In the News

ECT is a medical treatment that involves a brief electrical stimulation of the brain while a patient is under anesthesia. It’s administered in the Psychiatric Hospital’s Neuromodulation Suite, and is most commonly used in patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder that have not responded to treatment.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on Monday held its first Directorship Celebration to honor and support eight of its leaders in clinical care, research, education and administration. “These directorships are critical to our entire institution, as they make it possible for us to fulfill our role as a national leader in healthcare,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM).

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center UCEDD co-director Elise McMillan and Governor Bill Haslam were both honored with the 2017 Freedom Award from Disability Rights Tennessee. The Freedom Award honors Tennesseans who through their leadership have advanced the rights of people with disabilities. The awards were given during the Fourth Annual Disability Employment Awareness Luncheon on Oct. 24. The annual event brought together almost 300 business, nonprofit, government, and community leaders to network and learn how to create and strengthen diverse and inclusive workplaces.

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.

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.