Psychiatry Grand Rounds 10/1 | Sarah Kopelovich, PhD
Joshua R. Smith, MD
Joshua
R.
Smith
MD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Dr. Smith’s primary research interest is in bridging the gap between clinical trial research and clinical care. His specific areas of interest include use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in autism, catatonia in neurodevelopmental conditions, consult-liaison psychiatry in children’s hospitals, and electroconvulsive therapy. Dr. Smith serves as an ad hoc reviewer for the following journals: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, as well as Brain and Behavior. At the national level, Dr. Smith participates in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Psychopharmacology and Neurotherapeutics Workgroup.
Joshua.R.Smith@vumc.org
Since joining the department in 2021, Dr. Smith has developed an outpatient clinic specializing in neuromodulatory and psychopharmacologic care for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions complicated by cognitive impairment, language delays, as well as co-morbid psychosis/catatonia. Dr. Smith’s clinic also provides outpatient consultation appointments for all individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions and co-morbid psychiatric conditions. Additionally, Dr. Smith provides neuromodulation services for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, and serves as a consulting psychiatrist for the former.
Dr. Joshua Ryan Smith is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He pursued clinical training in adult psychiatry at the University of Virginia and child and adolescent psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Mclean Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. During his training, Dr. Smith obtained subspecialty training in consult-liaison psychiatry, neuromodulation, and autism spectrum disorders at the Massachusetts General Hospital Bressler Program for Autism Spectrum Disorders and Lurie Center. In 2021, he joined the faculty at Vanderbilt to grow and develop clinical and research services in child psychiatry and autism spectrum disorders.
Warren paper examines dysfunction in dopamine system, influence on depression in older adults
Warren D. Taylor, M.D., MHSc, James G Blakemore Professor of Psychiatry, served as lead author of a new publication proposing how dysfunction in the dopamine system may influence depression in older adults. This may influence risk for depression but also serve as a new target for treatment. The manuscripts provides the rationale for a current multi-site study being conducted at Vanderbilt examining the effect of levodopa (Sinemet) on late-life depression. The paper appears in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Julie Graf, MSN, PMHNP
Julie
Graf
MSN, PMHNP
Professional Staff
Im, S., Stavas, J., Lee, J., Mir, Z., Hazlett-Stevens, H., & Caplovitz, G. (2021). Does mindfulness-based intervention improve cognitive function?: A meta-analysis of controlled studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 84, 101972.
Mayer, C., Stavas, J., Im, S., & Hazlett-Stevens, H. (2019). Mindfulness Facets Associated with Perceived Stress: The Role of Nonreactivity. Journal of Depression and Anxiety Forecast, 2 (1).
julie.graf@vumc.org
Julie serves as an Advanced Practice Provider on the Addiction Consult Service at VUMC and sees outpatients with SUD and co-occurring disorders at the VISTA Recovery Clinic.
Julie Graf is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner who joined the Department of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2021. She received her B.A. in Gender Studies from DePaul University (2016), BSN from Marian University (2018), and MSN from East Tennessee State University (2021).
Her clinical training specializes in addiction psychiatry and integrative treatment modalities. Julie has received extensive training in mindfulness-based therapies, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Her current research focuses on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on cognitive function. She is also a certified trauma-informed yoga instructor who has been recognized for starting a trauma informed-yoga program at VPH.
Brandee Feola, PHD
Brandee
Feola
PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Division of General Psychiatry
Dr. Feola’s research program investigates how individuals respond to threat throughout development and across psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and psychotic disorders.
The key questions that drive her research are how responses to threat:
1. Change throughout development
2. Predict risk for psychopathology
3. Differ in individuals with psychotic disorders
Dr Feola’s research uses multiple methods to assess how the brain and body respond to threat including brain imaging (structure, activation, connectivity), psychophysiological measures (cortisol, heart rate, skin conductance), and behavior (clinician-rated and self-report measures).
She is currently conducting a study to examine brain responses to threat in individuals with schizophrenia and how individual differences in threat responses relate to anxiety. Her ultimate research goals are to advance early identification of risk for psychopathology, improve psychological treatments that target maladaptive threat responses, and aid in the identification of novel treatment targets for psychiatric disorders.
Representative Publications
Feola, B., Flook, E. A, Seo, D. J., Fox, V., Oler, J., Heckers, S., Woodward, N. D., Blackford, J. U. (2024). Altered brain and physiological stress responses in early psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, 271, 112-119.
Feola, B., Beermann, A., Felix, K. M., Coleman, M., Bouix, S., Holt, D. J., Lewandowski, K. E., Öngür, D. Breier, A., Shenton, M. E., Heckers, S., Brady, R. O., Blackford, J. U., Ward, H. B. (2024). Data-driven, connectome-wide analysis identifies brain correlates of fear and anxiety in psychosis and controls. Molecular Psychiatry, March 19.
Feola, B., Moussa-Tooks, A., Sheffield, J. M., Heckers, S., Woodward, N.D., Blackford, J.U. (2024) Threat responses in schizophrenia: A Negative Valence Systems framework. Current Psychiatry Reports, 26(1), 9-25
Feola, B., Flook, E. A., Gardner, H., Phan, K. L., Gwirtsman, H., Olatunji, B., & Blackford, J. U. (2023). Altered bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and amygdala responses to threat in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 36 (2), 359-372.
Feola, B., Clauss, J., Melancon, S. R., Noall, M. P., Flook, E. A., Benningfield, M. M., Blackford, J.U. (2021). BNST and amygdala responses to unpredictable threat in children. Developmental Psychobiology, 63(8), e22206.
Feola, B., McHugo, M., Armstrong, K., Noall, M. P., Flook, E. A., Woodward, N. D., Heckers, S., & Blackford, J. U. (2021). BNST and amygdala connectivity are altered during threat anticipation in schizophrenia. Behavioural Brain Research, 412, 113428.
Feola, B., Dougherty, L. R., Riggins, T., & Bolger, D. J. (2020). Prefrontal cortical thickness mediates the association between cortisol reactivity and executive function in childhood. Neuropsychologia, 148, 107636.
Feola, B., Armstrong, K., Flook, E., Woodward, N. D., Heckers, S., & Blackford, J. U. (2020). Evidence for inhibited temperament as a transdiagnostic factor across mood and psychotic disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 274, 995-1003.
Feola, B., Armstrong, K., Woodward, N. D., Heckers, S., & Blackford, J. U. (2019). Childhood temperament is associated with distress, anxiety and reduced quality of life in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Psychiatry Research, 275, 196-203.
brandee.feola@vumc.org
