This year has witnessed a period of stimulating growth for the Department of Psychiatry at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Our Department now includes 14 full and part time salaried faculty members and over 40 voluntary faculty. 

Our current 1st year medical student class now numbers 120 students.  Karin Esposito, MD, PhD, Professor and Director of Education, Department of Psychiatry, Assistant Dean for Academic Advising, and Director of Medical Education for Florida International University at Broward Health, has expanded our clinical training sites throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to meet these needs. Leonard Gralnik, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, has assumed a greater role in medical student education and has been appointed Associate Clerkship Director for the Department.  We are excited about our plans for a psychiatric residency program to be developed with Citrus Health Network.  Patricia Junquera, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, brings her extensive experience in graduate medical education, administration, research and adult psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry and substance abuse to her new role as the Psychiatry Residency Program Director.  She has the formidable task of overseeing the development of psychiatric residency program.   

Professional education has become one of our priorities.  May 17, 2012 was the date of  our first Departmental Clinical Education Series conference held in Coral Gables.  Rajiv Tandon, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine and the Chief of Psychiatry at the North Florida/South Georgia VA Healthcare System was our invited speaker.  His presentation “Paradigm Shifts in the Clinical Conceptualization of Schizophrenia” was enlightening and well received. The Department also collaborated with the Miami Chapter of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals in supporting a presentation in October addressing “The Role of the Physician in the Multidisciplinary Team for Eating Disorders.”   Several of our faculty presented at statewide and national meetings as well.

Psychiatric clinical services are now being provided on the FIU campus at the Faculty Group Practice.  Christopher LaRiche, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, has a background in adult psychiatry and substance abuse  and has been providing services for several months.  Beginning November 1, 2012 we will expand our clinical programs by providing outpatient services at the Faculty Group Practice site at Broward Health Medical Center.  Dr Gralnik will serve as Medical Director and will be accompanied by Dr LaRiche and a therapist at that site.  Broward  Health Imperial Point  is the location of an exciting new opportunity.  Our faulty are providing hospitalist services at the Medical Center.  Paula-Ann Francis, MD was recruited from NYU Langone Medical Center to serve as Medical Director of our hospitalist program.   She brings her extensive experience in administration, graduate medical education and forensic and emergency psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital to the program.  The team is also comprised of Jian Hu, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Jose Gonzalez, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry.

The Departmental research programs continue to grow and develop as well. Margaret Sibley, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, joined the faculty in September, 2012.  She will continue her NIH funded research addressing psychosocial interventions for adolescents with ADHD.  James Waxmonsky, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and James Swanson, PhD, Research Professor of Psychiatry will be beginning a multiyear, NIH funded grant  “Tolerance to Methylphenidate.”   Dr Hu will also develop his research interests in the area of neuroimaging in adults with treatment resistant depression. 

 The Department of Psychiatry will continue to evolve with its mission based strategic plan. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our Department of Psychiatry website.

Daniel “Dr C” Castellanos, MD
Professor and Founding Chair

(December, 2012)