Marce of North America Newsletter
August 2021
Karlene Cunningham PhD
Congratulations to our newly elected special officers!
Adrienne Griffin, MPP
Thank you to all of our candidates!
Conference Registration EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION OPEN UNTIL 8/20! Two weeks remain!!
$225.00 MONA Members
$275.00 Non Members
$100.00 Trainees/Students
Introducing the MONA member of the Month –Mary Kimmel MD
We are expanding our monthly newsletter to feature our members. This month we are learning more a current member and MONA Board of Director, Mary Kimmel MD
If you would like to nominate yourself or a fellow member for the Member of the Month, contact Deepika.goyal@sjsu.edu for more information!
We also would enjoy hearing your ideas for the newsletter or any other aspect of our Marcé of North America organization! Please send your ideas to Deepika.goyal@sjsu.edu
MEMBER OF THE MONTH QUESTIONS
1. What is your current professional role?
I am an Assistant Professor in psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am the Co-Director of UNC’s Perinatal Psychiatry Program and I am Medical Director of NC MATTERS.
2. What drew you to the field of Perinatal Mental Health
While working in healthcare management consulting, women’s health was beginning to receive more attention. I was excited by learning that understanding biology of different individuals could create more personalized medicine (and not all individuals are 60kg men). However, for me specifically working with individuals during the perinatal period became my focus to follow after medical school. I chose obstetrics before I did my psychiatry rotation. My supervisors during my psychiatry rotation encouraged me to look more into postpartum depression. Over time and with learning more about the underlying biology of the perinatal period, it would become apparent that perinatal mental health is central to families and communities; and access to mental health care for families during a critical time enables clinicians to integrate personalized stories, medical needs, and patient goals to improve care for families and communities.
3. What is your current research involvement?
I am studying heart rate variability as a measure of stress responses and as a measure of vagal tone as part of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The gut microbiome allows us to better understand all the organisms that live in our intestines which reflect our environments, our diets; increasing research indicates they communicate with our brains impacting the development of anxiety, mood disorders and how we handle stressors.
4. What does a typical workday look like for you - including before and after work?
I get up and make the bed. Depending on the season the order changes but includes grabbing coffee, going for a jog. Somewhere in there depending on my boys schedules I wake them up, eat breakfast with them. My typical work day varies on what day of the week it is. Some days I have clinic, other days research and writing time, yet other days meetings and covering the NC MATTERS consultation line. After work I have dinner with all the boys (husband and two sons). If I am writing a grant my husband looks after the boys so I can do more writing. In the spring and fall we stand outside on the street and talk with our neighbors while the kids play. We then read to the boys and get them to bed. Afterwards my husband and I usually do a little more work and then my husband and I watch something together or just catch up about the day..
5. What are you most excited about in your current work?
Trying to integrate biologic knowledge into the care we provide individuals—whether helping someone understand why they may be feeling how they are feeling (and learning to be compassionate to themselves and understand the complex and amazing interplay of different things they are navigating) or trying to think about how to take stories from patients and use that to think of my next research question.
6. What’s one of the most important things you’ve learned from a mentor or role model?
It is a marathon so pace yourself and realize you don’t need to sprint everyday.
7. What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
Art projects with my family, take photos while jogging, visit new places. This past year I couldn’t travel so I explored trails and streets I hadn’t been on before while jogging.
8. What is the most interesting book, podcast, TV series, or movie you’ve encountered in the past year?
It is hard to pick one. A book I enjoyed that I read recently was the “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek”. I had not been one to listen to podcasts but now I have found listening to them while I run is really enjoyable—a few favorites are Fresh Air, Unladylike, Sawbones. My husband and I have really been enjoying the TV show “Alone”.
Women's Mood Disorders: A Clinican's Guide to Perinatal Psychiatry
We are thrilled to announce the publication of Women's Mood Disorders: A Clinician's Guide to Perinatal Psychiatry this month published through Springer. This has been a labor of love by our colleagues in Women's Mood Disorders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and we are so pleased with the final result. The handbook was modeled after the MGH handbook for C/L psychiatry and the Harriet Lane handbook for Peds. The handbook provides background on the history of perinatal psychiatry, as well as discusses future directions in the field. Gold standard recommendations for the treatment of PMADs are outlined, including evidence-based psychotherapies, as well as risk-benefit analysis of psychotropic medication use in pregnancy and lactation. Common presentations of PMADs are reviewed and special considerations in pregnancy, including teenage pregnancies, hyperemesis gravidum, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, as well as infertility, miscarriage and loss are all highlighted. Finally, we will outline the importance of collaborative care in providing gold standard treatment of perinatal women and review documentation and legal considerations. This handbook will help educate and train future psychiatrists and OBGYNs in feeling confident and comfortable assessing and treating pregnant women who suffer from PMADs. Copies can be ordered through Springer's website at https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030714963.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MAY & JUNE MONA MEMBERS
New Trainees Members:
Meredith Fenton
Northwestern University
LaToya Frolov , MD, MPH
New York Presbyterian-Columbia and Weill Cornell
Jennifer Jewell MSPH
Colorado School of Public Health
Kristin Koberstein
University of Rochester Medical Center
Taber Lightbourne MD, MHS
University of Pennsylvania
Anna Matthews RN
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
New Professional Members:
Rebecca Casey APRN
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Kimberly D'Anna-Hernandez PhD
Marquette University
Allison Deutch MD
NYU Langone Health
Kevin Gruenberg PsyD
Love, Dad: Support for Fathers and Families
Constance Guille MD
Medical University of South Carolina
Beatriz Ibarra
Hospial Universitario Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez (Mexico)
Andie Insoft MSW
Newtown Wellesley Hospital
Patricia Kinser PhD, WHNP-BC, RN, FAAN
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing
Aurora Rivendale MD
University of Cincinnati
Alexandra Sacks MD
Columbia Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research
Rubiahna Vaughn MD, MPH
Montefiore Medial Center
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The Women’s Mental Health Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City is seeking a postdoctoral research fellow. Areas of study will include diagnosis and management of perinatal mood disorders, the use of psychotropic medication in pregnancy, and fetal and neonatal effects of maternal mental illnesses and treatments. The ideal candidate will have a Ph.D. in an area of neuroscience, epidemiology, statistics, or psychology; training in statistical analysis; and an interest in women’s health. Please contact program director Dr. Veerle Bergink at Veerle.bergink@mssm.edu if interested.
