Department News | May 29, 2025
David D. Luxton, PhD served as co-chair of the Artificial Intelligence Standards Committee that established the new IEEE Standard for Transparent Human and Machine Agency Identification.
Research & Innovation
2025 WA Mental Health Summit features six new initiatives
Department News | May 29, 2025
More than 400 people gathered in the UW Husky Union Building for the 2025 Washington State Mental Health Summit on May 13. A partnership between Chad’s Legacy Project, the Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center, and our department, this event put a spotlight on new initiatives advancing mental health care around the state.
Recruiting two new endowed positions
Department News | May 29, 2025
We are now happy to begin recruiting for two new endowed positions supported by generous philanthropic support, one with a focus on addiction psychiatry and another with a focus on adult cognitive aging.
U.S. school-shooting sites lagged in mental health staffing
UW Medicine Newsroom | June 5, 2025
This paper shows that schools that experienced shootings had a lower rate of mental health staffing per student than similar schools without shootings, says Keith Hullenaar, PhD.
Scientists test real-time view of brain’s waste removal
UW Medicine Newsroom | May 27, 2025
A new device monitors the brain’s glymphatic system, which may help researchers address Alzheimer’s, states a study by Jeff Iliff, PhD and his co-authors.
After hitting staggering heights, U.S. overdose deaths fell sharply in 2024
Washington Post | May 14, 2025
The opioid crisis in the U.S. shows signs of improvement, with a significant drop in fentanyl overdose deaths in 2024. Caleb Banta-Green, PhD is quoted.
Washington cities are decriminalizing magic mushrooms. Could a psychedelic ‘renaissance’ take hold statewide?
KUOW | May 13, 2025
Nathan Sackett, MD's trial is the first to look at whether psilocybin-assisted therapy can help people who suffer from both post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder.
CSTP awards over $180K in research funding to trainees
Department News | May 14, 2025
We are pleased to announce our third year of Trainee Research Awards, part of the Clinician Scientist Training Program (CSTP). These awards support the development of clinician scientists and provide funding and faculty support for trainees to participate in mentored research.
JAMA podcast: Effective components of collaborative care for depression
Department News | April 30, 2025
Department Chair Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA contributed to a large multi-national metaanalysis of collaborative care for depression that was recently published in JAMA Psychiatry. Dr. Unützer represented the international research team and presented the findings in a thoughtful and engaging conversation with host Dr. John Torres. You can listen to the episode here .
Research shows interest in mobile health among sexual trauma survivors in Ghana
Department News | April 30, 2025
Sexual violence against vulnerable populations is common worldwide and many survivors of sexual assault experience long-term mental health difficulties. A recent study led by Dror Ben-Zeev, PhD evaluated sexual violence exposure among women with mental illness in Ghana and examined their readiness to engage in mobile health (mHealth) interventions.
