2024-25 Award Recipients

Mandakh (Mandy) Bekhbat, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences whose multidisciplinary research on depression bridges neuroscience, immunology and metabolism. Her program integrates transcriptomics, immune cell bioenergetics and neuroimaging to examine how immune-metabolic dysfunction contributes to symptoms such as anhedonia, fatigue and appetite changes. Her work, published in leading journals including Molecular Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain, Behavior and Immunity, has helped establish a precision psychiatry framework that identifies immunometabolism as an emerging mechanism in depression and points to novel targets for personalized treatment. Bekhbat is currently supported by an NIMH K01 and a NARSAD Young Investigator Award to investigate the role of immune cell bioenergetics in inflammation-related neural circuit and behavioral changes in depression and HIV.

Dorian Lamis, PhD, ABPP, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has established a nationally recognized research program examining the complex relationships between mood disorders, substance use and suicidal behaviors. Lamis has made significant scientific contributions to understanding suicide risk factors and prevention strategies, particularly among historically marginalized populations and patients diagnosed with serious mental illness. His research has advanced the field through innovative studies examining the roles of childhood maltreatment, psychological risk and protective factors and psychosocial variables in predicting suicidal behavior across diverse populations. A prolific researcher, Lamis has authored over 170 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals and has consistently secured competitive federal funding from agencies including the NIH, CDC and SAMHSA, as well as private foundations such as the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. His work has systematically contributed to evidence-based suicide prevention approaches, with particular emphasis on developing culturally responsive interventions for underserved populations. Through rigorous scientific investigation, Lamis continues to advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying suicidal behavior and translate these findings into practical prevention and intervention strategies that address important mental health disparities.

Chanda C. Graves, PhD, ABPP, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her primary clinical appointment is at the Grady Ponce Center where she oversees an interdisciplinary behavioral health service in pediatrics for HIV infected and/or affected youth and families. She is also Associate Director of the Internship in Health Service Psychology at the Emory University School of Medicine. Graves has a strong record of national service related to HIV/AIDS services, behavioral health advocacy and couple and family psychology. Earlier in her career, Graves became a founding member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and Black Entertainment Television (BET) HIV Prevention Partnership. As a panelist for the BET Rap-It-Up HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign, she spoke at several high schools across the country. During this period, she also took on APA convention planning roles for the Society for Couple and Family Psychology (Division 43 of APA). She was subsequently elected as Secretary for the Executive Board of Division 43 from 2017 to 2020 and as Secretary for the Executive Committee of Psychologists in Public Service (Division 18) from 2019 to 2022. While serving as secretary for both divisions, she also served as a Guest Editor for a Special Issue of Journal of Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice entitled “Mitigating the Impact of the Pandemic on Families and Couples.” For the past two years, she was on the editorial board for the journal Psychological Services, the official publication of Division 18, Psychologists in Public Service. In 2002, she was elected President Elect of Division 43 and served as President in 2023–24. As president, she has been able to see several division initiatives come to fruition, such as the approval of the division’s home study application and the redesign of an educational platform for home study courses, an update of the policy and procedures handbook, a 40th anniversary celebration that helped raise the division’s visibility in the APA and the submission of the Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Subspecialties in Professional Psychology (CRSSPP) renewal application. Graves continues to support division initiatives in her current role as Past President for Division 43.

Carly Yasinski, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is a clinical psychologist in the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic, the OCD and Anxiety Intensive Program and the newly developed Clinic for Anxiety Resilience, Education and Support (CARES). She specializes in exposure and mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral approaches for depression, PTSD and OCD, and is a co-investigator and therapist for clinical research, in particular studies on psychedelic-assisted therapy. Yasinski’s clinical work, supervision and research center around elucidating and targeting transdiagnostic mechanisms of change to support recovery in individuals with complex and often persistent symptoms. Yasinski brings a warm and compassionate style to her work and a dedication to utilizing her deep knowledge of psychotherapy research and evidence-based practices to treat each unique individual effectively. She recently developed two depression psychotherapy groups based on mechanisms of change, increasing access to evidence-based depression therapy within the department. A vital member of multiple multidisciplinary teams (e.g., OCD and Anxiety IOP and CARES teams, Active Engagement Pathway team, MDMA-Prolonged Exposure research team), she values collaborative care and supports her colleagues in doing their best work. She has introduced and trained colleagues and trainees in exposure-based mechanistic approaches to working with depression and PTSD. She hopes to continue to contributing to an developing programs that combine clinical work, training, and research on therapeutic mechanisms to alleviate suffering from trauma, anxiety and depression.