Northwestern Perinatal Clinical Psychology Training Program
I would like to announce that we are recruiting for the Northwestern University Perinatal and Women’s Mental Health Instructor-Level Clinical Psychology Scholar training program. We still have a position left starting this summer of 2021 and are starting to recruit for next summer of 2022.
Attached is a description of the program. The clinical psychology program is connected with the psychiatry perinatal fellowship, which provides a unique training experience. Applicants must be licensed to practice in the state of Illinois by the start of the program. Please share with anyone who may be eligible and interested and download the flyer below
Best,
Sheehan
Sheehan D. Fisher, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Asher Center, 676 N. St. Clair, Suite 1000
AWMH: Call for Papers on Fathers
I was invited by the Archives of Women's Mental Health (AWMH) to be a guest editor to create a special issue on fathers. The special issue calls for research that highlights the father’s impact on maternal mental health and the father’s role in her support system to promote mental wellness. Below is the description of the call for papers and this is the AWMH link: https://www.springer.com/journal/737/updates/19225032. The deadline for submissions is November 1st, 2021.
Title: Fathers as Assets to Support Maternal Mental Health and Family Wellbeing
Scope: Women are at risk for new onset or worsening mental illness during the perinatal period. Research on the risks for perinatal mental illness has largely focused on the mother’s experiences and interventions to support maternal mental health have primarily focused on the mother’s role to improve her own health. However, the burden of ensuring mother’s wellness should be shared with their partner and other members of her social support system. Fathers can be potentially an asset to support maternal mental health. In addition, fathers’ mental health and behaviors can have an additive impact on maternal mental health and family health. Reconceptualizing maternal perinatal mental illness as a family event that the family system is responsible to support places less pressure on the mother who is already functionally impaired.
In this special issue, researchers in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, obstetrics and gynecology, social work, and pediatrics who include fathers in their perinatal research are invited to submit manuscripts that address the following topics:
- Fathers’ utility in supporting maternal mental health by reducing family and environmental stress
- Fathers’ role in supporting maternal mental health treatment
- Fathers’ unique contribution to the health of the perinatal interparental relationship
- Contribution of fathers’ experiences and behaviors to the risk of maternal mental illness
- Fathers’ engagement in egalitarian roles in the family that positively impact family health
Submissions of original research, clinical trials, systematic reviews, and brief reports are welcome.
Best,
Sheehan
Sheehan D. Fisher, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Asher Center, 676 N. St. Clair, Suite 1000
MEMBERS IN THE MEDIA
Associations between religiosity and perinatal anxiety symptoms among women of Mexican descent
Kayla M Osman, Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, Kimberly D'Anna-Hernandez
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032721006522?via%3Dihub
Kayla Osman (she/her) is a second year PhD student in the Family Studies and Human Development program at the University of Arizona. As a graduate student, she currently works with Dr. Katharine Zeiders to study the way in which social and cultural factors impact the health and well-being of Latinx youth and families. Her research interests include investigating how racism and colorism impact well-being and identity processes among Latinx youth through an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens. She hopes to one day secure a tenure track faculty position so that her mentorship, teaching, and research can address the most pressing societal issues at hand and amplify the voices of those from minoritized and excluded backgrounds.
A New Postpartum Depression Drug Could Lead to a Revolution in Treating Women's Mental Health Issues
Catherine Monk PhD
Kristina M. Deligiannidis MD
Lauren Osborne MD
Members in the Media: Eynav Accortt, Ph.D.
We would like to congratulate MONA Member Eynav Accortt on the Hickman research award from PSI!
She is featured here in a recent article in the LA Times:
Twitter and IG Handle: @dr_accortt
Twitter: @dr_accortt
Members in the Media : Kristina Deligiannidis MD
- Deligiannidis KM, Meltzer-Brody S, Gunduz-Bruce H, Doherty J, Jonas J, Li S, Sankoh AJ, Silber C, Werneburg B, Kanes SJ, Lasser R. Effect of SAGE-217 vs. placebo in postpartum depression: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, published online June 30,2021; https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2781385; PMID: pending
- Schoretsanitis G, Westin AA, Stingl JC, Deligiannidis KM, Paulzen M, Spingset O. (2021) Antidepressant transfer into amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood and breastmilk: a systematic review and combined analysis. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 107:110228, PMID:33358964; PMCID: pending.
- Hare MM, Kroll-Desrosiers AR, Deligiannidis KM. (2021) Peripartum depression: does risk versus diagnostic status impact mother-infant bonding and perceived social support? Depression and Anxiety, 38(4):390-399. PMID: 33615587; PMCID: pending.
Kristina M. Deligiannidis, M.D.
Director, Women’s Behavioral Health, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Associate Professor, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
Member of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health
Glen Oaks, NY 11004
Marce of North America
The Marcé Society of North America is committed to the advancement of Clinical Care, Research, Advocacy, and Education.
Email: marce@meetingachievements.com
Website: www.marcenortham.com
Phone: 219.465.1115
Twitter: @Marcenortham