Angela Heads, PhD, associate professor in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences received an award at the 2021 Excellence Awards Ceremony presented by the Women's Faculty Forum at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.
Annually, the WFF Excellence Awards recognize the outstanding contributions made by women faculty at McGovern Medical School. Awards are given out in the areas of research, education, and clinical service. Awards consist of two Rising Star awards, an Excellence in Research award, and an Excellence in Clinical Science Award.
This award recognized Heads for her exceptional work demonstrating clinical excellence. In 2021 alone, Heads has started several studies aimed at improving women’s medical care through pre-exposure prophylaxis (PReP), a medication used in preventing HIV. She is the project director for two substance use disorders treatment and HIV prevention programs, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to increase access to treatment for underserved populations. She also is co-director, along with Jane Hamilton, PhD, of the UTHealth Center for Behavioral Health Equity and Outcomes Research.
The award highlights Heads’ outstanding contributions to patient care, promotion of clinical knowledge, leadership in medicine, leadership in clinical improvements, professionalism, and excellence in practice management.
Heads’ research focuses on women’s mental health issues, including HIV prevention, substance use disorders, and racial and gender-related disparities in mental health and coping. She is humbled to have received the awards and looks forward to continuing her work.
“I am truly honored to be selected for this award and grateful to the Women’s Faculty Forum for their dedication to promoting the work of women faculty,” Heads said.
Learn more about the WFF here.
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Faculty spotlight:
Huynh excited to join UTHealth Houston
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Martin Huynh, MD, assistant professor, recently joined the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He currently provides outpatient services with the SB11 team.
Huynh was born in Minneapolis but says he got to Texas as quickly as he could. He spent most of his childhood in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, attending The University of Texas at Dallas, and majoring in biochemistry with a political science minor.
It was in his undergraduate studies that Huynh decided to go to medical school, combining his interests in science, teaching, and helping others. He relocated to Houston to attend Baylor College of Medicine. During his rotations, Huynh discovered he enjoyed psychiatry the most for its diversity of pathology and laid-back culture. He stayed at Baylor for his general psychiatry residency.
Huynh relocated to St. Louis for a two-year fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Washington University, where he served as a chief fellow his final year. Huynh then returned to Houston to be closer to family, ready to apply his training at UTHealth Houston.
Huynh has broad and diverse training in child psychiatry. His areas of interest include eating disorders, addiction, infant and preschool development, ADHD, autism, and early psychosis. He recognizes many mental health issues begin early in life and require coordination of complex systems: the family, the school, and sometimes the state. He believes in prudent and thoughtful prescribing and the importance of psychotherapy. He believes in empowering his patients and their families to find meaning and deeper joy and not just escape from suffering. In addition to his many clinical interests, Huynh is interested in the philosophical, ethical, and spiritual questions of medicine.
Huynh is passionate about medical education at every level, one reason he chose to start his career in academic medicine. He hopes to improve systems of care and improve overall quality of care for patients through education and quality improvement projects. At UTHealth Houston, he feels he has an opportunity to continue to grow and learn.
“Everyone has been very warm and welcoming,” Huynh said. “I knew I wanted to stay in academic medicine and found the community at UTHealth Houston to be great. I felt like I could make an impact and grow professionally. I’m happy to collaborate with others and look forward to meeting others.”
When he’s not practicing psychiatry, Huynh’s variety of interests including spending time with his family, reading, barbecuing and baking sourdough bread, rock climbing, craft beer, and being involved with his Catholic church community.
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Trio receive grants to study bipolar disorder |
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Congratulations to Jair Soares, MD, PhD; Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, MD, PhD; and Gabriel Fries, PhD, for receiving three grants from the Baszucki Brain Research Fund, partnering with the Milken Institute, aimed at funding innovative research.
The Center for Strategic Philanthropy at the Milken Institute collaborated with the Baszucki Brain Research Fund to advance therapeutic discoveries for bipolar disorder. The program looks to fund innovative clinical research with the potential to improve treatment options to treat patients with bipolar disorder.
In all, a total of 45 grants were awarded, totaling $2 million in funding.
Bipolar disorder affects 2.3 million Americans, and nearly 45 million worldwide, according to the Milken Institute. The condition is characterized by disruptive recurrences of mania and depression that may last for weeks, months or even years. Bipolar disorder can lead to the loss of employment, strained relationships, suicide, and the feeling of powerlessness over one’s daily routines and behavior, according to the Milken Institute.
Below are summaries of the projects awarded grants. Read more about the Milken Institute and Baszucki Brain Research Fund partnership here.
