlessly to ensure comfort and ease for the families, relating to children and parents alike with warmth, respect and consideration. Her primary project is to coordinate a large multi-site study with Yale University, Boston Children’s, UCLA, and Duke University including overseeing the collection and entry of thousands of behavioral and experimental data points per participant. Brenna has risen to every occasion with determination and unfathomable kindness, and our department is better place because she is part of it.

The Exceptional Staff Award is funded by the  Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Staff Development Fund that supports the development and appreciation of staff working for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Department news | May 31, 2018

Pat Areán, PhD, was one of 29 UW Latina and Latino faculty recognized by the Latino Center for Health, in conjunction with several other units on campus, for her scholarly achievements and contributions during the 2017-2018 academic year. The ceremony took place earlier this month with Provost Baldasty as keynote speaker. Faculty were recognized for meeting at least one of the following categories: promotion to associate professor or professor, publication of an article in a high impact journal, publication of a book, securing a major grant or retiring during or near the end of the academic year. Dr. Areán’s achievements are numerous, including securing the NIMH-funded P50 grant for the ALACRITY Center.

Department news | May 31, 2018

Congratulations to Matt Iles-Shih, MD, MPH, who received the Spring 2018 UW Medicine CARES Award in the provider category. The award signifies that Dr. Iles-Shih 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.

Seattle Magazine | April 1, 2018

We’re proud to report that once again Seattle Magazine’s annual Top Doctors report features a number of our faculty members. Congratulations to Jesse Fann, MD, Lina Fine, MD, Ray Hsiao, MD, Hower Kwon, MD, Kenneth Melman, MD, Richard Ries, MD, Carol Rockhill, MD, PhD, Gregory Simon, MD, Mark Snowden, MD, and Christine Yuodelis-Flores, MD.

Department news | March 31, 2018

Congratulations to the recipients of the new Staff Scholarship Award! The scholarship was created by donations from the department administrative team, matched by department funds, to support professional development of classified or professional staff who work in our department. For this first round, fifty percent of the proposals were funded. Moving forward, we will fund one team and one individual proposal twice a year. Thank you to all of the applicants for making this an exceptional first round of funding, to the Selection Committee (Dana Gold, Jason Gordon, Alison Laing, Michele Norman, Jason Ramirez, Hannah Sessions, Becky Sladek) for reviewing the proposals, and to the initial donors who made this program possible. The Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Staff Development Fund  will continue to accept donations if you are interested in contributing to this effort. Awardees include:

Nicole Fossos-Wong, Devon Abdallah, and Charles Fleming, Research Scientists, CSHRB
The CSHRB Professional Research Staff will further their skills in longitudinal data analysis by attending the UW Biostatics 5th Annual Summer Institute in Statistics for Clinical Research. This will enable the team to perform more complex analyses for professional presentations and manuscripts and provide valuable contributions to the Center’s research projects.

Jodie Buntain-Ricklefs, Jessica Coifman and Chayna Davis, Management Team, SMART Center
This newly formed management team will attend two Supervision/Leadership UW POD classes to provide a positive, consistent supervisory and management culture, build a strong research team, support the needs of the many projects currently underway, and continue to improve the climate of the SMART Center.

Brianna Cairney, Research Study Coordinator, Bernier Lab (CHDD)
Brianna will attend the Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, which this year is focused on the importance of multicultural considerations and use of a family systems perspective. This will help accurately assess and diagnose study participants who represent multicultural and minority groups, improve the quality of science, and extend the department’s core value of diversity to include research participants.

Heather Cook, Research Assistant, SMART Center
Heather will continue her training in using research-driven insights to improve how teachers interact with children every day to cultivate supportive, structured, and engaging classroom experiences that will result in better outcomes for students. As a certified CLASS trainer, she will be able to train fellow research assistants in reliable observational methods so they can conduct research in the field and further contribute to serving children in schools.