Justin M. Palanci, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is the Medical Director of the Grady Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Program, a model of care for adults with serious mental illness who are high utilizers of the system. Palanci leads the ACT team with humility, clarity and an unwavering commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration. He has enhanced team-based care by streamlining the referral process, focusing on quality, mentoring APPs and instilling a strong team spirit. He established ACT medical team meetings; developed a Safety Committee to support risk monitoring and models effective collaboration with social workers, case managers, nurses and peers. His ability to integrate different professional perspectives fosters a culture of shared responsibility and mutual respect. Palanci also distinguishes himself through innovative approaches to care. As a national expert in Open Dialogue, he completed a three-year training at the Institute of Dialogic Practice and is one of the few certified trainers in the U.S. His advocacy for Open Dialogue and meaningful family engagement has had a significant impact at Grady, as seen in its incorporation into the ACT program. He has led Open Dialogue trainings in Project ARROW and helped the team incorporate and study Open Dialogue in a first episode psychosis program — an innovative and forward-thinking effort. A talented and engaging educator, he has made a lasting impact on psychiatry trainees and professionals from other disciplines. According to his nominator, “In every dimension of clinical work—patient care, teamwork, innovation, education and system improvement — Palanci embodies the values of a Grady clinician.”

Yilang Tang, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He is also an addiction psychiatrist in the Substance Abuse Treatment Program at the Atlanta VA Hospital, where he provides care for some of the most complex and vulnerable patients — many of whom struggle with co-occurring substance use disorders and other mental health disorders. Delivering care to this population presents significant challenges, but Tang approaches his work with compassion and adaptability. One of his core philosophies is to meet patients where they are, tailoring treatment plans to their individualized and evolving needs. He advocates for and promotes evidence-based care and communicates with patients using clear, accessible language to foster understanding and trust.

David Goldsmith, MD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is honored to receive the Distinguished Mentor Award for Research from the department. He has had incredible mentors throughout the years who have been instrumental to his career trajectory. They were models for the type of mentor Goldsmith hoped/s to be and he feels incredibly fortunate to be able to give back and help people on their paths toward careers in psychiatry and psychiatric research. As Co-Director of the Research Track in the Department, Goldsmith works with residents as they balance their training in both clinical psychiatry and research. Helping them navigate the challenges of this path and celebrating their many successes as they publish papers and receive grants and awards is especially rewarding. He feels strongly that we need more physician scientists to drive research in psychiatry that has an impact on patient care and is thrilled to have the opportunity to mentor our research track residents toward this direction. Goldsmith also finds working with our medical students on research projects to be especially rewarding and he has served as a Discovery mentor for the past seven consecutive years (and serve on the Discovery Committee for the SOM) and has mentored 16 medical students on research projects (some of whom have continued to work on projects as residents!). Goldsmith wishes to thank his nominators and the department for this honor.

Benson S. Ku, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is honored to be honored for his dedication to teaching and mentorship. He is deeply passionate about shaping the future of psychiatry through education and service. His commitment to fostering intellectual curiosity, clinical expertise and research excellence is evident through his sustained guidance of students in both academic and real-world settings. From leading regular small-group teaching sessions on adolescent development and mental health disparities to mentoring students on psychiatric research projects involving genetics, neuroimaging and epidemiology, Ku provides a comprehensive and empowering learning experience. He has mentored undergraduate students, medical students, residents, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. He has also served as a primary mentor for MPH students. His mentorship extends beyond the lab and classroom, inspiring students to pursue advanced degrees, engage with international collaborators and serve their professional communities. Throughout every lecture, lab meeting, and clinic visit, Ku reinforces the values of curiosity, resilience and lifelong learning that continue to resonate in the careers of those he mentors.

