In 1964, with little fanfare, Harold Jordan, M.D., became the first African-American resident physician at Vanderbilt. Looking back to that time, he recalls the support of his colleagues and the challenges he faced.  

The trouble with you is that you just don’t apply yourself. Why can’t you ever be on time? Why is everything always so last-minute? If you cared, you would remember. Those lifelong struggles to stay on track, be on time and handle stress have caused problems and haven’t gone away no matter what. Here’s an idea. It might not be your fault.  

Adolescence and puberty is a time of significant physical, psychological, hormonal, and social changes. These changes are challenging for all youth but especially so for youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). A large study being launched by Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one of the first to examine this critical period of development for youth with ASD.

Elise McMillan, J.D., Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VKC UCEDD), Director of Community Engagement and Public Policy, and Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, will receive the 2017 Education Award of the National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) at its annual convention held July 20-23 in Sacramento, CA. This award recognizes McMillan’s “extraordinary impact at the community, state, and national levels by developing model inclusive education and higher education programs for students with Down syndrome.”

Meghan Riddle, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Warren Taylor, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, were among the authors of an article titled "Longitudinal cognitive outcomes of clinical phenotypes of late-life depression," published recently in the March issue of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Sheryl B. Fleisch, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, was selected as the 2017 Vanderbilt University School of Medicine faculty recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award voted on by graduating medical students. This award is given to recognize a faculty member who exemplifies compassion, empathy and respect for patients and for excellence in the art of medicine.  

Jo Ellen Wilson, M.D., MPH, Instructor in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, was recently published in Psychiatric Times with an article she co-wrote titled "Update on Medical Catatonia: Highlight on Delirium." Catatonia is a distinct and heterogeneous neuropsychiatric syndrome, with both motoric and behavioral signs. It was formerly relegated to a schizophrenia subtype, or considered extinct after the advent of modern psychopharmacology.

Tarah M. Kuhn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology, and Jon S. Ebert, Psy.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, were invited presenters for the Vanderbilt Multidisciplinary Perioperative Morbidity, Mortality, and Improvement Conference in Langford Auditorium on Mar. 3.

D. Catherine Fuchs, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, served as co-editor for a publication of Child and Adolescent Psychaitry Clinics of North America titled "Transitional Age Youth and Mental Illness: Influences on Young Adult Outcomes." Citation:  Martel, A, Fuchs, DC, co-editors. Transitional Age Youth and Mental Illness: Influences on Young Adult Outcomes, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinics of North America, April 2017, Volume 26, Issue 2. 

Michelle Failla, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow, recently received a competitive Autism Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project on "Verbal and Nonverbal Responses to Physical Pain in ASD." Failla works with Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences.