Psychiatry Hosts Research Symposium
The Department of Psychiatry recently hosted its 3rd Annual Research Symposium in the CALS medical lobby.
Petros Levounis, MD, the immediate Past President of the American Psychiatric Association, began the afternoon with the keynote address on addiction in the LGBTQ+community focusing on methamphetamine use in gay men.
Dr. Levounis joined the judging panel, consisting of Dr. Ham Farris, faculty from the undergraduate neurosciences course, and Dr. Maeghan Davis, faculty from the addiction fellowship.
More than 70 faculty, staff, residents and students participated in the afternoon poster session. All PGY 2 adult psychiatry residents; forensics, addiction, consult liaison, and child and adolescent psychiatry subspecialties; and submissions from colleagues in the department of neurology, the Campus Assistance Program and Ochsner’s psychiatry department presented a total of 32 posters.
The three judged winners and the People’s Choice Award recipient are pictured below.
First place went to Zachary Stiepler for “The Lysing of Catatonia with Intravenous Ketamine Prior to Definitive Treatment with Electroconvulsive Therapy.” Second place went to Sloan Clay for “Assessing Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Latinx Children in Greater New Orleans.” Third place was Daniel Michael O’Leary for “Mental Health Challenges in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors: A Review of Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Existing Interventions.” Thien-Huong Pham won the People’s Choice Award for “Transforming Spaces: Interventions in Furniture Layouts to Reduce Patient Violence on a Psychiatry Unit Using a Quality Improvement Approach at University Medical Center.”
The department expresses its gratitude to Dr. Shane Bierma and Ms. Kira Barker as well as all faculty mentors for their support of trainees. The department also expresses its appreciation to staff Pedro Estrada, Margaret Heine, Scott Busarelo, Kat Dickens, Marcy Punch and Melissa Musacchia.
The department’s next research symposium will be held April 9, 2026.