Psychiatry Department News

Congratulations to Samara Vilca, PhD, for winning the National Institutes of Health Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award for the second phase of her research..

Dr. Vilca's work involves examining the immune cells of the central nervous system called microglia and how they change during opioid use disorder.

She describes her work with Ryan Logan, PhD, professor of psychiatry and neurobiology UMass Psychiatry, on circadian rhythms, the possibiltity of alleviating symptoms of Opioid Use Disorder and the wonderful mentorship she receives at UMass Chan Medical School in this story.

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Pregnant individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and probable Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)  have worse patient-provider alliances than non-OUD patients.  This was  discovered by a recent study conducted by Kimberly Yonkers, M.D., Katz Family Chair of the Department of Psychiatry along with Molly Doernberg, M.P.H. (Yale School of Medicine), Ariadna Forray , M.D. and Kathryn Gilstad‐Hayden, Ph.D  (Yale School of Medicine Psychiatry Department).

PTSD and OUD are known to contribute to adverse health conditions for both the pregnant individuals and their fetuses including anxiety, depression, pre-term delivery, longer hospital stays and even suicide.   Improving the practitioner to patient relationship is crucial to overcoming these adverse health risks. 

The results also revealed that the risk of PTSD was higher among non-white individuals, and highlights the need  for trauma-informed care in treating prenatal individuals. The study states that “trauma‐informed care is defined as the assessment and potential modification of services to include an understanding of how trauma—including racism, discrimination, and oppression—impacts the person seeking the services.”

The researchers used funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Project Program Award to study 119 patients.   The patients were enrolled in the Support Models for Addiction Related Treatment trial. 

The  PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition was used to determine probable  posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and provider–patient relationship was assessed using the Kim Alliance Scale (KAS).  

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Pediatric primary care clinicians will now have more support for early childhood behavioral health conditions thanks to a new program between the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (Mass DPH). 

A recently published study describes the inflammation and neurological DNA damage in the brain with opioid abuse disorder.  This research paper entitled Single Nuclei Transcriptomics In Human and Non Human Primate Striatum In Opioid Use Disorder was published in Nature Communications on January 15, 2024. 

The authors include UMass Chan Medical School's Ryan Logan, Ph.D. 

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https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45165-7

A study entitled Trauma and Psychosocial Adversity In Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability was published in Frontiers in Psychiatry on January 26, 2024.  This study, written by Sarah J. Palmer, M.D. and Yael Dvir, M.D explores the effects of different sources of trauma and their impact on this population.

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The research team at Lifeline For Moms has just won a $21 Million Award to study mental health care equity in perinatal medical care. 

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Dealing with a debilitating disease can significantly affect mental health. Fear, anxiety, and the oppressive burden of pain can send anyone into a severe depression or suffer from acute stress. Over the last 35 years, an area of psychology known as health psychology has emerged to help patients cope and work through these challenges.

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Zlatina Kostova, PhD, is an instructor in psychiatry,  a clinical psychologist,  and a director of training at Lifeline for Kids, a trauma-informed care training center at UMass Chan for families and clinicians. She currently training 130 Ukrainian clinicians trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, or TF-CBT. 

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Recent research of an old case describes how frontal lobe damage can affect social behavior.  The study examined JP, who was very polite, but just couldn't stop stealing the cars he fancied.

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Ryan Logan, Ph.D., wins the inaugural NIH HEAL Initiative Director's Trailblazer award.  

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Having cancer is a very distressing time. It’s not only upsetting for the patient, but also for their loved ones and family. Recent research has found that despite mandated screenings for psychosocial services, many of these patients do not pursue them, according to Timothy Sannes, PhD. 

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According to a recent study co-authored by Kimberly Yonkers, M.D., Katz Family Chair of UMass Chan Medical School's Psychiatry Department, there is a correlation between the use of Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SRIs) and preterm premature rupture of fetal membranes (PPROM).  

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Congratulations to Edward Tronic, Ph.D.,  for receiving The Sigourney Award.  Only 5 people a year are selected for this prestigious award, which is given to those who are recognized for advancing psychoanalytic thought internationally.  

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With the rise in adolescent and child mental health issues, a recent study reveals the lack of follow-up care for this at risk population. Several UMass Chan Medical School's Department of Psychiatry researchers worked on this study including Maryann Davis, Ph.D., Brian Skehan, M.D., Ph.D, and Julie Hugunin, B.S (pictured at the left)

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“Among families of youth with behavioral challenges, our data show that peer support for family members is greatly enhanced when parent mentors and clinicians are added to the mix. We are stronger together!" said Emily Rubin (pictured here), one of the the researchers for the study published in a recent edition of Healthcare.

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Renowned researcher Dr. Ed Tronick details the research which shows that masks do not interfere with a baby's healthy development. 

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Dr. Danielle Rynczak's recent article "The Path to and Benefits of Board Certification in Forensic Psychology," in the ABPP's summer edition of The Specialist is listed below.

Dr. Rynczak: Path to and Benefits of Board Certification In Forensic Psychology.pdf

Congratulations to Kimberly Yonkers, MD, DLFAPA,  Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, FACLP, DFAPA and Xiaoduo Fan, MD, MPH, MSc, DFAPA for winning the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society Distinguished Fellows award.  

Read About The Massachusetts Psychiatric Society

Amid a growing mental health crisis among young people, experts at UMass Chan Medical School are working on the front lines to support pediatricians across Massachusetts who are caring for struggling children and their families.

In a new Voices of UMass Chan podcast, Yael Dvir, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and Bruce Waslick, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at UMass Chan-Baystate, discuss how the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program, also known as MCPAP, has been providing primary care providers with quick access to psychiatric consultations since 2004.

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Psychiatrists foresee a new hybrid practice blending phone, video, and in-person visits driven by patient need and preference rather than payment policy.

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WORCESTER – The number of children and adolescents seen at the UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus for behavioral health needs, including intentional medication overdoses and other suicide attempts, tripled last month, leaving the hospital with a waiting list for beds to treat them...

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UMass Chan Medical School psychopharmacology expert Anthony Rothschild, MD, will become an editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology on Jan. 1, journal publisher Wolters Kluwer has announced...

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Congratulations!  Mai-Lan Rogoff, MD is awarded the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Teaching.

Congratulations to Dr. Cezar Cimpeanu!  Dr. Cimpeanu is 1 of 4  UMass faculty to be inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society  this year.  Faculty are chosen for their commitment to  teaching and their kind and compassionate treatment of patients,  families, students and colleagues.  Read more in UMass Chan News.

Study conducted by Wendy Marsh, MD, MSc et al., to explore whether vitamin D supplementation reduces bipolar depression, shows there was no significant difference lessening in depressive symptoms. Read the summary in MDLinx Journal of Psychiatric Research.