FACLP is bestowed on those who have made exemplary contributions to C-L Psychiatry
The honor of becoming a Fellow of the Academy has been conferred on 17 members—all leaders in their field of C-L Psychiatry.
Fellowship in the ACLP is bestowed upon Academy members who manifest active participation in the Academy and have made exemplary contributions to C-L Psychiatry as educators, researchers, or administrators.
Together with extracts from one of their nominees, the new FACLPs are:
Omair Abbasi, MD, FAPA, FACLP, Associate Program Director, Memorial Health System Psychiatry GME program
Nominated by Elisabeth Kunkel, MD, FACLP: “I recruited Dr. Abbasi to the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University in 2014. He worked extensively with medical students, Psychiatry residents, and C‐L Psychiatry fellows. His teaching was supported by his highly respected clinical work in bariatric surgery and epilepsy. Dr. Abbasi has received seven major awards in education, including the Nancy Roeske APA award, often considered the highest national award for medical student education.”
Dr. Abbasi has served on the Academy’s Medical Student Education Subcommittee for the past six years and the Oral Papers & Posters Subcommittee for the past three years.
Also nominated by: Robert Weinrieb, MD, FACLP
Joseph Cerimele, MD, MPH, FACLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine
Nominated by Jesse Fann, MD, MPH, FACLP: “Dr. Cerimele is an exemplary physician‐researcher with clinical and research interests and expertise in primary care Psychiatry. His research focuses on patients with bipolar disorder. Dr. Cerimele has worked in primary care settings doing collaborative care work and telehealth consultations, and also attends on the hospital’s medical‐psychiatric service at the University of Washington Medical Center. He is universally viewed by colleagues as highly collaborative and supportive.”
Dr. Cerimele was a member of the Academy’s Journal Committee (2017–2019), and since 2019 has been a member of the Oral Papers & Posters Subcommittee. He is a deputy editor of the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (JACLP).
Also nominated by: Amy Bauer, MD, MS, FACLP
Dustin DeMoss, DO, MS, FACLP, Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences, Texas Christian University, and University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine
Nominated by James Bourgeois, MD, OD, FACLP: “Dr. DeMoss has won the Excellence in Psychiatric Education Award, the Educator of the Year award, and several Top Doctor Awards in the Fort Worth area. He has been active in medical student, resident, and physician assistant education, both as a didactic instructor and clinical supervisor. He has been an active member of several Department of Psychiatry committees (chairing two) and in regional and national medical organizations. He is broadly seen as a rising star in clinical academic Psychiatry in Texas.”
Over the past five years, Dr DeMoss has served on the Residency Education Subcommittee and now serves on the Online Education Subcommittee.
Also nominated by: Thomas Heinrich, MD, FACLP
Anna Dickerman, MD, FACLP, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College & Chief, Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Service, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine
Nominated by Philip Muskin, MD, FACLP: “Dr. Dickerman completed a C-L Psychiatry fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center where her clinical performance was outstanding, as was both her scholarship and supervision during the fellowship. I have worked closely with her since her residency in writing study guides in various psychiatric specialties as well as on general Psychiatry. Her scholarship and work ethic are admirable. In every way, Dr. Dickerman exemplifies the highest standard of professionalism and is the role model for fellowship in the Academy.”
Dr. Dickerman has served on the Academy’s Research & Evidence-Based Practice Committee.
Also nominated by: Peter Shapiro, MD, FACLP
Margo Funk, MA, MD, FACLP, Vice-Chair of Education and Residency Program Director, Director of Cardiovascular Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Nominated by Sejal Shah, MD, FACLP: “Dr. Funk has established a national reputation for her expertise in cardiovascular Psychiatry and as an outstanding educator in the field. As chair of the American Psychiatric Association Council on C-L Psychiatry, I appointed her to lead an expert workgroup on QTc prolongation and psychotropic medications. This work, in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology, was highly regarded and she is now considered a leading expert in this area. There can be no greater evidence of my esteem for Dr. Funk than leading her recruitment (in my role as vice-chair of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital) as the new training director of the Psychiatry Residency Program. She is also director of cardiovascular psychiatry.”
