Department Kudos

SAVE THE DATES

Faculty Development Seminar

The next Faculty Development Seminar is scheduled for Wednesday December 2 from 9:00-10:30am via Zoom. It is the second in the two part series on Professionalism. 

Upcoming Writing Groups

The Faculty Writing Group is the first Wednesday of every month from 8:00-9:00am. These meetings are on Zoom. This group is for faculty including adjunct faculty.

SPOTLIGHTS

ADJUNCT FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Nadia Sawicki, MD

Nadia Sawicki, MD, is an ABPN certified adult psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in clinical private practice. She is the chair of the curriculum committee at the Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute (EUPI), where she also teaches and advises candidates.

Nadia graduated with a BA in English literature from Yale University and completed her MD at Jefferson Medical College (now renamed Sidney Kimmel Medical College) in Philadelphia. During her high school and undergraduate studies, Nadia knew she loved psychologically compelling renderings of characters in literature. Also vital to her was how one could feel changed by the experience of reading. Then, during medical school she had the experience of observing an outpatient case conference with physician, psychoanalyst and poet, Salman Akhtar, during her psychiatry rotation. Engagement with such a one-of-a-kind inspiring teacher led her to explore psychoanalytic ideas and their relevance to her clinical work in psychiatry and to all of life. After medical training, Nadia completed psychiatry residency with the wonderful faculty at Emory University and then graduated from the adult psychoanalysis training program at EUPI, where she benefitted from the teaching, supervision, mentorship and role modeling of the innumerable psychoanalytic clinicians who have made EUPI thrive through the years.

Nadia has found psychoanalysis uniquely helpful. As psychoanalyst Gohar Homayounpour has said, it can give a person the capacity to keep dreaming even in situations where logical hope is lost. The transformative potential of both psychoanalysis and literature continue to inspire her.

Nadia has been an adjunct faculty member for the last thirteen years since completing psychiatry residency and starting her private practice. Since teachers have played incredibly important roles in her development, Nadia enjoys contributing to the education of psychoanalytic candidates as one way of paying this forward if ever she can. As chair of the EUPI curriculum committee, she organizes the curriculum for all candidates at EUPI and coordinates the teaching efforts of EUPI faculty alongside other members of this important committee. She teaches about ego psychology, psychoanalytic assessment, the relationship between humans and the natural world, and the intertwining psychological relationships between environmental damage and the human mind. She is a member of a national study group focused on psychoanalytic ideas about the climate crisis and EUPI’s own faculty study group discussing the perpetuation of racism.

She and her husband, Daniel Wood, an Emory emergency medicine physician and their six-and-a-half-year old son, Parker, grow approximately 10 acres of organic and regeneratively grown Chinese chestnut trees near Carnesville, GA. You will find her cooking with her son or out walking with her twin sister, Alexandra. She always loves to discuss books- from the recent and inspiring, Ecocivilization by Jeremy Lent, to those always worth a reread, like Middlemarch by George Eliot, Radical Hope by Jonathan Lear or Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Next up, The Sane Society by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm. Feel free to be in touch about psychoanalysis, chestnuts, books, becoming a candidate at EUPI or anything else via email!

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: Grady Trauma Recovery Center (written by Tamara Haynes, MD, PhD)

The Grady Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) is a hospital-based violence recovery and interruption program that provides comprehensive, trauma-informed wrap-around safety-net services to survivors of violent crime including gun violence, physical assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and human trafficking. The program helps patients stabilize after trauma, establish safety, heal from the psychological and emotional effects of victimization, reduce the risk of future harm and rebuild healthy and meaningful lives. The TRC provides assertive outreach, clinical case management, trauma-focused mental health therapy, advocacy and coordinated support to address the psychological, medical, legal, social and practical needs that often arise after violent injury or victimization and serves survivors in several counties of the Atlanta metro area in the state of Georgia.

Grady Memorial Hospital operates a Level I Trauma Center as well as the SAFE Center for victims of sexual violence. The state Criminal Justice Coordinating Council piloted a Trauma Recovery Center model at Grady in response to a critical gap in services to victims of violent crime. The goal was to build a program that could provide more comprehensive, sustained and clinically integrated care for survivors of violent crime.

