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 University School of Medicine, where she was a Professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and served as the director of Stanford’s Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program and director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic. She is a former Professor of Psychiatry, Director of Psycho-Oncology, and the Gloria Hubner Endowed Chair in Psycho-Oncology in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California at San Francisco.
“I am very excited to be joining UAMS, the Department of Psychiatry, and the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute. I can’t wait to get to know this extraordinary group of people, whose dedication, warmth, and collegiality are incredible assets to this community and the entire region,” said Dunn. “I look forward to working with everyone at UAMS to build upon the great foundation already in place in order to launch new initiatives that will enhance mental health care, develop new knowledge, and provide outstanding training.”
Dunn graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor of arts in linguistics before earning a medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco. She completed a psychiatry residency as well as a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego, where she went on to serve as an assistant professor from 2002 to 2007.
Dunn has served as secretary-treasurer of the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) and is a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. She has extensive research and clinical experience in the evaluation and management of older adults with a broad range of mood, anxiety, behavioral, and neurocognitive disorders. She also has extensive research and clinical expertise in psycho-oncology. In addition, she is an internationally recognized expert in the study of ethical issues in clinical research.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Dunn join UAMS as we continue to enhance our excellent clinical, research and education programs in psychiatry,” said Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of the College of Medicine. “In addition to her leadership experience across these mission areas, Dr. Dunn brings extensive clinical and research expertise in geriatric psychiatry and psycho-oncology.”
Dunn will also be invested as the Marie Wilson Howells Chair in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. The chair, the oldest and largest endowed chair at UAMS, was last held by G. Richard Smith, M.D., who retired in 2021 after 40 years of leadership and service including serving as the chair of Psychiatry in 2001-2013 and 2018-2021 and as executive vice chancellor and dean of the College of Medicine in 2013-2015.