Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

January 3, 2025

AI tested for alerting clinicians of suicide risk at three VUMC clinics

At neurology clinics the system was used to flag 8% of arriving patients as having relatively high risk for suicide attempt in the next 30 days.

By Paul Govern
December 31, 2024

Harold Jordan, VUMC’s first African American resident, who forged a career in academia and public service, dies at 87

Dr. Jordan was “a Vanderbilt and a civil rights legend.”

By Wayne Wood
December 5, 2024

Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine selects 25 new members

The AECM was formed in 2021 to “honor exemplary clinicians who combine humanism, professionalism and a passion for patient care with a scholarly approach to improving patient health and establish a community of leaders to promote clinical excellence.”

By VUMC News and Communications
(photo by Erin O. Smith)
November 14, 2024

Four elected to American Pediatric Society

The APS was the first North American honorary society for academic pediatricians. Members are recognized for leadership, teaching, research and contributions at an international level.

By Christina Echegaray
November 8, 2024

People with schizophrenia show distinct brain activity when faced with conflicting information

Researchers introduce a biomarker to indicate whether someone is struggling with the inflexible thinking associated with the disorder.

By Joseph Caputo
After connecting the dots between cognitive impairment and brain network organization in people diagnosed with psychotic disorders, researchers discovered the same link in those who hadn’t had their first psychotic episode.
September 4, 2024

Groundbreaking study links cognition and brain networks before the first psychotic break

Early detection opens the door to intervention via noninvasive neuromodulation for those with treatment-resistant symptoms of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.

By Danny Bonvissuto
August 27, 2024

We’re here for you: how to comfort a coworker in grief

How can caregivers be expected to hold the grief of their patients, and their patients’ families, when they are grieving themselves? That was the question addressed at a recent panel discussion at Vanderbilt.
By Bill Snyder
August 1, 2024

Warren Taylor appointed vice-chair for Research in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

His NIH-supported clinical neuroscience research program concentrates on late-life depression, focusing on neurobiological factors influencing acute and long-term outcomes.
By Danny Bonvissuto
June 17, 2024

Annual Harold Jordan Lecture addresses racism and psychosis

The keynote speaker’s topic was “Infusing DEI in our Research Programs: An Example Studying the Social Patterning of Psychosis.”
By Danny Bonvissuto
April 22, 2024

Jennifer Vega receives NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Award

Jennifer Vega, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist and research instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has received a 2024 National Comprehensive Cancer Network Foundation Young Investigator Award.
By Tom Wilemon
March 14, 2024

Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital President Mary Pawlikowski to retire

Mary Pawlikowski, MA, MEd, PsyDABD, president of Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and Vanderbilt Behavioral Health, will retire at the end of the fiscal year. A search will begin for the hospital’s new executive director.
By John Howser
February 29, 2024

Study targets nicotine craving in schizophrenia

Vanderbilt's Heather Burrell Ward, MD, has received a five-year, $928,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to test whether an externally applied magnetic field can reduce nicotine craving in people with schizophrenia.
By Bill Snyder
February 8, 2024

New algorithms show promise for predicting bipolar disorder risk

In a new study across three major U.S. health care systems, researchers developed and tested algorithms to predict who will develop bipolar disorder.
By Paul Govern
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