Awards are to be presented by the Academy to these recipients
ACLP’s 2021 awards—to be recognized at the Academy’s digital annual meeting in November—are presented to individuals for meritorious contributions to C-L Psychiatry, or for outstanding service to the Academy.
WAYNE KATON RESEARCH AWARD
Awarded to: Professor Sir Simon Wessely, MD, FRCP, FRCPsych, FRS, Kings College London
Nominated by: Michael Sharpe, MD, FACLP
The Wayne Katon Research Award honors an individual currently studying psychopathology in the medically ill and is intended to recognize exceptional research and clinical work in the field.
In his nomination, Dr. Sharpe says Professor Sir Simon Wessely is a high-profile academic C-L psychiatrist who has published an exceptionally large volume of internationally influential research.
“His research output has been been both large and wide ranging. It includes many important studies on symptoms poorly explained by disease and on the role of psychological and social factors in causing them. He has done influential work in both the UK and the US on many military-related psychiatric topics including Gulf War syndrome. He has also made important contributions to our understanding of the public’s response to terrorism and trauma.
“As well as being a researcher he has occupied high-profile roles as President of the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists and President of the Royal Society of Medicine in London and has used these offices to increase awareness of the contribution of C-L Psychiatry.
“Perhaps even more important is his success as a communicator of research. He has played a very prominent role in communicating to the wider population—such as managers, policymakers, politicians, and the general public. Indeed, he has become one of the most familiar voices for Psychiatry in spoken and print media in the UK. This has included describing why C-L Psychiatry is so important in improving the well-being of people with both physical and mental health problems, as a way of decreasing stigma and challenging misunderstandings.”
ACLP FOUNDATION RESEARCH PROFESSOR AWARD
Awarded to: David Arciniegas, MD, FACLP, FANPA, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Nominated by: Davin Quinn, MD, FACLP
The ACLP Foundation Research Professor Award aims to bring leading researchers to the annual meeting and provide research mentorship to early career researchers.
Dr. Arciniegas’ work has become a fundamental part of neuropsychiatry and TBI-focused medical knowledge that C-L psychiatrists learn while practicing in these fields, says Dr. Quinn.
The work of his research teams has included:
His work has encompassed narrative/scoping reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analytic reviews, position statements, and clinical guideline development, and has been presented both in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as leading textbooks in brain injury medicine, behavioral neurology & neuropsychiatry, and general psychiatry. He has focused on translating findings from his studies and reviews, as well as those of others in the field, into best practices for the evaluation and treatment of people with TBI and other neurological conditions and towards developing or evolving related health care and research policies and practices.
DON R. LIPSITT AWARD
Awarded to: Jamie Belsito, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
Nominated by: Nancy Byatt, DO, MS, MBA, FACLP
The Don R. Lipsitt Award for Achievement in Integrated and Collaborative Care recognizes an individual who has demonstrated excellence and innovation in the integration of mental health with other medical care through collaborative care.
In her nomination, Dr. Byatt says: “Jamie has taken her lived experience of postpartum depression and married it with her federal legislative background to create state and federal policy change for perinatal mental health programs.
“Her work has increased access to mental health for millions of pregnant and postpartum individuals across the US. She is a progressive leader, education activist, mental health advocate, policy expert, and perinatal mental health champion. She has worked tirelessly with our nation’s policymakers to promote the mental health of childbearing individuals by advocating for universal education, screening, referral, and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions.
“As a seasoned state and federal policy professional and grassroots organizer, she has led numerous legislative initiatives related to perinatal mental health policy and funding. More specifically, she develops and nurtures partnerships with local Congressional offices to educate and advocate for state and national policies around perinatal mental health programming.
“Her leadership was critical to the funding of statewide perinatal mental health programs in Massachusetts, including the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Programs (MCPAP) for Moms. Most notably, her leadership led to The Bringing Postpartum Depression out of the Shadows Act, which was passed into law in 2016. HR 3235 led to $5,000,000 in federal funding and programming for seven Perinatal Psychiatry Access Programs across the US.”
These programs build the capacity of frontline medical providers serving perinatal individuals to address mental health and substance use disorders. Collectively, they cover 1.44 million of the 3.2 million US births each year.
“I cannot think of any one person who has had such a powerful policy impact on the field of integrated care for pregnant and postpartum individuals,” says Dr. Byatt.