Department News | September 3, 2024
The Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions is pleased to announce two new endowed professors. Randall Espinoza, MD, MPH, has been named the inaugural holder of the Garvey Family Endowed Professorship for Technology and Brain Health and is serving as the Medical Director of the Garvey Institute Center for Neuromodulation located in the new Center for Behavioral Health and Learning on the UW Medical Center- Northwest campus. The neuromodulation center currently offers electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with plans to offer other novel therapeutics in the near future.
"What drew me to this role is that there are practically no programs in the country that can provide, in one location, the scope of neuromodulation therapies and other emerging treatments as part of an integrated Interventional Psychiatry Program with a core expert faculty,” says Dr. Espinoza. “UW Psychiatry is poised to become a major global leader in this exciting and emerging field, and can redefine best behavioral health practices for the foreseeable future.”
Dr. Espinoza has significant experience with a range of neuromodulation therapies. Before coming to the UW, he was the Muriel Harris Chair of Geriatric Psychiatry and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at UCLA. He recently became Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of ECT and Related Therapies, the official publication of the International Society of ECT and Neurostimulation. Dr. Espinoza’s research projects have included investigating various neuromodulation and interventional therapies and developing novel educational programs and curricula.
We are also pleased to announce that Rebecca Hendrickson, MD, PhD, has been named the inaugural holder of the Denise L. Tabbutt Endowed Professorship for Trauma and Brain Health. Dr. Hendrickson cares for patients in the VA Puget Sound's outpatient posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinic. As a clinician scientist, her research works to understand broadly the ways traumatic stress interferes with people’s lives and to prioritize the areas of greatest clinical need. She looks for ways to prevent persistent symptoms after trauma, to match patients more quickly to the treatment that will be most effective, and to develop new treatment options for those for whom current options are simply not effective.
"This professorship is deeply meaningful to me both personally and professionally," says Dr. Hendrickson. "The reason I study trauma is because I know of nothing more important that I could ever hope to do to help the people in our community and world thrive. Foundational to all of my efforts is a core belief that the research work that I and my team do represents at all times a partnership that integrates our scientific training with the lived experiences of those who have been touched by the long-term effects of trauma. The work is never, and should never be, a project we embark on alone."
Dr. Hendrickson's research group explores the underlying biological mechanisms related to the development and maintenance of PTSD and related conditions, including mild traumatic brain injury and how different types of stress and trauma can interact. Through the design and implementation of translational clinical studies, they also apply this work directly to the pursuit of new treatment options for people who have experienced a traumatic stress.