Dr. Funk was chair of the Medical Student Education Subcommittee (2014-2017) and a founding member of the Academy’s Military & Veterans SIG. She is also a member of the Cardiovascular Psychiatry SIG and serves on the Residency Education Subcommittee.
Also nominated by: David Gitlin, MD, DFAPA, FACLP
Alan Hsu, MD, FACLP, HS Associate Clinical Professor and C-L Fellowship Associate Program Director, VA San Diego Healthcare System/University of California San Diego
Nominated by Maria Tiamson‐Kassab, MD, FACLP: “I have known Dr. Hsu since he was a C-L Psychiatry fellow from Memorial Sloan Kettering attending the 2013 ACLP annual meeting. At the time, I interviewed him for a position in the Psychiatry service at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. He relocated to San Diego in 2014 and we were lucky enough to have him as a colleague. In the years that followed, Dr. Hsu, who started as a psychiatrist in the Behavioral Health Integrated Program in a community clinic, rose to the leadership of the Consultation‐Liaison Program at VA San Diego.”
Dr. Hsu is chair of the Academy’s Early Career Track Subcommittee, and a member of the Oral Papers & Posters Subcommittee and the Medical Student Education Subcommittee.
Also nominated by: Kristin Beizai, MD, FACLP
Eva Ihle, MD, PhD, FACLP, HS Clinical Professor, Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
Nominated by James Bourgeois, MD, OD, FACLP: “Dr. Ihle has been working in child and adolescent C-L Psychiatry at University of California for 15 years. She has been an active participant in several innovative service delivery models to facilitate the delivery of C-L Psychiatry services to patients throughout the UCSF system. She has also served as an attending psychiatrist on the adult C-L Psychiatry service at University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center, where she was my clinical teammate. Her enthusiasm for C-L Psychiatry is evident in her clinical teaching of medical students, nurse practitioner students, Psychiatry residents, and CLP and CAP fellows. I can attest to her intellectual curiosity, academic rigor, and innovative, problem-solving approach.”
Dr. Ihle was a member of the Member Services Subcommittee (2016-2020); a member of the Journal Committee (2017-2020); and has been a member of the Fellowship and Awards Subcommittee since 2020.
Also nominated by: Lawrence Kaplan, DO, FACLP
Elie Isenberg-Grzeda, MD, MDCM, FRCPC, FACLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
Nominated by Paula Zimbrean, MD, FACLP, FAPA: “Early in his career, Dr. Isenberg-Grzeda received several Academy awards or nominations, including a Webb Fellowship in 2014. He continued his career by significant research activity and writing contributions to his area of expertise, psycho-oncology. I collaborated with Dr. Isenberg-Grzeda for four years when I was chairing the Guidelines & Evidence-Based Medicine Subcommittee. He has also been responsible for the psycho-oncology section of the ACLP Quarterly Annotations since 2014. His commitment to supporting our Academy with timely and systematic reviews of the literature was sustained and reliable and his work greatly enhanced the overall quality of the annotations.”
Dr. Isenberg-Grzeda has been a member of the Academy’s Guidelines & Evidence-Based Medicine Subcommittee for the past six years and was a member of the Member Services Subcommittee (2014-2016).
Also nominated by: Philip Bialer, MD, FACLP
Sheila Lahijani, MD, FACLP, Associate Clinical Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Stanford Cancer Center Psychosocial Oncology Program
Nominated by Jesse Fann, MD, FACLP: “I am impressed by Dr. Lahijani’s sincere passion for improving the lives of people struggling with medical illness. During my visit to Stanford and interacting with many of her colleagues in Psychiatry and Medicine, she is clearly a highly respected clinician and teacher. In addition to her many clinical responsibilities, she has an impressive and sustained track record of teaching both psychiatrists and internists across a wide array of topics in the field of C-L Psychiatry. Her dual training in Psychiatry and Internal Medicine provides unique perspective and credibility in her teaching. In particular, she has developed a keen interest and expertise in the psychiatric care of people with cancer and has developed this interest into an impressive clinical and teaching portfolio.”
