Department News | June 23, 2025
At the department annual meeting on June 11, 2025, we honored several members of our faculty and staff who have contributed in various ways to the success of our department. A big congratulations to each of them! And thank you also to the Staff Awards Committee (Semhar Abraha, Juliann Salisbury, Rachel Llarenas, Sara Ochoa, and Joanne Quiray) and the Faculty Awards Committee (Anna Ratzliff, Heidi Combs, Suzanne Murray, Dror Ben-Zeev, Ray Hsiao, and Ryan Kimmel).
Exceptional Professional Staff Award:
Sara Barker, MPH
The Exceptional Professional Staff Award honors and celebrates the valuable efforts a professional staff member makes toward supporting the mission of the department. The award recognizes individuals for their overall dedication and service and for upholding our core values of collaboration, continuous learning and mentorship, and integrity and accountability. This year’s award went to Sara Barker, MPH, the associate director for implementation with the AIMS Center.
"Sara represents the AIMS Center with national policymaking bodies, national healthcare organizations, and international partners interested in implementing integrated care for behavioral health conditions. She is completely dedicated to her position in the department, she brings her whole self to the job and goes above and beyond when that is necessary to accomplish our goals."
Exceptional Classified Staff Award:
Mandi Nugent, BA
The Exceptional Classified Staff Award honors and celebrates the valuable efforts a classified staff member makes toward supporting the mission of the department. The award recognizes individuals for their overall dedication and service and for upholding our core values of collaboration, continuous learning and mentorship, and integrity and accountability. This year’s award went to Mandi Nugent, BA, an administrative assistant with the ADAI Northwest Addiction Technology Center.
“Mandi consistently goes above and beyond in every aspect of her work. Her dedication, integrity, and collaborative spirit elevate our entire team and have a lasting impact on both our internal culture and the communities we serve across the region. She is not only an awesome colleague, but also a trusted friend to all her coworkers!”
Exceptional Team Staff Award:
Trauma Recovery & Resilience Innovations
The Exceptional Team Award was born from the recognition that we have an incredible number of effective teams that support our work and that no one person acts in isolation. The winner of this year’s Exceptional Team Award is the Trauma Recovery & Resilience Innovations team. Members include Sophia Balint, Jayda Farmer, Carolina Ibarra, Fran Pardillo, and Malia Richard.
“This is a group of hard workers. They are engaged, focused, and dependable. They are always on the lookout for ways to help others in the department, and they leave things better than they found them beyond their work on studies specifically. They check in with each other, express care and support, and generally keep their heads up even when it's challenging. They are real models for navigating adversity, and I'm so proud of them.”
And congratulations to all of our professional/classified staff award nominees including: Alexa Beaulieu, Mackenzie Deiman, Casey Ehde, Kyreston Jones, Courtney Marecki, Jonathan Orrala, Rachel Porter, Christina Sargent, Emily Taylor, and team award nominees from the Research Operations Team including: Beth Azuma-Moy, Austin Campbell, Pam Collins, Grace Kim, Alison Laing, Katie Nowlin, Belinda Sachs, Sara Suom, and Martyn Valenzuela.
Outstanding Early Career Educator Award:
Laura LaPlante, MD
The Outstanding Early Career Educator Award recognizes an assistant professor level educator for excellence in teaching. This year’s winner is Laura LaPlante, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
"Dr. LaPlante takes an innovative and inclusive approach to teaching and education, leveraging adult learning theory to develop best practices in training. She continuously refines her lectures based on feedback from trainees and colleagues, ensuring they remain relevant and impactful. Her teaching spans diverse settings, including large lecture halls, seminars, one on one supervision, and patient education, demonstrating her adaptability and commitment to effective learning."
Gary J. Tucker Significant Achievement in Education:
Jennifer Piel, MD, JD
The Gary J. Tucker Significant Achievement in Education award recognizes an academic or clinical faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding skills as a teacher and a strong dedication to education throughout their career. This year’s winner is Jennifer Piel, MD, JD, director of the Center for Mental Health, Policy, and the Law (CMHPL).
"Dr. Piel is an enthusiastic educator and advocate for forensic mental health. As the director CMHPL, she brings needed attention to forensic issues in mental health and has made the UW a trusted voice in this space."
