The Psychiatric Research Institute’s leadership has seen four new additions in recent months. Jason Williams, Psy.D., M.S.Ed., came aboard on Jan. 1 as the new Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He also serves as Senior Vice President and Chief […]
Smart Phone App Hopes To Reduce Opioid Cravings
A smart phone application designed by three Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI) researchers to decrease opioid cravings and optimize medication-assisted treatment among individuals with opioid use disorder is drawing national attention. A prototype of the app, known as OptiMAT (Optimizing Medication Assisted Treatment), was one of five winning entries in the 2022 National Institute on Drug […]
Researchers Forming Alliance to Help Women Who Have Been Incarcerated
A team of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researchers recently received an award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to help launch an alliance of Arkansas organizations that provide services to women who have been incarcerated. According to research, justice-involved women commonly suffer from chronic physical and mental health conditions that are […]
Dunn Receives Marie Wilson Howells Endowed Chair In Psychiatry
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ College of Medicine invested Laura B. Dunn, M.D., in the Marie Wilson Howells Chair in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences during a ceremony held April 20 at the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute on campus. Dunn, who joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in […]
New Program Designed to Attract Psychiatry Residents to Arkansas
A new program scheduled to launch this summer will help the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute address the shortage of mental health professionals in Arkansas. A collaboration between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Baptist Health, the new psychiatry residency program will start in July. To be headed by Prasad Padala, M.D., MS, FACHE, […]
New MRI Scanner Offers Cutting Edge Technology
The UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute’s Helen L. Porter and James T. Dyke Brain Imaging Research Center has been a leader in the field of clinical neuroscience since it opened in 2009 but a recent major upgrade in its core technology will help the research group, in the words of its director, take “a diversity of […]
Blue & You Grants to Support Two Programs
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences received a pair of grants of $1.95 million from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas last July to support two behavioral health programs. The Blue & You Foundation, established by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, committed $750,000 over two years to support the UAMS […]
PRI Expands Coverage in Northwest Arkansas with New Facilities
A new chapter of the Psychiatric Research Institute’s involvement in northwest Arkansas began in January with the opening of its new facility in Fayetteville. Psychiatric Research Institute’s newest offices, located in the first floor of the Stephens Inc. investment banking firm’s building at 3425 North Futrall Drive, are home to psychiatrists Jon Rubenow, D.O., Dorothee […]
Dunn Joins PRI As Director, Chair Of Psychiatry
The Psychiatric Research Institute will welcome Laura Dunn, M.D., as its new director and chair of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Department of Psychiatry on Feb. 1. She will replace John Spollen, M.D., who has held both roles on an interim basis since June 1, 2021. Dunn comes to UAMS from the Stanford […]
Letter From The Chair
Dear Friends of the Psychiatric Research Institute, For the last eight months, I have served as the interim chair of the UAMS Department of Psychiatry and director of the Psychiatric Research Institute. Rick Smith left some extremely large shoes to fill when he retired last year, and I’ve done my best to fill them. When […]