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UCSF Psychiatry Update from Lowell Tong

Monday, March 04, 2013

Dear department members, friends and supporters,

It has been an honor to lead the department since Fall 2011, and we now come to a transition in leadership. I first met our incoming chair Dr. Matthew State when he visited San Francisco a few years ago, and I’ve come to know him quite well through regular conversations and meetings for several months now. I am so pleased to welcome him shortly – I really think he is the right person at the right time to lead our department in this medical school, and the field of psychiatry, into a very promising and different new era.

As I ponder what kind of era this could be, I turn to my clinical work for an example. One of my long-time patients, about my age and with a serious, progressively debilitating disease (currently called “psychiatric”), was recently hospitalized for only the second time in his life, after years of relative stability. I followed him through the lenses of one of our ICUs, a psychiatry consult service, a medicine team, and a psychiatry inpatient unit. The resident, student, faculty and staff clinicians and health professionals I encountered, the scientists I conferred with and whose work helped me educate his family, and staff who helped his family work through insurance and legal obstacles, all illustrated concretely how important our varied roles are and how we must work together even more seamlessly. It was a vivid reminder of just how much we in psychiatry need to discover and advance much more than by our advances in the last few decades – we need more major breakthroughs in knowing the causes of conditions like his; in therapeutics beyond improving our current paradigms; in healthcare systems; patient and family resources; healthcare access and policies. What we currently know and can do are not enough. Cumulative advances in our scientific knowledge and methods; financial challenges and public expectations which will push us to transform how we prepare, train for, staff, deliver, assess and improve care; and government and policy changes all place us at the start of a very different and promising new era.

In this, my final update written at the chair’s desk, I’d like to thank you all for being part of this incredible department. “Faculty, staff and trainees” cover many of us – but let us remember this also includes many of our unsung heroes and heroines, who are essential to our overall enterprise and do what they do mostly behind the scenes, rarely in the spotlight. They include our billing, budget, finance and post-award teams; IT team; OE support teams; reception and front desk staff at our many sites; research assistants, fellows and specialists; supporters and donors; volunteer faculty and volunteer staff. Whether you are a career department member, a trainee with us for a set number of years, new faculty, in a temporary position, or one of our generous family of supporters, I thank you for your part in our far-reaching enterprise. We do a lot tremendously well. Thinking of my patient as an example, we as a department and as a profession have immensely more to learn, discover, lead and deliver. I look forward to continue working with you all, and supporting our new chair Matt State, in this exciting new era.

Best wishes,
Lowell

Awards and Grants

Mathews	Carol Mathews, MD received a new NIMH grant starting January,"Refining the Tourette Syndrome phenotype across diagnoses to aid gene discovery.” The aim of the project is to examine the relationship between tics, obsessive compulsive, ADHD, and autism symptoms in a large sample of Tourette Syndrome families to identify alternative phenotypes for genetic analyses. This study will identify the most heritable quantitative phenotypes and then conduct genome-wide association studies using those phenotypes to identify TS susceptibility genes.
Schlosser	Danielle Schlosser, PhD received a Mentored Career Development Award and transitions from her current role as a postdoctoral research fellow, under the mentorship of Sophia Vinogradov, to Assistant Professor in April. Danielle’s K23 will focus on the development of a targeted intervention to treat the reward processing deficits that contribute to impaired motivation in young people with schizophrenia. Her area of expertise is in the development of mobile health interventions to improve functioning in young people with schizophrenia.
We all hope that many more of your grants which have received excellent scores from federal agencies including NIH are funded, as we await how the federal budget sequestration story unfolds this year.

UCSF Psychiatry in Public

Chamberlain	John Chamberlain, MD discussed Laura’s Law on San Francisco radio KGO’s Crime Time in February with host Candice DeLong on the relationship of violence and mental illness. They discussed steps family members could take when concerned about someone’s risk of violence.
Foose	Tracy Foose, MD contributed a column for the SF Chronicle on “Positive traits seen in anxiety disorders” in February.
Horowitz	Mardi Horowitz, MD gives the opening address at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, “Grieving as Well as Possible,” this May in San Francisco. His book by that title has become available via e-books as well as in paperback.
Lieberman	Alicia Lieberman, PhD served on the Defending Childhood Initiative Task Force which presented its report on preventing and reducing children’s exposure to violence to Attorney General Eric Holder at the December meeting of the Federal Coordinating council on Juvenile Justice. Read the executive summary.

UCSF Psychiatry Faculty Appointments and Transitions

Ahles	Scott Ahles, MD steps down this year as Vice Chair and Chief of Psychiatry at UCSF-Fresno. He plans to remain as a faculty member. Scott has been involved with the UCSF-Fresno psychiatry residency training program for thirty years, supervising the clinical work of residents and teaching didactics on biological psychiatry, behavioral neurology and psychotherapy. In recognition of outstanding teaching making a difference in medical education, he received the UCSF Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching. A national search for a new Chief of Psychiatry begins shortly.
Bourgeois	James Bourgeois, OD, MD and Alissa Peterson, MD were accepted into the 2013-2015 cycle of the Faculty Fellowship in Educational Scholarship (FFES). Sponsored by the Endowed Chair in Psychiatry Medical Student Education, FFES is a two-year program designed for two paid faculty members starting each year, to promote educational scholarship in a chosen area, such as direct teaching, curriculum innovation/development, advising/mentoring, and educational leadership. Alissa proposes a project to develop and evaluate a series of lectures (i.e., "teaching rounds") for first-year psychiatry residents on basic, inpatient psychotherapeutic techniques. James’s proposed project is on "Structured mentorship in resident publications of clinical materials in psychosomatic medicine."
Peterson
Daley	Chris Daley, MD accepted a faculty position at the University of Vermont and leaves UCSF/SFGH in March. Chris completed his adult psychiatry residency and forensic psychiatry fellowship at UCSF. He was a past member of the department’s Faculty Fellowship in Educational Scholarship, and has served as LGBT/HIV inpatient team leader at SFGH.
Daroff	Rob Daroff, MD transitioned from his administrative role as Associate Chief for Education on the VA Mental Health Service in January to concentrate on his roles as a direct clinician educator. While maintaining his main affiliation with the VA General Psychiatry Outpatient Service, Rob will collaborate part-time with colleagues in the VA Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program and the VA PTSD Clinical Team to help expand clinical services. Rob will also help meet the national mandate to provide after-hours appointments to Veterans. Rob has served in a number of additional leadership positions in education at the VA and in our Department, including Clerkship Site Director, Associate Residency Training Director, and Clerkship Director. In 2009, Rob founded the VA Caucus in the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training, serving as its inaugural chair. He continues to chair our own department-wide Faculty Education Retreat coming up on April 19. Along with of other excellent educators at the VA, Rob has helped the SFVA become amongst the highest rated sites for UCSF trainees.
O'Donovan	Aoife O’Donovan, PhD was successfully found in a national search for a VA Research Psychologist faculty position focusing on trauma, stress, and the neurobiology linking stress to aging. Aoife received her Psychology PhD from University College Dublin. She was a Fulbright/Rotary International Visiting Scholar in the Health Psychology Program at UCSF. Her research focuses on uncovering the mechanism by which chronic and traumatic psychological stress accelerate cellular aging and increase risk for chronic age-related diseases. Her research crosses several bases from basic to clinical, and she has developed strong working relationships with a number of people in the VA and UCSF. She received the 2012 Neal E. Miller New Investigator Award from the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research.
Roselin	Danielle Carlin Roselin, MD is leaving her position as Medical Director of the SFVAMC Mental Health Access Center. She will continue part time, engaging in both clinical work and devoting time to family. We will soon begin a search for a new director. Danielle was our inaugural director of this new mental health evaluation clinic that provides strong liaisons with the SF-VA Medical Center and specialty clinics, is an essential training site, and provides an integrative, multidisciplinary approach.
Siegel	Bryna Siegel, PhD retired from UCSF in January. Bryna co-founded the LPPI Autism Clinic in 1989 with Dr. Glen Elliott, and provided more than 23 years of dedicated service. She has evaluated thousands with autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders from Northern California and worldwide. She has also trained Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows, trainees from Pediatrics, Neurology, and Nursing, and medical students and community clinicians and educators serving children and families living with autism. The clinic also serves as a hub of interdisciplinary translational research. During her time with us, Bryna published four books on understanding and treating autism. She has a strong national and international reputation for her scholarship and consultations based on her deep understanding of autism. Bryna will continue her consultative, educational and research work at JumpStart Learning to Learn in San Francisco, a program for training families to raise children with autism that she began while at UCSF. She will continue to collaborate with faculty and trainees at UCSF and other educational institutions.
Van Horn	Patricia Van Horn, PhD, JD was successfully found in a national search for the position of Director of the Division of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry (ICAP) at SFGH. Patricia received her JD from the University of Colorado School of Law and her PhD in clinical psychology from the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology. She is Associate Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at San Francisco General Hospital, and a co-developer of Child Parent Psychotherapy, an evidence-based intervention for children birth through five who experienced interpersonal trauma. She has led the Division of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry at SFGH since September 2010.