Department news | March 31, 2018

As part of spending two weeks at the newly formed addictions center at London South Bank University, Kristen Lindgren, PhD, was appointed a Visiting Professor in their Psychology Department. The three-year appointment is with the School of Applied Sciences which includes the Psychology Department, The National Bakery School (not a typo), and Human Sciences (Bioscience, Forensic Science and Sports Science).

Dr. Lindgren will be working specifically with the Centre for Addictive Behaviours Research. Their team, led by Professor Ian Albery, has a strong interest in social identities and addictive behaviors, and Dr. Lindgren is in the early stages of developing research partnerships aimed at evaluating identities related to transitions in and out of problematic drinking and to recovery from addiction.

“I had a fantastic time,” said Lindgren. “In addition to my amazing new colleagues and the wonderful research collaborations that we’re developing, I've learned important things about life in the UK, including the difference between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie, Cornish and Devon Cream tea, and that the Queen owns all of the UK's swans and counts them each year.”

Department news | March 31, 2018

Matt Iles-Shih, MD, MPH, received a nomination in the provider category for the UW Medicine CARES Award. 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. Nominations are submitted by UW providers, staff, and employees every spring and fall for those who truly show service excellence.

Dr. Iles-Shih will be honored at Harborview’s Spring CARES Award Nominee Ceremony on Tuesday, April 19 from 1:30-2:30 PM in the Research & Training Auditorium. The event is open to the public, and you can support Dr. Iles-Shih by attending. Refreshments will be available immediately following the ceremony in the R&T Lobby.

Department news | February 28, 2018

Elaine Peskind, MD, has received the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service's highest honor—the Paul B. Magnuson Award. The award is presented annually to a VA RR&D investigator who exemplifies the entrepreneurship, humanitarianism, and dedication to veterans displayed by Dr. Magnuson during his career.

Dr. Peskind was recognized for her extensive work on brain and behavioral disorders. Throughout her 35-year career, she has studied a wide range of conditions that affect the brain including Alzheimer's disease, PTSD related to combat injuries, and mild traumatic brain injury. She is a prolific investigator, having published more than 340 studies. Since 1998, her work has been continuously funded by either the VA or the National Institutes of Health.

“This is truly an incredible honor, a career milestone that precious few others can say they have achieved,” said David Ruskin, MD, Associate Chief of Staff of Mental Health at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. “Dr. Peskind joins a very select group of investigators, as she is only the 18th person to have received this coveted award since its inception in 1998.”

Dr. Peskind has been co-director of the VA Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Washington since 1997. She holds the Friends of Alzheimer's Research Endowed Professorship and was the associate director of the University's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center from 1998–2017.

Read the full article about Dr. Peskind on the Veterans Affairs website.

Department news | February 28, 2018

Courtesy faculty member Brett Parmenter, PhD, was elected to the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN). AACN promotes the profession of clinical neuropsychology through advocacy of educational and public policy initiatives. This is a five-year position and provides opportunities to contribute leadership at a national level on behalf of this specialty. Dr. Parmenter is a staff neuropsychologist at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, American Lake Division.

Department news | December 31, 2017

Congratulations to Jonathan Buchholz, MD, who has been selected as the 2017 recipient of our department’s Outstanding Junior Clinician Teacher Faculty Award! This award honors an exceptional clinician teacher faculty member at the Assistant or Acting Assistant Professor level. Dr. Buchholz completed his undergraduate degree in English, and his MD, psychiatry residency, and addiction psychiatry fellowship at UW. He teaches medical students and residents in his role as an inpatient attending at the Seattle VA, supervises addiction psychiatry fellows, heads up our substance use disorders classroom teaching for medical students and residents, co-teaches the physician development series for all four years of psychiatry residents, and serves as a highly respected advisor, mentor, and role model. He is beloved by trainees and faculty alike. Dr. Buchholz will receive the award at our department’s graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 23, 2018.