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Jair Soares, MD, PhD, received a $200,000 grant. His project is titled “Developing Brain Imaging Analysis Expertise for Personalizing Transcranial Electric Stimulation in Anhedonia Treatment of Patients with Bipolar Depression.” Marsal Sanches, MD, PhD, and Alexandre Paim Diaz, MD, PhD, are co-investigators on the project.
Summary of project: The objective of this proposal is to investigate whether transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) engages reward-related brain circuitry of patients with bipolar depression and whether this engagement is correlated with changes in measures of anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure.
Soares is professor and chair of the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Pat Rutherford, Jr. Chair in Psychiatry. He directs the Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, which focuses on the search for the causes and the development of new treatments for mood disorders. The center is composed of an active research team who specializes in clinical neurosciences.
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Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, MD, PhD, received a $200,000 grant. His project is titled “A Randomized, Placebo Controlled Trial of the Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase Inhibitor Palmitoylethanolamide in Bipolar Depression.”
Summary of project: The objective of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, six-week study is to evaluate the antidepressant efficacy of the Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) in Bipolar Depression and the association between antidepressant response with endogenous cannabinoids and cytokine levels (ECs-- PEA, AEA, 2-AG, OEA; Cytokines-- TNF, IL2,4,6,10,12.)
Machado-Vieira is a professor in the department. Machado-Vieira leads the Experimental Therapeutics and Molecular Pathophysiology Program and has several ongoing clinical trials. Machado-Vieira’s current research focuses on the identification of novel and improved therapeutics for mood disorders. His work focuses on proof-of-concept clinical trials evaluating new or repurposed medications.
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Gabriel Fries, PhD, received a $200,000 grant. His project is titled “Targeting Accelerated Aging in Bipolar Disorder: Calorie Restriction Mimetics as a Novel Treatment Strategy.”
Summary of project: This project will investigate the biological basis of accelerated aging in bipolar disorder by investigating clinical datasets and cellular models of bipolar disorder. Specifically, the investigators will explore the potential protective role of "calorie restriction mimetics" (CRMs) in cells from patients, which are novel drugs suggested to expand lifespan by modulating metabolic pathways in animals and humans.
Fries is an assistant professor in the department. His research focuses on the epigenetics of mood disorders, with a focus on suicide, stress, and aging mechanisms.
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Registration is now open! |
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The Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is proud to announce registration is open for the 2022 UTHealth Houston Psychiatry Update Conference, titled “Hot Topics: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,” on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
The conference will be held at the Fayez S. and Susan K. Sarofim Research Building and is the first in-person meeting the department is scheduled to host in two years.
There’s been a recent emphasis on child and adolescent psychiatry. Childhood depression and suicide rates have gone up; however, there are safe, effective treatments that are underutilized.
Speakers at the conference will share the latest information and research on various topics in child psychiatry, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism spectrum (ASD), mood and anxiety disorders, and a look at pediatric trauma research.
“We are excited to have as many clinicians, researchers, and educators as possible back in person, to learn from each other, and discuss on these highly prevalent and treatable disorders," Cesar Soutullo, MD, PhD, course director said. "If we improve early recognition and treatment adherence, we can make a big difference in these children’s futures.”
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The following clinical trials are in operation, following all necessary safety guidelines. If you're interested, contact the appropriate study.
We are conducting a study to develop adaptive treatment interventions, that is, interventions that change based on how the participant is doing. Individuals seeking treatment for cocaine addiction may qualify to participate in this two-phase program.
Contact: 713-500-DRUG (3784)
This study aims to examine the safety and efficacy of allogenic mesenchymal stem cells as an adjunctive treatment of treatment-resistant bipolar depression. Patients will be assigned into a treatment or a placebo group.
Contact: 713-486-2627
This study assesses the safety and tolerability of Candesartan as an adjunctive treatment of bipolar depression. All patients will receive the study drug for four weeks and a placebo for four weeks. Neither the patients nor the study team will know if the patient received the study drug or the placebo first.
Contact: 713-486-2627
The UTHealth Houston Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders at the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is collaborating with LivaNova, a global medical technology company, to start a new clinical trial – the “RECOVER study” – to help treat depression.
Contact: 713-486-2627
To see all open studies, visit our website.
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New position available
Research Assistant I - Translational Psychiatry Program
The Translational Psychiatry Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is looking for a Research Assistant to join their multi-disciplinary and productive team.
See all open positions in the department here.
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Brooke A Fina, Edward C Wright, Sheila A M Rauch, Sonya B Norman, Ron Acierno, Lisa-Ann J Cuccurullo, Katherine A Dondanville, John C Moring, Lily A Brown, Edna B Foa
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Antonio Teixeira, MD, PhD, spoke with the American Psychiatric Association about a study suggests COVID-19 is most deadly for patients with schizophrenia.
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Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth
713-486-2500
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