UCSF Psychiatry Recent Published Contributions

Agerwala, S. M., & McCance-Katz, E. F. (2012). Integrating screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) into clinical practice settings: A brief review. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(4), 307-317. doi:10.1080/02791072.2012.720169

Berger, O., McNiel, D. E., & Binder, R. L. (2012). PTSD as a criminal defense: A review of case law. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 40(4), 509-521.

Bleil, M. E., Bromberger, J. T., Latham, M. D., Adler, N. E., Pasch, L. A., Gregorich, S. E., . . . Cedars, M. I. (2013). Disruptions in ovarian function are related to depression and cardiometabolic risk during premenopause. Menopause, 2013 Feb 4 [Epub ahead of print]. PMID:23385716

Carmody, T. P., Duncan, C. L., Huggins, J., Solkowitz, S. N., Lee, S. K., Reyes, N., . . . Simon, J. A. (2012). Telephone-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for pain management among older military veterans: A randomized trial. Psychological Services, 2012 Dec 17 [Epub ahead of print]. PMID:23244028

Dunn, L. B., Aouizerat, B. E., Langord, D. J., Cooper, B. A., Dhruva, A., Cataldo, J. K., . . . Miaskowski, C. (2012). Cytokine gene variation is associated with depressive symptom trajectories in oncology patients and family caregivers. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 2012 Nov 24 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2012.10.004

Fisher, M., Loewy, R., Hardy, K., Schlosser, D., & Vinogradov, S. (2013). Cognitive interventions targeting brain plasticity in the prodromal and early phases of schizophrenia. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 2013 Jan 7 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143134

Grana, R. A., Ramo, D. E., Fromont, S. C., Hall, S. M., & Prochaska, J. J. (2012). Correlates of tobacco dependence and motivation to quit among young people receiving mental health treatment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 125(1-2), 127-131. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.04.005

Hazzouri, A. Z., Newman, A. B., Simonsick, E., Sink, K. M., Tyrrell, K. S., Watson, N., . . . Yaffe, K. (2013). Pulse wave velocity and cognitive decline in elders: The health, aging, and body composition study. Stroke, 2013 Jan 15 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.112.673533

Horowitz, M. (2012). Prototypical formulation of pathological narcissism. In J. S. Ogrodniczuk (Ed.), Understanding and treating pathological narcissism (pp. 81-91). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Horowitz, M. J. (2012). Self-identity theory and research methods. Journal of Research Practice, 8(2), Article M14. Retrieved from http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/296/261

Hosseini, S. M., Black, J. M., Soriano, T., Bugescu, N., Martinez, R., Raman, M. M., . . . Hoeft, F. (2013). Topological properties of large-scale structural brain networks in children with familial risk for reading difficulties. NeuroImage, 2013 Jan 17 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.01.013

