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Research Council

Purpose of the Research Council

To identify and advocate for the needs of basic and clinical research faculty, including resources, infrastructure, partnerships and recruitment of new faculty members.


Mission

The mission of the research council is to enhance the excellence and public health impact of Research Programs of the UCSD Department of Psychiatry by:

  • conceptually organizing and prioritizing areas of research to guide collaborative, multidisciplinary, and translational research, and focus faculty recruitment efforts;
  • facilitating cross-campus and cross-institute collaborative projects;
  • identifying opportunities to increase research funding.

Vision

Cutting edge, innovative, multidisciplinary, and translational research conducted by Psychiatry faculty will enhance our understanding of the biological and behavioral bases of normal and abnormal brain function, including their interactions with environmental factors.


About the Research Council

The chairs of the research council are the Vice Chairs for Basic and Clinical Research (currently Abraham Palmer and Eric Granholm). Faculty members of all levels are invited to serve on the research council for 3-year terms, members rotate on and off at the end of each academic year. Members are expected to attend the monthly meetings as often as possible. Research faculty who are not on the council can still submit their concerns and suggestions to the chairs or to any member.

Research Council Administrative Contact:
Sarah Garvin
sgarvin@health.ucsd.edu 

How to become a member of the Research Council

Interested faculty should email the chairs to express their interest in joining. New members are chosen each fall.

Research Council Members 2022-2023

  • Abraham Palmer, PhD, Co-Chair
  • Eric Granholm, PhD, Co-Chair
  • Greg Appelbaum, PhD
  • Dewleen Baker, MD
  • Amanda Bischoff-Grethe, PhD
  • Christine Cheng, PhD
  • Riyan Cheng, PhD
  • Giordano De Guglielmo, PharmD, PhD
  • Adam Field, PhD
  • Guido Frank, MD
  • Olivier George, PhD
  • Igor Grant, MD
  • Adam Halberstadt, PhD
  • Katia Harle, PhD
  • Marsida Kallupi, PharmD., PhD
  • Greg Light, PhD
  • Ellen Lee, MD
  • Brian Martis, MD
  • Benjamin Mckenna, PhD
  • Victoria Merritt, PhD
  • Alejandro Meruelo, MD, PhD
  • Caroline Nievergelt, PhD
  • Matthew Panizzon, PhD
  • William Pelham, PhD
  • Jonathan Sebat, PhD
  • Christine Smith, PhD
  • Murray Stein, MD, MPH
  • Susan Tapert, PhD
  • Elizabeth Twamley, PhD
  • Cory Weissman, MD
  • Jared Young, PhD

 

           Click here to view previous Research Council rosters. 

Research Space Committe

The Department of Psychiatry Research Space Committee (DPRSC) is a subcommittee of the Research Council and is advisory to the Chair. The DPRSC will be led by Elizabeth Twamley (head) and Mark Mayford (associate head) from March 2021 - February 2024. Additional members of the committee were selected based on diversity in gender, academic rank, and research space occupied, and include Murray Stein, Abraham Palmer, Caroline Nievergelt, Andre Der-Avakian, Suzi Hong, Jared Young. The role of the DPRSC will be to review faculty requests for research space, to advocate for faculty making space requests to the Health Sciences Space Advisory Committee (HSSAC), to advise regarding reallocation of space when required by the HSSAC, to conduct periodic Department-wide reviews, and to provide advice to the Chair on strategic planning for future space needs.

The HSSAC has jurisdiction over the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy and the School of Public health. HSSAC provides specific recommendations to the Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences regarding the most effective use of existing space and the assignment of new space. HSSAC and the Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences have ultimate authority over all space occupied by the Department of Psychiatry. HSSAC conducts periodic (approximately annual) evaluations to measure productivity in all university-owned research space. When they determine that research space is not well-funded and/or not well-used, they will make a range of recommendations. These recommendations include but are not limited to: a narrative advisement expressing concern about the space and an expectation to see better funding and/or use at the next review, a formal notification that the space has been placed "At-Risk" for reassignment if funding and/or use does not sufficiently improve at the next review, or immediate reassignment to the VCHS Unassigned Pool. When space is reassigned to the VCHS Unassigned Pool, the current occupants are usually allowed to remain in place until the space has been reassigned. Space can be reassigned at any time based on HSSAC needs, however, and it will be up to the Department to vacate and clean the space for new occupants. HSSAC makes decisions about space based on funding per assigned square foot (ASF). As of December 2019, the mean value was $628/ASF across all of Health Sciences.

Some Departmental research space is within Department control (BSB, CTF, MTF, Guava, Holly) and can be allocated by the Chair; other research space is within HSSAC control (BRF2, ACTRI, Stein, Pharmacy) and can only be assigned by HSSAC.

Faculty members requiring space are required to use the HSSAC Space Request Application to request space. Faculty members are invited to consult with Elizabeth Twamley and Mark Mayford, as well as their fund manager, in completing the form.

Completed forms should be sent to Catherine Hampel with a copy to Elizabeth Twamley and Mark Mayford. The form will then be reviewed with the requestor's fund manager and reviewed by the DPRSC. DPRSC will make a recommendation to the Chair about whether to allocate space to the requestor (for research space under Department control) or submit the form to HSSAC (for research space under HSSAC control), which meets once per month.

Communications regarding HSSAC requests that would impact a faculty member's space will be sent from the DPRSC, with a copy to the Chair and the Vice Chairs for Basic or Clinical Research.