Dr. Lahijani has presented at several ACLP conferences, served on ACLP educational and journal committees, and is the chair of the Palliative Medicine & Psycho-Oncology SIG.
Also nominated by: José Maldonado, MD, FACFE, FACLP
Katy LaLone, MD, FACLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University; University Hospitals, Seidman Cancer Center
Nominated by Jeanne Lackamp, MD, DFAPA, FACLP: “Dr. LaLone joined our ambulatory psycho-oncology team and she has expanded this work by taking her skillsets and expertise from our main academic center to one of our community hospitals where a satellite oncology center was created. Dr. LaLone is seen as ‘the Face of Psychiatry’ in these venues. She is dedicated to her patients; she is accessible and engaged with the staff; and she is consistently seeking opportunities to expand the psycho-oncology team’s impact. Dr. LaLone has distinguished herself within our department.”
Dr. LaLone was an Early Career Track Subcommittee member (2013-2019) and a member of the Academy’s Mentorship Task Force (2017-2019).
Also nominated by: JJ Rasimas, MD, PhD, FACMT, FACPsych, FACLP
Robert Lloyd, PhD, MD, FACLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Nominated by Lisa J. Rosenthal, MD, DFAPA, FACLP: “When Dr Lloyd agreed to join Northwestern’s C-L Fellowship program in 2012, I was beside myself with joy. It was my first recruitment as a Fellowship Director, and successfully recruiting an MD, PhD, who was Chief Resident at Emory, as well as a clearly outstanding human, was one of the nicest successes I have had as a Fellowship Director. I had difficulty believing my luck that he would come to Northwestern’s new program—and then I had difficulty teaching him anything during his Fellowship year. He is one of those spectacular academic physicians who needs little direction or supervision. I was thrilled again when I was able to hire him as a faculty member in 2013. It is wonderful to have someone so intimately aware of C-L Psychiatry in charge of residency training.”
Dr. Lloyd was a member of the Academy’s Residency Education Subcommittee (2012-2015), and of the Online Education Subcommittee (2015- 2019). He is currently chair of the Preconference Courses Subcommittee of the Annual Meeting Committee.
Also nominated by: Nehama Dresner, MD, FAPA, FACLP
Curtis McKnight, MD, FACLP, Associate Professor, Creighton University School of Medicine Phoenix Campus
Nominated by Michael Sharpe, MD, FACLP: “I had the opportunity to visit Dr. McKnight’s hospital in Phoenix during my preparation for the CLP 2020 annual meeting (which was planned to take place there before it had to go virtual). As a result, I can personally confirm that he clearly makes a major contribution to that institution in clinical, educational, and administrative realms, as well as to C-L Psychiatry more widely. He has also made a significant contribution to research and scholarship. A particular strength is his teaching of both medical students and staff is evidenced by the many teaching excellence awards documented on his CV. Dr. McKnight’s warm and hard-working nature, his obvious clinical dedication, teaching ability, and ongoing commitment to our Academy make him an asset to our organization and deserving of Fellowship status.”
Dr. McKnight was a member of the Academy’s Business of C-L Psychiatry Subcommittee (2016-2019) and its chair (2019-2020).
Also nominated by: David Kasick, MD, DFAPA, FACLP
Shamim Nejad, MD, FACLP, Attending Physician, Psychiatry Consultation Service, UW Medicine Valley Medical Center
Nominated by Gregory Fricchione, MD, FACLP: “I have known Dr. Nejad since his days as a C-L Psychiatry Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital. From day one, he exuded a great deal of confidence but also an extraordinary desire to learn and get better as a clinician. He was also someone with enormous energy and willingness to work his very hardest for his patients. I was always very impressed with his ability to diagnose and manage the most highly complex medical Psychiatry patients. Dr. Nejad came to Psychiatry with a surgical background and so he particularly excelled in his liaison role on our burn trauma unit. It was remarkable to see how integrated he became into the culture of the surgical units he served. It is not an exaggeration to say that he revolutionized the psychiatric care of surgical patients here at MGM as a faculty member. So much so, that I put him in charge of our burn trauma unit.”