TRC is unique because it combines trauma-focused mental health treatment, clinical case management, assertive outreach, advocacy and coordinated care into one integrated model. By embedding the program within a hospital setting, TRC is able to engage survivors during a critical window after injury or trauma. Rather than placing the burden on survivors to navigate multiple disconnected systems, TRC brings services together through a multidisciplinary team that can respond to the complex needs of survivors after violent crime. The model is designed to be accessible, cost-effective and responsive to individuals who may not otherwise engage with traditional systems of care.

The TRC staff is an interprofessional team of child and adult therapists, social workers, case managers, trauma surgeons and a psychiatrist, operating onsite at the Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. The TRC clinician functions as both a therapist and a clinical case manager, allowing patients to receive trauma-focused therapy and practical support from the same provider, strengthening therapeutic relationships and allowing the program to respond to the real-life needs of survivors. The psychiatrist’s role includes trauma-informed psychiatric care including clinical assessment, medication management, consultation with clinicians and participation in multidisciplinary case discussions.

TRC collaborates closely across the broader Grady Health System departments of trauma surgery, social work, psychiatry, emergency medicine, behavioral health and other hospital-based programs. The affiliated institutions of Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory School of Medicine support the TRC with medical and psychiatric leadership and services. The program also works closely with community partners and victim service providers to ensure survivors have access to legal, social, medical, financial and safety-related resources creating a bridge between hospital-based care and community-based support. 

The Grady Health System TRC is the only Trauma Recovery Center currently operating in the state of Georgia and first TRC established in the southern region of the United States. In FY25, Grady TRC screened 1,190 trauma patients and provided wrap-around services to 288 patients, exceeding its annual service goal.

Information about the Trauma Recovery Center model is available through the National Alliance of Trauma Recovery Centers. Individuals interested in Grady’s specific implementation of the model can also review the program’s published article: Lathan EC, Davydenko I, Hosking CR, Rodriguez DC, Haynes T, Powers A. Integrating a trauma recovery center into an urban hospital setting serving multiply marginalized patients in the Southeastern United States. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Apr 14;25(1):545. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12662-4. PMID: 40229792; PMCID: PMC11995568.

For additional questions about TRC please contact Diana Cortina-Rodriguez, Trauma Recovery Center Director, or Tamara Haynes.

MENTOR SPOTLIGHT: Andrew Furman, MD (written by Robin Casey, PsyD, Belinda McIntosh, MD, Vishal Patel, DO, Charlotte Van Hale, MD and Joseph Vinson, MD)

Andrew Furman has been an excellent mentor for all of us. Aspects of his mentorship that have been meaningful include being a genuine listener, his ability to reflect ideas back to the mentee to help us make our own connections, knowledge of the promotion process and willingness to be direct, honest and “telling it how it is.” His mentorship style has been attentive, collaborative, professional, structured and thoughtful. He has been generous with his time and shared his own experiences at Emory. He makes it a point to ensure the next mentorship meeting is scheduled at the prior one to follow up on discussed topics. The impact of Andrew’s mentorship cannot be understated – his genuine interest in our growth was reassuring as a new faculty member, his sense of humor modeled for us to not take life too seriously and he has helped us create concrete pathways towards making scholarly contributions. Lastly, there are multiple pieces of advice Andrew gave to us that we would like to pass on to others. He emphasized the need to actively pursue and prioritize our career goals with courage and without regret, he highlighted the importance of a 3–5-year plan to structure our early careers, and recommended framing our career desires as a solution to the institution rather than presenting a problem. Thank you, Andrew!

NEW FACULTY

Adam Fakhri, MD | Adam Fakhri recently completed his psychiatry residency at Emory University and is joining the faculty of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences as an assistant professor. His clinical role will be based in psychiatric emergency services at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he will provide clinical care and teach and supervise trainees. His clinical and academic interests include emergency and consultation-liaison psychiatry, psychopharmacology, medical education and interventional psychiatry. 

John Perna, MD | John Perna is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, where he provides outpatient psychiatric care. His approach to psychiatry is grounded in the belief psychotherapy and psychopharmacology are most effective when informed by a rich understanding of patients' inner lives. His clinical interests include psychodynamic psychotherapy and the integration of psychodynamic formulation with psychopharmacology. He is especially drawn to approaches that foster greater self-understanding while reducing suffering through the thoughtful integration of psychotherapy and medication management.

