Introducing the keynote speaker for the 2023 UTHealth Houston Psychiatry Update Conference - register today!

Alisa Busch, MD, MS, chief medical information officer at McLean Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, will be the keynote speaker at the 2023 UTHealth Houston Psychiatry Update on Saturday, April 22.

Busch will speak on “Digital Health and Data Science, Opportunities and Challenges in Improving Access to and the Quality of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Care.”

The theme of this year’s conference is the intersection between psychiatry care, data science, and digital health. Topics include the latest in mental health and substance use disorders in combination with the opportunities and challenges that data science and digital health can offer to improve quality of care.

The conference is intended for medical professionals including physicians, psychologists, scientists, nurses and nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, students, and trainees. They will hear the latest about the current limits, implementation challenges, equity issues, and privacy and security considerations of available tools for the care of patients.

Register for the conference here.

Arriola Vigo speaks at ACLP conference

Jose Arriola Vigo, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, was recently a speaker at the annual meeting of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP) in Atlanta.

Arriola Vigo spoke on “Mental Health in the Hispanic Immigrant Community: Cultural and Clinical Considerations,” specifically regarding the Hispanic immigrant community and mental health care. Specific items included barriers to receiving mental health care; the importance of acculturation, particularly how the immigrant community adapts to a new society; and strategies to better care for this particular population.

Arriola Vigo says there are several things to consider when seeing patients from immigrant communities. He says one of the most important interventions is to have culturally competent and Spanish-speaking physicians. Communities have shown to have more trust in those who can communicate in Spanish and understand their cultural and social values.

Arriola Vigo takes pride in being able to assist immigrant populations in their health care, both mentally and physically integrating into a new society.

“I think it’s a very rewarding experience to see more mental health providers that are interested in caring for, and learning more about, this population,” Arriola Vigo said. “At the end of the day, we should aim to provide better health care to the immigrant populations.”

ACLP is a professional organization of consultation-liaison psychiatrists who specialize in providing psychiatric care for patients with complex medical conditions at inpatient and outpatient primary care and specialty services clinics. Arriola Vigo is an American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology board-certified consultation-liaison psychiatrist that provides outpatient and inpatient consultation services at Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.

Read more about the ACLP here.

Spotlight:

Olayinka continues substance use treatment practice at UTHealth Houston

Olaniyi Olayinka, MD, MPH, assistant professor, recently joined the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as a board-certified addiction psychiatrist at UTHealth Houston Harris County Psychiatric Center (UTHealth Houston HCPC).

Olayinka began his journey in his native Nigeria, where he completed medical school at Obafemi Awolowo University. After his internal medicine residency in Nigeria, he came to the United States to attend St. Louis University, earning a Master of Public Health degree. Additional stops included St. George's University (Grenada), and Xavier University (Aruba), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Old Dominion University, and One Brooklyn Health’s Interfaith Medical Center.

Olayinka’s research interests center on the epidemiology of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders and finding effective treatments for dually diagnosed individuals. His interest in this area began in 2015 during his fellowship with the CDC. While at the CDC, Olayinka had the opportunity to investigate the rise in death due to Kush, a type of cannabis, in Colorado and later in Mississippi. That experience led him to want to gain additional experience to help treat those affected by the opioid epidemic.

One of Olayinkato’s goals is to start a dual-diagnosis program at UTHealth Houston HCPC for patients with severe mental illness and substance use disorders. Olayinka says the dual approach ensures that all patients are getting the care they need.



“I love what I do,” Olayinka said. “Opioid use is very common in Texas. I saw this as an opportunity to expand my knowledge and also help this patient population here in Texas.”



Outside of work, Olayinka enjoys traveling, visiting family and friends, and sports, specifically watching and playing basketball.

Cordeiro, postdoctoral research fellow, wins a pair of awards

Rafaela Cordeiro, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, was recently awarded the UTHealth Houston Postdoctoral Travel Award from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and the 1st international College of NeuroPsychopharmacology (CINP) Research Fellowship for Early Careers.



Cordeiro’s background is in neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology. In the past, she has used animal models to study depression and mania. Currently, Cordeiro’s postdoctoral research work, mentored by Giselli Scaini, PhD, and João de Quevedo, MD, PhD, is to investigate phenotypes and biomarkers in mood disorders in both unipolar and bipolar depression.

Her winning abstracts for both awards were based on her study evaluating biochemical markers associated with mitochondrial function, organelles responsible for multiple cellular functions, in patients with major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression.

Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. Although there are numerous antidepressant medications, less than 50% of patients respond to treatment. Some patients who do not respond to two or more first-line antidepressant treatments are considered to have treatment-resistant depression.

Findings of the study support that mitochondrial dysfunction is integral to the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder, and suggest that lactate levels and lactate-to-pyruvate ratios may be useful diagnostic indicators.

The abstracts will be presented at the 2023 Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Meeting in San Diego and the CINP meeting, which will be held in Canada.

Cordeiro is excited to be a part of the research team and looks forward to continuing her work.

“It was a really nice surprise to get this recognition,” said Cordeiro, who is from Brazil. “These awards help me to get my name out there to other scientists in the field. It is an important first step to furthering my career in the U.S.”

The Travel Award from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is a competitive award for postdoctoral fellows who are presenting at conferences. Recipients are selected by peer reviewers.



CINP was established more than 60 years ago in Switzerland. The organization holds meetings to train and educate interested researchers worldwide. 

The following clinical trials are in operation, following all necessary safety guidelines. If you're interested, contact the appropriate study.

Developing Adaptive Interventions for Cocaine Cessation and Relapse Prevention

We are conducting a study to develop adaptive treatment 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)

Stem Cells for Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Depression

This study aims to examine the safety and efficacy of allogenic mesenchymal stem cells as an adjunctive treatment for treatment-resistant bipolar depression. Patients will be assigned into a treatment or a placebo group. 

Contact: 713-486-2627

VNS RECOVER Study

Researchers in the UTHealth Houston Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders are studying the VNS therapy LivaNova device to treat depression as part of the RECOVER trial.

Contact: 713-486-2627

To see all open studies, visit our website.

Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression - New England Journal of Medicine - November 2022

Guy M. Goodwin, F.Med.Sci., Scott T. Aaronson, M.D., Oscar Alvarez, M.R.C.Psych., Peter C. Arden, M.P.H., Annie Baker, R.G.N., James C. Bennett, M.Sc., Catherine Bird, M.Sc., Renske E. Blom, M.D., Christine Brennan, M.Sc., Donna Brusch, C.C.R.C., Lisa Burke, M.Sc., Kete Campbell-Coker, R.G.N., J.C. Soares

Management of Chronic Pain and PTSD in Veterans With tDCS+Prolonged Exposure: A Pilot Study - PubMed.Gov - November 2022

Melba A Hernandez-Tejada, Kathryn E Cherry, Sheila A M Rauch, Ron Acierno, Gabriel R Fries, Wendy Muzzy, Ellen J Teng, Bethany Wangelin, Hyochol Ahn

Michael Weaver, MD, spoke to FOX 26 News about the impact of making Narcan available for over-the-counter use.

Sudhakar Selvaraj, MD, PhD, was quoted in an Allure article about brain scans becoming a popular tool for mental health. 

Ron Acierno, PhD, spoke to KPRC-TV Channel 2 about mental health resources for first-responders in crisis.

Lokesh Shahani, MD, PhD, MPH, was quoted in a Healthline article about prescribing antidepressants for pain relief.  

Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston

713-486-2500

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