Dr. Nejad was a member of the Academy’s Research & Evidence-Based Practice Committee (2013-2016) and of the Fellowship Education Subcommittee (2013-16).
Also nominated by: Theodore Stern, MD, FACLP
Durga Roy, MD, FACLP, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavorial Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Nominated by Constantine Lyketsos, MD, MH, FACLP: “I am confident that Dr. Roy has exceeded the standard to become a Fellow based on her track record as an educator and as a scholar in C-L Psychiatry. She is actively engaged with teaching locally, nationally, and internationally, targeting a broad range of learners, promoting their knowledge and skills within C-L Psychiatry. Dr. Roy has demonstrated national impact in diagnosis, management, and identification of prognostic markers of post-TBI neuropsychiatric symptoms. At Johns Hopkins C-L Fellowship since 2014, she has built one of the few programs in the country with distinct subspecialty tracks in Neuropsychiatry, Collaborative Care, Delirium, or Acute Care Psychiatry of the Medically Ill (transplant, psycho-oncology and ICU PTSD).”
Dr. Roy chairs the Academy’s Neuropsychiatry SIG. Previously, she has been a member of the Fellowship Education Subcommittee and the Preconference Courses Subcommittee of the Annual Meeting Committee.
Also nominated by: Iqbal Ahmed, MD, FRCPsych, FACLP
Dahlia Saad-Pendergrass, MD, FACLP, C-L Psychiatry Education and Fellowship Director, The Institute of Living, Hartford Healthcare
Nominated by Christopher Sola, DO, FACLP: “I have known Dr. Saad-Pendergrass since she was my Chief Resident in Psychiatry at Mayo Clinic in 2000. Throughout her career, Dr. Saad-Pendergrass has distinguished herself as a remarkably astute, productive, and caring physician. I have seen her be tremendously effective in several settings (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, emergency department), and in several roles—clinician, teacher, researcher, writer, mentor. She excelled in each position as a result of her willingness to share her considerable intellectual and emotional gifts. What her CV won’t capture is what a delight she is to work with and for. She is reliably caring, supportive, motivated, and selfless.”
Dr. Saad-Pendergrass served on the ACLP’s COVID-19 Task Force. She has been a member of the Academy’s Cardiovascular Psychiatry SIG since 2016; and a member then co-chair (2017-2019) of the Oral Papers & Posters Subcommittee.
Also nominated by: Terry Rabinowitz, MD, DDS, FACLP, and J. Michael Bostwick, MD, FACLP
Scott Simpson, MD, FACLP, Medical Director, Psychiatric Emergency Services, Denver Health Medical Center
Nominated by Paula Zimbrean MD, FACLP: “It has been a pleasure working with Dr. Simpson in the ACLP Guidelines & Evidence-based Medicine Subcommittee. He has been an active contributor to ACLP’s Quarterly Annotations and to other committee activities. He is proactive, committed to the ACLP mission, thoughtful. He took the lead on writing a paper based on the subcommittee work which was published in the spring in the Academy’s journal.”
Dr. Simpson is chair of the Academy’s Guidelines & Evidence-based Medicine Subcommittee (since 2020) and co-chair of the Emergency Psychiatry SIG.
Also nominated by: Mary Jo Fitz-Gerald, MD, MBA, FACLP
Jane Walker, MBChB, MSc, PhD, FACLP, Senior Clinical Researcher, University of Oxford, Honorary C-L Psychiatrist, Oxford University Hospitals
Nominated by James Rundell, MD, FACLP: “I have known Dr. Walker for many years through ACLP and the European Association of Psychosomatic Medicine. She is the epitome of the ideal Academy Fellow. Dr. Walker brings a much-needed research strategic focus to the Academy. She has been co-applicant for over five million dollars in competitive grants and has a track record for meticulous completion of research stage completion targets. This research strategic area of focus is important to the future of the Academy and to the field of C-L Psychiatry.”
Dr. Walker is founding chair of the Academy’s Research SIG (2014-19).
Also nominated by: Scott Beach, MD, FACLP