Before pursuing medicine, John worked in New York City as an NBC page and later an assistant to literary agents at William Morris Endeavor, supporting theatrical productions and television writers. He later completed a post-baccalaureate program at Hunter College before earning his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and coming to Emory for psychiatry residency. During residency, he served as outpatient chief resident and graduated with the psychotherapy distinction after pursuing additional training, teaching and scholarship in psychotherapy.

John began his own psychoanalysis during his PGY-3 year of residency, an experience that fundamentally reshaped how he thinks about patients, psychotherapy and psychiatric practice. He hopes to pursue formal psychoanalytic training while developing an outpatient practice that integrates psychodynamic understanding with psychopharmacology, using psychotherapy and medication management as complementary tools to help patients achieve meaningful and lasting change. He also looks forward to expanding his involvement in psychotherapy education, resident supervision and mentorship.

Alongside his clinical work, John serves as a study physician and co-investigator on multiple clinical trials through the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and Emory Healthcare Veterans Program investigating psychedelic-assisted therapies and other novel treatments for depression and PTSD. During his PGY-4 year, he was selected as the Wellborn Fellow, which supported advanced training in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. His scholarly interests focus on applying psychoanalytic thinking to contemporary psychiatry. John is interested in how unconscious fantasy, transference and symbolic meaning shape psychedelic experiences, and how psychoanalytic perspectives can deepen our understanding of gender diversity and identity development. Across his clinical, educational and scholarly work, he is interested in how a deeper understanding of unconscious mental life can enrich psychiatric care.

What John enjoys most about psychiatry is helping patients make sense of experiences that once felt confusing so they can live more freely and authentically. He hopes to contribute to a department culture grounded in curiosity about human difference, psychological depth, thoughtful mentorship and clinical excellence.

Outside of work, John enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, cultivating an ever-expanding collection of cacti and succulents, spending time outdoors and devising increasingly elaborate strategies to convince his two cats the furniture is not a scratching post.

COMMUNITY AND BELONGING INITIATIVES

ARTS (Arts in Research, Therapy, and Service) Committee

Andrew Sherrill, PhD – Exposure therapy is among the most effective treatments for PTSD, OCD and many anxiety disorders. Yet it can sound intimidating to patients and clinicians alike. Although my colleagues might know my research focuses on the potential for technology to facilitate exposure therapy, few know I am similarly passionate about a less fundable but perhaps equally impactful path from avoidance to approach: drawing on patients’ interests in the arts.

To incorporate art into exposure therapy, there should be sincere interest demonstrated by prior participation or sustained curiosity. Ideally, there is a history of “approach behavior” we can use to block pathological avoidant behavior. Common modalities I incorporate are visual arts (e.g., drawing and painting), music and writing. These modalities can help someone sustain contact with challenging emotions, thoughts, and traumatic memories, especially when those internal experiences feel impossible to put into a more conventional dialogue. At times, artistic expression brings coherence to fragmented stories; at other times, artistic expression makes room for inescapable ambiguity.

Art within exposure therapy may operate through two pathways. “Inhibitory learning” may occur as people discover feared outcomes are less likely and more manageable than anticipated. But approach is also pulled by “reward sensitivity.” Artistic participation can cultivate enjoyment, curiosity, connection, play, mastery and pride. Treatment research devotes far more attention to reducing negative affect than to strengthening positive affect. That imbalance is striking because positive affect training is feasible and the arts offer acceptable protocols, instructors and communities for producing these experiences.

Recently, improvisational theater has been the artistic tradition I’m most excited to integrate into exposures. For about four years, I have taken classes and performed at Dad’s Garage Theatre Company. Improv asks the performer to tolerate uncertainty, make mistakes publicly, remain present and connect with scene partners and the audience without controlling what happens next. This approach seems to be especially helpful for social anxiety and OCD. 

For people with social anxiety, improv evokes experiences they often avoid, such as initiating interactions, speaking without rehearsing, appearing awkward and making mistakes. Entering an improv scene tests predictions about embarrassment and rejection. Spontaneity and shared joy allow the person to experience social reward for risk-taking. In practice, I introduce improv “games” played just between the patient and me, often with a trainee joining us. The games are then replicated between sessions within personally meaningful contexts.

