September 2014

The Ukrainian delegation with organizers and trainers from Yale School of Medicine.

Yale psychiatrists train Ukrainians to respond to traumatic stress

Yale experts recently trained a delegation of Ukrainian psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and clergy to treat the psychological wounds from last year's violent suppression of protests in Kiev as well as new cases of post-traumatic stress disorder arising from ongoing conflicts in eastern Ukraine. Steven Southwick, MD, the Glenn H. Greenberg Professor of Psychiatry, PTSD, and Resilience, was the primary training director. Read more / Read the New Haven Register article

In search for Alzheimer's drug, a major STEP forward

Researchers have discovered a new compound that reverses the brain deficits of Alzheimer's disease in an animal model. Their findings are published in PLoS Biology. Paul Lombroso, MD (pictured), professor in the Child Study Center, of neurobiology, and of psychiatry, is senior author. Angus Nairn, PhD, Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and professor of pharmacology, is a co-author. Read more / View the article

Sleep disturbances may be warning signs of problem drinking

College students who drink to excess are more likely to black out, engage in impulsive behavior, and ignore obligations to friends or family if they also experience sleep disturbances, a new study has found. Kelly DeMartini, PhD (left), associate research scientist in psychiatry, and Lisa Fucito, PhD (right), assistant professor of psychiatry, are co-authors. The study appears in Health Psychology. Read more / View the article

Fathers are the forgotten factor in parenting interventions

Fathers have substantial impact on child development, well-being, and family functioning, yet parenting interventions rarely target men or make a dedicated effort to include them, according to research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. James Leckman, MD, the Neison Harris Professor in the Child Study Center, and professor of pediatrics and of psychiatry, is senior author of the study. Read more / View the article

Problematic shopping and gambling in adolescence

A Yale-led team has published the first investigation of the relationship between problem shopping and pathological gambling in adolescents. Sarah Yip, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in psychiatry, is lead author. Marc Potenza, PhD, MD, professor of psychiatry, in the Child Study Center, and of neurobiology, is senior author. The study appears in the Journal of Gambling Studies. Read more / View the study

Gelernter recognized for research into genetics of alcoholism

Joel Gelernter, MD, Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, and professor of genetics and of neurobiology, has received the James B. Isaacson Award from the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism and the National Foundation for Prevention of Chemical Dependency Disease. Gelernter is the director of the department's Division of Human Genetics. Read more

Commentary: Weigh research in marijuana legalization debate

In response to a New York Times editorial series advocating the legalization of marijuana, Samuel Ball, PhD, professor of psychiatry, argues that the science of marijuana addiction must be considered in this important debate. Ball is president and chief executive of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia and assistant chair for education and career development in psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Read more

Peer support in mental health: Exploitive, transformative, or both?

Larry Davidson, PhD, a professor of psychiatry in the department's Psychology Section, explores the evolving partnership between peer supporters and mental health staff. Davidson is director of the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health at the Connecticut Mental Health Center and senior clinical officer and mental health policy director for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Read more

Meds to alleviate stress may help women smokers quit

Women, who often find it harder to quit smoking than men, are more likely to smoke to cope with stress. Sherry McKee, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Yale Tobacco Treatment Clinic, is conducting research into treatments for stress that may ultimately assist women who are trying to stop smoking. McKee also directs of the Yale Translational Center to Develop Gender-Sensitive Treatment for Tobacco Dependence. Read more

OCD Research Clinic launches blog

The recently-launched Yale OCD Research Clinic - Director's Blog features posts on all aspects of obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as related issues of brain biology, clinical experience, and society. Christopher Pittenger MD, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and in the Child Study Center, and assistant professor of psychology, is the Clinic's director. Visit the blog

Anticevic recognized for early career contributions

Alan Anticevic, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and of psychology, has received a 2014 Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science. The award recognizes the creativity and innovative work of promising scientists. Anticevic's research focuses on cognitive neuroscience of psychiatric illness as well as functional neuroimaging analysis methodology. Read more

Gordon nominated to receive Paper of the Year Award

An article authored by Derrick Gordon, PhD has been nominated to receive the American Journal of Public Health Paper of the Year Award. The paper is titled "The role of prevention in promoting continuity of health care in prisoner reentry initiatives." Gordon is an assistant professor of psychiatry in the department's Psychology Section and Division of Prevention & Community Health. He is affiliated with The Consultation Center. Read more

