Honors & Awards

Dr. Lisa Seyfried has been awarded the Dlin/Fischer Clinical Research Award given by the Scientific Program Committee of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine (APM). This award is given to the author of the paper judged to be the most outstanding submission to the annual APM meeting. Lisa's paper, "Predictors of Suicide in Older Patients with Dementia" is research that she has been working on with her mentor Helen Kales as well as with Marcia Valenstein and Yeates Conwell (University of Rochester). It also represents one of the first "fruits" of the new Program for Positive Aging which among its goals to collaborate on work across sections (Hospital Services, Geriatric Psychiatry and Mental Health Services Outcomes and Translation) and to foster research opportunities for clinical faculty in mental health and aging.

Victor Hong won special recognition for his exemplary work as intake evaluator for the psychodynamic psychotherapy clinic. His evaluations were complete, sensitive, and successful in helping patients find appropriate psychotherapy for their difficulties in living and emotional problems.

Tony Wolf was recognized for his courage in discussing and working witih patients and for his enthusiasm in understanding the psychodynamic issues in working with all of his patients.

M. Justin Coffey, M.D., of the University of Michigan, have been named a recipient of the 2009 Golden Beeper award. Members of the Galens Medical Society annually recognize the resident physicians viewed as the best teachers, leaders and patient care providers by presenting them with Bronze Beeper awards. Bronze Beeper awardees are selected by a vote of M3 and M4 Galens members. Dr. Coffey was also a recipient of a Bronze Beeper in 2008.

Emily R. Stern, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, have been named a recipient of the Society of Biological Psychiatry’s Travel Scholarships for 2009. The training of a new generation of psychiatric academicians is a major objective of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. Participation in professional meetings, where new information is exchanged and contacts are made, can have a critical impact on the career of a developing clinician-scientist. In recognition of the importance of academic exchange, the Society of Biological Psychiatry, through an educational grant from Eli Lilly and Company, Forest Laboratories and Elsevier Science, is pleased to announce the continuation of annual Travel Fellowships. Each Fellowship will provide $1,500 to help defray the cost of attending the Society’s Annual Meeting. In addition to the stipend and the opportunity to attend sessions of interest to them, Fellows also receive certificates of excellence and participate in a special ceremony held during the meeting in their honor.

Sarah Garfinkel, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, has been named a recipient of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America’s Travel Award for 2009. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America Career Development Travel Awards aim to help early career professionals with a career interest in fields related to anxiety disorders, such as basic and clinical neurobiology and psychopharmacology, clinical psychology, genetics, neuroimaging, epidemiology, and public health. ADAA is dedicated to promoting the prevention and ultimate cure of anxiety disorders and to improving the lives of all people who suffer from them through education and research. Sarah will present her research at the Poster Session at the ADAA 29th Annual Conference, March 12-15, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya, Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

Kate Fitzgerald, M.D., a member of our Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Section, was awarded a prestigious Dana Foundation grant for Neuroimaging. This will provide $200,000 in grant support over 2 years for Kate's innovative studies of brain activity in error response detection in children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Gregory Hanna, Ph.D. recently received a 2008 Obsessive Compulsive Foundation (OCF) Research Award in the amount of $63,000 to fund his proposal “Error-Related Negativity in Unaffected Siblings of Youth with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.”

Justin Coffey, M.D. was awarded the APA/GlaxoSmithKline Fellowship 2008-2009.

Jonathan Morrow, M.D. (PGY III resident as of July) selected as a NIMH Outstanding Resident Award winner for 2008. The NIMH Outstanding Resident Award Program was introduced to the medical community in 1988. Each year residency training program directors and/or department chairs are invited to nominate one Resident from their program to receive the NIMH Outstanding Resident Award in Psychiatric Research.

Justin Paltrowitz, M.D. and Justin Coffey, M.D. selected by Medical Students to receive "2008 Bronze Beeper Awards".

Huda Akil, Ph.D., who is the Gardner C. Quarton Collegiate Professor of Neurosciences in Psychiatry, the Distinguished University Professor of Neurosciences and co-director of the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, was awarded the Goldman-Rakic Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Cognitive Neuroscience by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. The alliance presents five awards annually to recognize top scientists for outstanding advances in brain science and improved patient psychiatric treatment. Akil has made significant contributions to the understanding of the neurobiology of emotions, including pain, anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

Robert A. Zucker, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Psychology and director of the Addiction Research Center, was presented with an honorary diploma marking his election to honorary membership in the Polish Psychiatrists Association at the first annual meeting of the Polish Society on Addiction Research. The Polish Psychiatrists Association also unanimously elected Zucker to the Polish Society of Psychiatrists Hall of Fame.

Rashad Albeiruti, an undergraduate at University of Michigan doing research with Helen C. Kales MD, was recently selected to participate in the NIMH-funded 2008 Summer Training on Aging Research Topics - Mental Health (START-MH) Program. START-MH is a unique national program that offers competitive scholarships to predoctoral and medical students interested in aging and mental health research. There was a great deal of competition for these training slots with only 30% of applicants accepted into the program. The program gives students an opportunity to gain research experience and work closely with an established mentor/investigator. During the 10-week summer program, students work on specific projects in conjunction with their mentor. A 2-day START-MH conference will be held at UCSD in early August where the trainees will present posters on the research done. Additionally, the conference will include discussions of all trainees’ research experience and plans for future research careers.

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