For people with OCD, improv offers another relationship with intrusive thoughts. Instead of suppressing or analyzing a thought, the person can notice it, allow it and respond flexibly. Practice might begin with benign material (e.g., an impression of Arnold Schwarzenegger describing pastries he “might" have seen) and then progress to intrusive thoughts without treating them as significant (e.g., an impression of Schwarzenegger describing the patient’s intrusive doubts they “might" have run someone over with their car). The improv principle “yes, and…” captures the process: 1) accept what has entered the scene, 2) add to it and 3) continue forward in valued directions (e.g., connection, collaboration and creativity).

FACULTY KUDOS

Leadership Appointments, Achievements, Honors and Awards

Jordan Cattie received an Emory University School of Medicine Innovation in Clinical Care award.

Rob Cotes and his team at Grady received a Grady Research Infrastructure Award for their Clinical and Research Program in Psychosis

Negar Fani (1) was named the 2026 winner of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Advocacy Award. (2) received a Tiny Blue Dot award for $900,000 to study temporal interference to augment mindful meditation in adolescents and young adults with anxiety.

Chanda Graves has been selected to receive the Division 43 2026 Distinguished Service Award.

Benson Ku (1) received the Society for Research in Psychopathology Early Career Award (2) received the Rafaelsen Young Investigator Award from the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

Erica Marshall Lee has been selected as the Diversity Representative to the American Board of Serious Mental Illness Psychology.

Greg Robbins-Welty was named a member on the Task Force on Severe Mental Illness and Palliative Care, European Association for Palliative Care, serving July 2026–June 2029.

Andrew Sherrill had a recent paper receive Best Paper Award at the 29th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2026): Swinger N, Ryu M, Baseman CM, Xu K, Sherrill AM, & Arriaga RI. (In press). Postphenomenological insights from an in-the-wild collective sensing system deployment for PTSD therapy. Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing.

Mar Sanchez (1) NIH/NIA R01 AG070704-06 (Renewal), MPI: Sanchez/Alvarado (7/01/26-6/30/31): “Early risk factors of accelerated neural aging trajectories and cognitive decline: a nonhuman primate longitudinal model” (2) NIH/NIDA R01 DA052909-06A1 (Renewal), MPI: Sanchez/Nader; co-Inv: Costa (7/01/26-6/30/31): “Early experience and neurobiological risks of adult cocaine use disorder”

Mikle South will begin a three-year term on the Faculty Committee on Appointments and Promotions – Education and Service II in the School of Medicine in September 2026.

Publications and Grants

Robert Cotes (PI) and co-PIs: Benson Ku, Rachel Waford, Beth Broussard and Emily Griner received an Emory at Grady Research Infrastructure Support Award for "Clinical and Research Program for Psychosis."

Dotson S, Robbins-Welty GA & Schwartz AC. The Great Expansion: Are We on the Verge of a Psychiatry Program Bubble? Acad Psychiatry (2026). 

Benson Ku received the Georgia CTSA BERD Pilot Grant, "A Novel Privacy-Preserving Neighborhood Exposome Linkage Method for Child Psychopathology Research," with Patrick Kastner (Georgia Tech) as multiple PI.

Hamilton HK, Roach BJ, Nicholas S, Dembo R, Bachman PM, Belger A, Carrión RE, Duncan E, Johannesen JK, Light GA, Niznikiewicz MA, Addington J, Bearden CE, Cadenhead KS, Perkins DO, Walker EF, Woods SW, Cannon TD, Mathalon DH. Biol Psychiatry. Visual P300 and Risk for Psychosis Onset in Youth at Clinical High Risk.

Mellen EJ, Poplin T, Jovanovic T, et al. Prior Sexual Violence, PTSD Symptoms, and Recovery Trajectories After New Trauma. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online July 29, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2026.2219

Lal A, Pinto Taylor E, Kavalieratos D, Robbins-Welty GA. Scholarly Skills Series: How to Succeed in Writing Case Reports. J Palliat Med. 2026 Jul 7:10966218261465073. doi: 10.1177/10966218261465073. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42415542.

Palanci J, Walker EF, Ku BS. Communicating with the Psychotic Patient. In: Cole S, Frankel R, Bird J, eds. The Medical Interview: The Three Function Approach to Relationship-Centered Care, 4th edition. Elsevier; 2026.

Schwartz AC, Smith A, Stiles C, Robbins-Welty GA. Recurrent Rectal Foreign Body Insertion Associated With Cocaine-Induced Compulsive Sexual Behavior Resulting in Permanent Colostomy. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2026 Jul 16;28(4):26cr04212. doi: 10.4088/PCC.26cr04212. PMID: 42475755.

