News

Dr. Roaten named Medical Director for Quality and Safety

Kimberly Roaten, Ph.D. ABPP, has been named as the Psychiatry Department’s Medical Director for Quality and Safety. In this new position, Dr. Roaten will establish a centralized peer and quality review process for the department and work with clinical leaders to develop and implement new quality initiatives. Dr. Roaten will assess the quality and safety of clinical practice, along with clinician engagement with integrated care pathways and best practices, and will partner with Psychiatry leaders at Children’s Health and Parkland Health to integrate the work of our affiliated hospitals and clinics with our department's new centralized process.

Dr. Roaten is an alumna of the UT Southwestern Medical Center Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation Psychology programs and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Health Psychology at UT Southwestern. She has been a faculty member at UT Southwestern since 2010 and is a board-certified Clinical Health Psychologist. She has more than a decade of experience in quality and safety from her work at Parkland Health, where she is the Associate Chief Quality and Safety Officer for Behavioral Health.

Dr. Guillory selected for the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award

Joseph Guillory, M.D., has been selected to join the sixth cohort of the Robert A. Winn Excellence in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award (Winn CDA) scholars. Dr. Guillory is among a distinguished group of physicians selected for the Winn CDA, who will work to strengthen partnerships between clinical investigators and communities, expand participation in clinical studies, and accelerate the development of therapeutics that benefit all populations. The Winn CDA offers sponsorship, training, mentorship, and resources to support scholar growth as a clinical investigator committed to advancing health equity – equipping scholars to lead research that drives meaningful impact.

National Academy of Neuropsychology Diversity Poster Award

Clinical Psychology Student Diego Jofre Zarate received the 2026 Diversity Poster Award at the National Academy of Neuropsychology annual meeting for “Exploring bilingualism and age of cognitive impairment in Hispanic/Latinx adults." His mentor is Christian LoBue, Ph.D.

Dr. Trello-Rishel honored with UT System Teaching Award

Kathlene Trello-Rishel, M.D., has been awarded a 2026 Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award by The University of Texas System Board of Regents. The award recognizes "exceptional classroom performance and innovation," and winners are selected after a competitive, multi-stage review that examines the methods used to engage students, evidence that those methods improve outcomes, and future strategies for sharing their approach with colleagues across the UT System.

UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife was quoted in a news release announcing the award winners, saying, “These 12 recipients have demonstrated exceptional skill as educators and outstanding commitment to students. The Board is grateful for all the incredible educators we have working across the campuses.”

The award comes with a medallion, certificate, and monetary prize of $25,000. Dr. Trello-Rishel and other winners will be acknowledged at the November Board of Regents meeting.

Kuruvila, Maharaj receive Advanced Practice Provider Excellence Awards

UT Southwestern’s APP Recognition Committee reviews nominations and selects individuals whose work exemplifies excellence in clinical care, community service, leadership, scholarship, and teaching. Read the story on Center Times Plus to learn more about their accomplishments and impact.

D’Mello Lab awarded NIH grant to study the organization of language in autism

Anila D’Mello, Ph.D., has received an NIH-National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders grant to investigate the neural basis of semantic language difficulties in autism spectrum disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition that affects social communication and language. Language difficulties impact autistic individuals’ ability to communicate, learn, and engage socially. A particularly consequential language challenge in ASD is understanding and accessing word meaning, known as semantics. Because understanding the meaning of words is fundamental to communication, differences in this ability can be particularly consequential to how people understand, express, and use language in social situations. A team including Dr. D’Mello as Principal Investigator and UC Berkeley Co-Investigators Jack Gallant, Ph.D. and Rich Ivry, Ph.D., will conduct precision functional MRI in autistic and non-autistic adults while they attend to naturalistic stories. The study will investigate how the autistic brain responds to the meaning of thousands of different concepts, from dozens of categories, and how individual differences in the brain’s response relates to social behaviors.

Special Grant Incentive Award

Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., has been selected as a recipient of UT Southwestern's Special Grant Incentive Award, which provides funding of $10,000. Dr. Brown's sponsor agency is the NIH-National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Hypothesis Fund Grant

Janko Gospocic, Ph.D., has been awarded a grant from the Hypothesis Fund for "Decoding Neuronal Rejuvenation Through Epigenetic Mechanisms," to build on his studies with the Harpegnathos saltator ant species, investigating new ways to reverse brain aging.

Educational Outreach Program Award

Elif Ozan, M.D., a second-year resident in the Research Track of the Psychiatry Residency program, has been awarded an Educational Outreach Program Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Participants are exposed to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry, including research opportunities, access to mentors, and various networking opportunities. and receive reimbursement for travel expenses to the AACAP annual meeting.