Outstanding Early Career Clinician Award:
Dana Dieringer, MD
The Outstanding Early Career Clinician Award recognizes an assistant professor level clinician for excellence in clinical care or quality improvement. This year’s winner is Dana Dieringer, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
"Dr. Dieringer is a clinician deeply committed to the Harborview mission on both inpatient psychiatry and palliative care services. She brings compassion, deep clinical expertise and high standard for the care she delivers making her a role model for trainees and peers alike!"
Significant Achievement in Clinical Care:
Jason Veitengruber, MD
The Significant Achievement in Clinical Care award recognizes an associate professor or professor for excellence in clinical care or quality improvement. This year’s winner is Jason Veitenruber, MD, the medical director, psychiatry inpatient, at Harborview Medical Center.
"Dr. Veitengruber is a strong clinical leader for Harborview Inpatient Service! He is an expert clinician that I will take my toughest cases to for peer consultation and has been invaluable as a resource through big changes like the transition to Epic."
Outstanding Mentor in Clinical Care:
Ryan Kimmel, MD
The Outstanding Mentor in Clinical Care award recognizes mentoring faculty who are furthering the careers of mentees dedicated to our clinical mission. This year’s winner is Ryan Kimmel, MD, the chief of psychiatry for UW Medical Center.
"Dr. Kimmel demonstrates a tireless commitment to peers and colleagues. His dedication to the wellbeing of those he supervises and mentors is surpassed only by his dedication to patients and the mission of UWMC. On countless occasions, he has made himself available overnight and on weekends, ensuring that we all have adequate support and camaraderie. Liberal with compassion and empathy, Dr. Kimmel is quick to help us problem solve and dedicated to supporting our sustainability."
Outstanding Early Career Research Award:
Brittany Blanchard, PhD
The Outstanding Early Career Research Award recognizes an assistant professor level scientist who has demonstrated outstanding skills or impact as a researcher. This year’s winner is Brittany Blanchard, PhD, an assistant professor and director of the Division of Population Health Analytics Team (P-HAT).
"Dr. Blanchard is one of the most successful earlier investigators in our department: she has excelled in her own area of research, the prevention of overdose among people who use drugs, she serves as the director of the Population Health Analytics Team where she provides sophisticated statistical support to numerous investigators throughout the department and she always follows through on her commitments to colleagues offering support in difficult times."
Significant Achievement in Policy, Advocacy, and Community Impact:
Sarah Walker, PhD, MS
The Significant Achievement in Policy, Advocacy, and Community Impact award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated significant achievement in policy, advocacy, or community impact. This year’s winner is Sarah Walker, PhD, MS, the director of CoLab for Community and Behavioral Health Policy.
"Dr Walker has demonstrated visionary leadership, unwavering commitment to advancing behavioral health policy, and extraordinary achievement in translating evidence into action by improving systems for children’s mental health and championing transformative reform in the juvenile justice system."
Significant Achievement in Research, Scholarship, and Innovation:
Marco Pravetoni, PhD
The Significant Achievement in Research, Scholarship, and Innovation award recognizes associate professors or professors for outstanding skills as a researcher. This year’s winner is Marco Pravetoni, PhD, the Rick L. Seaver Endowed Professor for Brain Wellness.
"Dr. Pravetoni is a scientific leader advancing novel biologics for treatment and prevention of overdose to IND and FDA approval . Areas of innovation include 1) vaccines, monoclonal antibodies (mAb), and small molecules to treat or prevent SUD, opioid use disorders (OUD) and overdose, 2) mechanisms and biomarkers underlying or predicting efficacy of immunotherapeutics and medications in pre-clinical models of SUD and OUD patients."
Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Mentor Award:
John Neumaier, MD, PhD
The Wayne J. Katon Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to fostering the creative, scholarly, professional and personal development of their mentees. This year’s winner is John Neumaier, MD, PhD, the director of the Division of Psychiatric Neurosciences.
"Dr. Neumaier has dedicated significant time and effort to support the development of the next generation of physician scientists through his commitment to the resident research track. Each year he personaly leads the efforts to identify potential residents and provide mentorship as they explore research careers. Without Dr. Neumaier, many of us in the department would not be here!"