Schwartz AC, Stiles C, Smith AK, Robbins-Welty G. A Flipped Classroom Curriculum for Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Services in a High-Volume Safety-Net Hospital. Acad Psychiatry (2026).

Vai B, Cazzella T, Monopoli C, Bravi B, Kontogianni A, Wessa C, Worrell C, Simon MS, Baune BT, Benedetti F, Cattaneo A, der Eycken EV, Felger JC, Gold SM, Harrison NA, Hoffman N, Lamers F, Leboyer M, Lombardo G, Mäntylä F-L, Miller AH, Mondelli V, Penninx BWJH, Stein D, Sforzini L, Bavato F, Berk M, Borsini A, Branchi I, Capuron L, Caso JR, Cunningham JL, Fusar-Poli P, Haarman BCM, Lengvenyte A, Osimo EF, Otte C, Pollak TA, Steen NE, Pariante CM, Picker LD, 2026. A Delphi-method-based consensus for clinical domains and assessment of the inflammatory subtype of major depressive disorder from the ASPIRE study. Brain. Behav. Immun. 106957.

Wilkinson ST, Kitay BM, Macaluso M, Santucci MC, Kumpf K, Voghell C, Astorino L, Hershenberg R, Martinez-Kaigi V, Nowell T, Thase ME, Sanacora G, Rhee TG. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Following Esketamine for Major Depression and Suicidal Ideation for Relapse Prevention: The CBT-ENDURE Randomized Trial. J Clin Psychiatry. 2026 May 4;87(2):25m16285. doi: 10.4088/JCP.25m16285. PMID: 42095692. 

Wu A, Kim M, Miranda SP, D'Agostino E, Wiseman D, Zappi K, Robbins-Welty G, Stern J. Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Neurosurgery and Neurosurgical Care. J Palliat Med. 2026 Jul 23:10966218261471627. doi: 10.1177/10966218261471627. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42493479.

Xie T, van Rooij SJH, Sun S, Bryson NK, Demarest P, Park H, Maccotta L, Wang S, Brunner P, Willie JT. Nat Commun. Right amygdala ablation reduces maladaptive negative interpretation bias and symptoms in a patient with post-traumatic stress disorder 

Presentations (Oral, Poster)

Haroon E: “Aging on Both Sides of the Barrier: Local and Systemic Immune Aging in Depression and Dementia Risk” – Presenting at NIA-NIMH Depression and AD/ADRD Virtual Workshop, September, 2026

Haroon E: “Assessment and management of inflammation will benefit diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders”– Invited Lecture, 26th World Congress of Psychiatry, Stockholm, Sweden, September 2026. 

Benson Ku is an invited oral presenter at the 2026 Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference: "From Mouse to Child: A Cross-Species Social-Isolation Polygenic Score, Childhood Psychotic-Like Experiences, and the Buffering Role of School Environment."

Adriana Miu was a panelist for the American Board of Professional Psychology webinar titled “Leadership Starts Here: Finding Your Voice in Psychology.”

Greg Robbins-Welty (1) [National]  Palliative Care After Suicide Attempts. University of Pennsylvania Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Conference. July 15, 2026. (Virtual) (2) [National] Finding Jobs After Residency: Advocating for Ourselves as Med-Psych Graduates. Association of Medicine and Psychiatry Research & Scholarship Committee Webinar Series. Panelist. July 16, 2026. (Virtual)

Andrew Sherrill will be presenting an ADAA professional continuing education webinar titled “Humanity-in-the-Loop as a Requirement for Mental Health Work: How to Calibrate AI for the Head and the Heart.”

Media

Bekh Bradley (1) WSB-TV | Metro Atlanta Vets Could be Some of the First to Test GLP-1s for Treating Alcohol Use Disorder.

ADJUNCT FACULTY KUDOS

Julie Dorney has been promoted to the rank of Adjunct Professor.

Sterrett-Hong EM, Reba-Harrelson L, McRae M. (2006, August 6-8). Strategies for Equity and Justice in Psychology Through Political Backlash. [Conferenence Session]. American Psychological Association Convention, Washington DC, United States.

TRAINEE KUDOS

Jordan Hildenbrand was selected as a 2027 Laughlin Fellow of The American College of Psychiatrists.

Kate Rubin received a CHILD PRITE Fellowships for 2026-2027.