Department news | September 30, 2016

John "Jack" Carr, Acting Chair for our department from 1981-1985, has been awarded the 2016 American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Institutional Practice. This highly selective award recognizes outstanding practicioners in psychology. Dr. Carr is especially recognized for his long-standing contributions of psychology within medical centers. He was one of the early proponents and champions of integrating psychology with the practice of medicine, integrating psychology and social science into the medical school curriculum, and serving as an institutional role model for medical school psychologists and psychology faculty members. Dr. Carr, now Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, is one of the few medical school academic psychologists who served as an acting chairman of a department of psychiatry at a research intensive medical school. Dr. Carr will receive his award at the 2016 APA Convention in Denver and will be acknowledged formally in the November 2016 Awards issue of the American Psychologist.

We thank Dr. Carr for paving the way for the integration of the biological and behavioral sciences!

Department news | September 30, 2016

VA Puget Sound was a 2016 Division 18 – VA Section award winner three times over in August, receiving 3 of 7 awards for Psychologists in Public Service at the VA Section meeting in Denver. Mark Reger was awarded Outstanding Researcher, Tracy Simpson received the Outstanding Supervisor or Mentor award, and Samantha Yard was recognized as the 2016 Outstanding Psychology Trainee. A very nice representation for VA/UW faculty!

Department news | June 30, 2016

This year, for the first time, our Department is celebrating faculty mentoring through our new Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Mentor Award. This annual award recognizes a Department faculty member who demonstrates sustained commitment to the creative, scholarly, professional and personal development of mentees.

The award honors Wayne Katon, a gifted and dedicated mentor who supervised dozens of junior faculty across several departments who have become leaders in many aspects of psychiatry and principal investigators of their own grant funded research programs. Wayne directed a federally-funded T-32 Fellowship Program in Primary Care Psychiatry/Health Services Research 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 inaugural recipient of this award is Raphe Bernier, a rising star in our department who is widely considered one of the leading and most promising autism researchers in the world. A terrific nomination packet submitted on his behalf detailed Raphe's remarkable generosity and investment in all members of his lab team and his commitment to developing the next generation of researchers in autism (students, trainees, and junior faculty).

Other faculty members nominated for their outstanding mentoring were Deb Cowley, Mary Larimer, Kathleen Myers, Rick Ries, and Michael Vitiello.

Thanks to Lydia Chwastiak, chair of the selection committee, and to the committee members for all of their work. Thanks also to those department members who submitted nominations on behalf of their mentors. And finally, thank you to all of our faculty who mentor our trainees, junior faculty, and staff!

Department news | June 30, 2016

The American Psychological Association selected Kari Stephens as an innovative early career psychologist, and her work on Data QUEST will be highlighted in an upcoming issue of the Monitor. Congratulations!

Department news | April 30, 2016

Congratulations to Tom Soeprono, a consultation-liaison and inpatient psychiatry attending at UWMC and Harborview, for receiving a competitive small grant award to integrate interactive, innovative learning methods into clinical care. Tom received the award from CLIME (Center for Leadership and Innovation in Medical Education), and will focus his project on medical students doing their core psychiatry clerkship. His project is titled "The Layered Teaching Model: A Novel Psychiatric Curriculum Integrating ‘Just-in-Time’ Teaching into Clinical Experience from a Practical and Adult Learning Theoretical Foundation."

Department news | April 30, 2016

Affiliate Professor Warner Schaie received an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich for his lifetime studies of cognitive development from young adulthood to advanced old age, exemplified by the ongoing Seattle Longitudinal Study conducted since 1956. Currently, the study is focused on examining midlife cognition for early signs of cognitive decline in old age.

Department news | March 31, 2016

Rick Ries, Director of our Addictions Division, has been appointed the Addictions “Champion” by Dean Ramsey to lead the ACO process of developing consistent alcohol/drug approaches starting with developing consistent alcohol use screening practices throughout the UW Medicine Accountable Care Network. He will be working with a team led by David Dugdale, UW Medicine medical director for care management.