Koyama, A., Steinman, M., Ensrud, K., Hillier, T. A., & Yaffe, K. (2013). Ten-year trajectory of potentially inappropriate medications in very old women: Importance of cognitive status. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2013 Jan 15 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1111/jgs.12093

Li, D., Hall, S. E., Tong, L. D., & Rollins, M. D. (2013). The electroconvulsive therapy and anesthesia exercise (ECTAE): The creation of an interdisciplinary learning activity for medical students. The Journal of ECT, 2013 Jan 31 [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 23377747

Lofthouse, N., Hendren, R., Hurt, E., Arnold, L. E., & Butter, E. (2012). A review of complementary and alternative treatments for autism spectrum disorders. Autism Research and Treatment, 2012. doi:10.1155/2012/870391

Maguen, S., Lau, K. M., Madden, E., & Seal, K. (2012). Relationship of screen-based symptoms for mild traumatic brain injury and mental health problems in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Distinct or overlapping symptoms? Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 49(7), 1115-1126. doi:10.1682/JRRD.2011.02.0015

Maguen, S., Madden, E., Lau, K. M., & Seal, K. H. (2013). Service utilization among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans screening positive for traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma, 2013 Jan 17 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1089/neu.2012.2744

McKinsey, G. L., Lindtner, S., Trzcinski, B., Visel, A., Pennacchio, L. A., Huylebroeck, D., . . . Rubenstein, J. L. (2013). Dlx1&2-dependent expression of Zfhx1b (Sip1, Zeb2) regulates the fate switch between cortical and striatal interneurons. Neuron, 77(1), 83-98. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2012.11.035

Pennanen, L., van der Hart, M., Yu, L., & Tecott, L. H. (2012). Impact of serotonin (5-HT) 2C receptors on excessive control processes. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012 Dec 13 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1038/npp.2012.258

Prochaska, J J., Fromont, S. C., Wa, C., Matlow, R., Ramo, D. E., & Hall, S. M. (2013). Tobacco use and its treatment among young people in mental health settings: a qualitative analysis. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2013 Jan 15 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1093/ntr/nts343

Puterman, E., & Epel, E. (2012). An intricate dance: Life experience, multisystem resiliency, and rate of telomere decline throughout the lifespan. Social & Personality Psychology Compass, 6(11), 807-825. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00465.x

Rajan, R., & Doupe, A. J. (2013). Behavioral and neural signatures of readiness to initiate a learned motor sequence. Current Biology, 23(1), 87-93. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.040

Ramo, D. E., Delucchi, K. L., Hall, S. M., Liu, H., & Prochaska, J. J. (2013). Marijuana and tobacco co-use in young adults: Patterns and thoughts about use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 74(2), 301-310. PMID:23384378

Ramo, D. E., Liu, H., & Prochaska, J. J. (2013). Validity and reliability of the nicotine and marijuana interaction expectancy (NAMIE) questionnaire. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2013 Jan 19 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.12.018

Ramo, D. E., & Prochaska, J. J. (2012). Prevalence and co-use of marijuana among young adult cigarette smokers: An anonymous online national survey. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 7. Retrieved from http://www.ascpjournal.org/content/7/1/5

Sacks S., Fisher, M., Garrett, C., Alexander, Pl, Holland, C., Rose, D., . . . Vinogradov, S. (2013). Combining computerized social cognitive training with neuroplasticity-based auditory training in schizophrenia. Clinical Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses, 2013 Jan 30 [Epub ahead of print]. PMID:23367504

Steinberg, J. R., & Tschann, J. M. (2012). Childhood adversities and subsequent risk of one or multiple abortions. Social Science & Medicine, 2012 Nov 17 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.011

Yaffe, K., Ackerson, L., Hoang, T. D., Go, A. S., Maguire, M G., Ying, G. S., . . . Grunwald, J. E. (2013). Retinopathy and cognitive impairment in Adults with CKD. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 61(2), 219-227. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2012.10.006