Residents launch Mental Health System Improvement Series

Residency alumni Tobias Wasser, MD and Beth Grunschel, MD, ScM have co-authored an article discussing their resident-led quality improvement project. They outline lessons learned from the implementation of the Mental Health System Improvement Series (MHSIS), which utilizes a morbidity and mortality (M&M) conference style model. Read more / Read the Psychiatric Times article

Residents are finalists at addiction medicine competition

A presentation titled "Psychiatric aspects of substance abuse disorders in medical practice" by Rajiv Radhakrishnan, MBBS, MD and Samuel Wilkinson, MD placed second at the annual American Society of Addiction Educational. Radhakrishnan and Wilkinson are both residents in psychiatry. Read more

Quoted

Left to right: Hoge, Potenza, Sofuoglu, Ward, Barkil-Oteo, and Marienfeld.

Connecticut Post: Gaps in mental health care following Sandy Hook

Michael Hoge, PhD, professor of psychiatry in the department's Psychology Section; director of clinical training in psychology; director of Yale Behavioral Health; director of the Yale Group on Workforce Development

Newsweek: How Washington opened the floodgates to online poker, dealing parents a bad hand

Marc Potenza, PhD, MD, professor of psychiatry, in the Child Study Center, and of neurobiology; director of the Center of Excellence in Gambling Research; director of the Yale Program for Research on Impulsivity and Impulse Control Disorders

The Wall Street Journal: Marijuana's hazy contribution to highway deaths

Mehmet Sofuoglu, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry; director of VA New England Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC)

U.S. News & World Report: Smart summer jobs for kids

Nadia Ward, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry in the department's Psychology Section; deputy director for public affairs and director of urban education and prevention research at The Consultation Center

Psychiatric News: Some ECPs predict future of American psychiatry

Andres Barkil-Oteo, MD, MSc, assistant professor of psychiatry

Global Press Journal: Access to psychiatric care varies widely around world

Carla Marienfeld, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry; director of the Yale Global Mental Health Program

Alumni Spotlight

W. Leonard Hill retires from Yale-New Haven Hospital

W. Leonard Hill, LCSW, manager of psychiatric ambulatory services at Yale-New Haven Hospital, has retired effective August 8th, 2014. Hill is a former member of the Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty and led the training programs at Yale Psychiatric Institute. Read more

Alumni, please submit news and updates to psychiatry@yale.edu.

Photo Album

PHOTO 1: Yale-Bridgeport GEAR UP Partnership. Nadia Ward, PhD and John Krystal, MD, with GEAR UP students. The goal of the Partnership is to prepare Bridgeport high school students with the skills needed to graduate and succeed in a post-secondary educational option of their choice. Ward is the Partnership's director. Visit the Yale-Bridgeport GEAR UP Partnership website

PHOTO 2: August 27, 2014 - Reception and cultural exchange with Ukrainian delegates from the Open World Leadership Center. U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Christopher Murphy are pictured with Ukrainian delegates who visited Yale for a specialized training on the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. (See feature article above.)

PHOTO 3: The Couchwarmers. Yale Psychiatry's team in the Yale-New Haven Hospital softball league. If you are interested in joining the team this Fall, email ryan.blum@yale.edu.

PHOTO 4: September 1, 2014 - Annual Faxon Law New Haven Road Race. Some of the Yale Psychiatry runners who participated in this year's race. Join the department's running group by emailing kirsten.wilkins@yale.edu.

PHOTO 5: August 21, 2014 - Press conference to highlight dangers of powdered caffeine. John Krystal, MD (left) joins U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (right) at a press conference to discuss the health effects of high doses of caffeine. Also pictured is Sarah Michaud, MS, LADC (middle), director of the Southern Connecticut State University Drug and Alcohol Resource Center. Read the New Haven Register article

Upcoming Psychiatry Grand Rounds

Friday, September 19, 2014; 10:15-11:30 am

Transcriptomic Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Daniel Geschwind, MD, PhD, the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair of Human Genetics, and Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine