2023-2024 Teaching Awards
2023-2024 Psychiatry Teaching Awards
The Psychiatry Teaching awards are presented annually before the Department of Psychiatry’s Grand Rounds. Their purpose is to honor excellence in teaching, supervision, mentoring or related instructional activities in a number of categories. Nominees for each award are selected for their ingenuity, clinical skill, availability, supportiveness, inspiration, dedication, humanism, patience, respect for diversity, and improvement in the teaching process.
Outstanding Faculty Housestaff Teaching Adult/Geri Division
Eligible candidates are full-time faculty in the department who lecture, supervise, or tutor psychiatry residents, psychiatry fellows, or psychology trainees in the Adult or Geriatric Psychiatry Divisions at any of the DGSOM sites, and who have not received the award in the past three years.
Jonathan Heldt, M.D.
The teaching award for house staff teaching in adult/geri, goes to Dr. Jonathan Heldt. A colleague wrote "Dr Heldt’s gifts in the classroom are equally impressive. I know few educators who have dedicated themselves to learning how to teach effectively in classroom settings, as Dr Heldt has. On a personal level, Dr Heldt’s genuine caring, concern, and support for residents has deeply influenced the lives of countless trainees, and has shaped the larger culture of the residency program. He has served as my most important and impactful mentor – someone who cares not just about my professional development, but about my growth and wellbeing as an individual.
In addition to writing high-yield psychopharmacology textbooks, directing the Psychiatry theme for first year UCLA medical students, reorganizing and significantly improving the didactic series for UCLA psychiatry residents, completing the UCLA Medical Education Fellowship, reviving the Clinician-Educator area of distinction for both the adult residency program and the child psychiatry fellowship, and directing the esteemed UCLA Grand Rounds for several years, Dr. Heldt somehow manages to mentor residents and fellows who want to pursue academics in the clinician-educator series.
A fourth year resident writes, “I can confidently assert that Dr Heldt is the single most gifted, committed, and effective educator I have worked with in medical school or residency.”
Outstanding Resident / Fellow Teaching
Eligible candidates are psychiatry residents, or child, forensic, geriatric, or other fellows, or psychology trainees who have primary teaching or supervisory responsibilities on their service or clinic for medical students, beginning residents, psychology trainees, or other trainees.
Alexander Cohn, M.D.
Dr. Alexander Cohn, a fourth year psychiatry resident, is this year’s recipient of the award for outstanding resident/fellow teaching. A fellow resident states “Over the last academic year, he has been a Curriculum Chief working to improve resident didactics. He is also a member of the Clinician Educator Concentration working on innovative approaches to learning about public psychiatry and the continuity of care for people with mental illness in Los Angeles. Dr Cohn has worked on creating site visits to a variety of places patients with serious mental illness receive care. He has worked on creating site visits at community hospitals and at an institute for mental disease (IMD) where individuals who are psychiatrically conserved are placed.
Alex is among the most joyful educators I have had the privilege of working with! He brings a level of engagement to the act of teaching through the use of both humanism and humor that is simply unparalleled. This is best exemplified through his Clinician-Educator Concentration project in residency which focused on teaching about the history of psychiatry through an escape room format. This was the single most novel teaching strategy that I have seen in my years on faculty, and the residents who participated in it could not stop talking about what a great experience it was!
In addition to his work improving the residency curriculum, Alex has also made major contributions to medical student education as well. He has participated in teaching students in both pre-clinical and clinical settings and is now involved in re-designing key aspects of their coursework in the Scientific Foundations of Medicine psychiatry block.
Alex has and continues to be a phenomenal mentor to me. He has been instrumental in helping me find my way to psychiatry and continues to support me and my fellow interns as we matriculate through our intern year.
When I met Alex as a sub-intern, I was unsure if I wanted to pursue internal medicine or psychiatry. As an amazing mentor, Alex made sure that I was able to not only explore what it meant to go into psychiatry, but that I also shined while doing so.
Karolina Grotkowski Reed, Ph.D.
Dr. Karolina Grotkowski Reed is also the recipient for outstanding resident/fellow teaching. A faculty member writes “One of Dr. Grotkowski's greatest strengths is her ability to provide hands-on guidance and support to PCIT therapists in training. She encourages therapists to develop their skills and confidence in delivering PCIT with fidelity and efficacy. Additionally, she fosters a supportive and collaborative learning environment where trainees feel comfortable to ask questions, seek guidance, and share their own insights and experiences. She has truly been a leader on our team.
Dr. Grotkowski Reed consistently demonstrates a true commitment to providing excellence in
clinical training, tailoring her approach to the specific and developing needs of her supervisee. For example, on the first day of her fellowship, she began our supervisory relationship with a comprehensive assessment of my training goals and my perceived clinical and interpersonal strengths
Outstanding Community Educator
Full-time or part-time faculty or teaching staff who teach, train, provide professional development, coaching, or mentorship in the community.
Vernon Rosario, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Vernon Rosario is receiving an award for Outstanding Community Educator.
A current faculty member wrote “Dr. Rosario ensured that we delivered the highest quality of care to our patients. He was always available, working and thinking alongside us, and guiding and supervising us in the most gentle and kind ways. It was because of how he approached supervision and staffing that I felt I could voice my thoughts about cases openly, learn from his extensive knowledge, and allow myself fallibility and growth.”
Dr. Vernon Rosario’s nomination for this prestigious teaching award is well-deserved and long overdue! He continues to fill a unique need in our training program, given his extensive skills and knowledge in psychodynamic psychotherapy, sexual identity, and community and cultural psychiatry.
A current fellow writes “Dr. Rosario is dedicated to his patients and families at Augustus Hawkins, who have been neglected by other systems. He helps foster humanism in the trainees who work with him through his example and by providing them with support needed to maintain compassion and drive when faced with many barriers in an unequal and broken healthcare system. He integrates psychoanalytic thinking into every case conceptualization as a way of understanding our families on a deeper level. He has particular expertise in working with LGBTQ youth and integrates affirming practices into every encounter.”
Outstanding Faculty Housestaff Teaching Child & Adolescent/Population Behavioral Health
Eligible candidates are full-time faculty in the department who lecture, supervise, or tutor psychiatry residents, psychiatry fellows, or psychology trainees in the Child and Adolescent or DPBH Psychiatry Divisions at any of the DGSOM sites, and who have not received the award in the past three years.
Krista Tabuenca, Ph.D.
Dr. Krista Tabuenca is the recipient of this year’s housestaff teaching award for the division of child & adolescent and population behavioral health Dr. Tabuenca serves
A medical student writes, “Dr. Tabuenca has been an incredible mentor and teacher. I have experienced her teaching in several contexts, including teaching rounds, group and individual supervision, and structured didactics. Dr. Tabuenca always ensures to answer everyone's questions and she fosters curiosity and critical thinking in all her trainees. She has also created an inclusive environment where students, residents, interns, and fellows can all feel comfortable with asking questions, challenging their own biases, and learning from the perspectives of others. I have particularly benefited from her in-vivo teaching and supervision.
A faculty member mentions, “Dr. Tabuenca’s magic is in her simple, direct, and patient delivery of the fundamentals of psychological care. She never teaches above the learner. She astutely assesses and meets them where they are. In this age of social media and the death of curiosity, she never becomes frustrated. Instead, she makes herself readily available to demonstrate patient interviews. Although acute care is never short on stress, she maintains a levity that makes it a true joy to work alongside her in the teaching of our learners and in the care of our patients and families
Outstanding Research Mentor
Eligible candidates are full-time faculty or staff in the department who are directly supervising research projects of residents and fellows and of psychology trainees and/or who are providing mentoring to such trainees or to junior faculty (below the rank of associate professor) on research, promotion, or career advancement who have not received this award in the past three years.
Catherine Cahill, Ph.D, M.Sc.
The recipient of the Outstanding Research Mentor Award is Dr. Catherine Cahill. A medical student states, “Dr. Cahill is a delightful professor who effectively engages students in science. She finds ways to relate the course material to students’ lives, she uses humor to draw students in, and is clear and organized in her delivery of information regarding pain and the mesolimbic dopamine circuit (of which she is an expert in her field). She uses open-ended questions and dialogue to continuously assess students’ knowledge in real-time and adjusts her delivery accordingly. Not only is Dr. Cahill an effective teacher in the classroom, but she inspires her students in the laboratory as well.
Cathy is an excellent mentor. She spends considerable time with her trainees and empowers them to develop and implement their ideas. She’s generous and kind with her time and resources. She has been especially helpful to trainees in need. She is also generous and thoughtful in her collaborative mentorship to those outside of her lab.
A medical student stated “Dr. Cahill finds time to meet with each of us on a regular basis and consistently maintains contact when traveling. In general, Dr. Cahill not only brings a calm energy and forward-moving attitude, she also is gracious and helpful when I have made mistakes. On several occasions, I have entered her office with initial fear that I had to break news of a mistake, error, or lapse of judgement I had made. Each time, I have left smiling and understanding what I can do in the future.”
Outstanding Medical Student Teaching
Eligible candidates are full-time faculty or staff in the department who lecture, supervise, or tutor medical students in courses, selectives, the required clerkship, or elective at any of the DGSOM sites, and who have not received the award in the past three years.
Brandon Ito, M.D., M.P.H.
The recipient of this year’s Medical Student Teaching award is Dr. Brandon Ito. A medical student states “Dr. Ito, who was pivotal in helping us shape our pilot curriculum and develop the project in its initial stages. We met with Dr. Ito multiple times and each time he dedicated valuable time and effort and played a significant role in the launch of our program. He even sat on our panel and engaged in an authentic and vulnerable discussion with 180 students about the challenges he’s faced in his own experiences navigating medical training and the tools he’s developed across the years to support him during these experiences.”
Dr. Ito was the attending on service while I completed my sub-internship on the child and adolescent psychiatry unit. From the first day, he created a warm and welcoming environment, setting clear expectations and taking time to get to know each team member. He consistently incorporated teaching points about disparities in care and DEI, such as differing rates of ADHD diagnosis by race/ethnicity. He also set aside time to give chalk talks based on trainee questions.
In addition to our group sessions, I had the privilege of engaging in bimonthly one-on-one meetings with Dr. Ito to discuss my academic progress and aspirations in medicine. I deeply appreciate his attentive ear and his follow-up on my personal concerns, even recalling goals I had set for myself months prior.
Notably, Dr. Ito extended his support beyond our scheduled meetings, demonstrating genuine care for my well-being and academic endeavors.