Joya Hampton-Anderson, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is a child and adolescent clinical psychologist in the Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Division. She sees patients, supervises (Multicultural Supervision Group) and directs her Foundation-funded clinical research program focused on developing culturally responsive interventions for Black youth (ENRICH). Through the iterative treatment development process, her program provides free group and individual therapy for Black adolescents (14–17 years old) in Georgia with internalizing mood concerns. She also serves as co-chair of the Representation, Empowerment and Community Mission, as well as a Junior Discovery mentor through the Nia Project. Outside of Emory, she serves on local (THRIVE and CURDSE, Dekalb Board of Health), national (Silence the Shame) and international (The Wellbeing Project) advisory boards and workgroups to reduce mental health stigma. She often gives lectures and workshops on culturally responsive mental health. Some key highlights of her career include being awarded the Emory University Office of the Provost Seed Funding for Racial Equity and Racial Justice, which has allowed her to expand her clinical research program’s reach by way of hiring a project coordinator and clinicians. This has allowed her program to serve many more youth in Georgia and collect more outcome data! She appreciates the opportunities she has had to disseminate information about youth and minority mental health topics in local and national media outlets such as Georgia Public Broadcasting, Everyday Health, Greater Good and MLK50: Justice Through Journalism.

Jennifer Holton, MD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is Director of Emory’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program, Medical Director of Emory’s Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Clinic and Medical Director of Emory’s Child and Adolescent Mood Program (CAMP). Holton has served as the Co-Chair of the department’s Collective for Faculty Empowerment (formerly the Women’s Subcommittee of the Faculty Development Committee) for the past seven years. She also served as the Co-Chair of the Emory Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Diverse Voices Workgroup, as a member of the Emory Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Diversity Leaders Group, and as a member of the Steering Committee of the Emory Alliance for Women in Medicine and Science (EAWiMS). She is the founder and chair of the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association (GPPA) Women’s Committee, Immediate Past President of GPPA and President of the Georgia Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  In these various roles and organizations, Holton has promoted environments that are welcoming, supportive and inclusive. She provides mentorship to fellows, residents, medical students and early career psychiatrists from a variety of backgrounds. Additionally, she is involved in advocacy on behalf of patients and the psychiatric profession and engages in community education efforts to improve mental health in youth and families.

Julie Pace, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is based in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and directs the psycho-educational assessment clinic at 12 Executive Park. The mission of this clinic is to evaluate, diagnose and make recommendations for students of all ages (kindergarteners – graduate students) who are struggling in school due to learning concerns, behavior problems and/or social-emotional challenges. In this role, she conducts evaluations, supervises psychology interns in assessment and runs the day-to-day operations of the clinic. In addition to her assessment duties, she sees a small number of children, adolescents and young adults in therapy, focusing primarily on treating anxiety, adult ADHD/executive dysfunction and adjustment to learning problems. Pace also teaches medical residents/fellows and psychology interns about learning disabilities and ADHD. Outside of work, Pace is the proud parent of a high schooler with ADHD and learning challenges – something that has helped her grow as a psychologist more than she could have ever imagined! She enjoys hiking, crocheting, watching Jeopardy with her husband, beating escape rooms with her son and simply relaxing with her family and three cats.

Marsha J. Stern, MD MPH, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is the Associate Program Director for the Psychiatry Residency. Stern provides direct patient care at 10 Park Place in both the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry clinic and the Behavioral Health Primary Care clinic, where she sees patients with severe and persistent mental illness in need of preventative and primary care services. She also works as a psychiatric consultant to Grady’s primary care clinics through the Integrated Behavioral Health program, providing indirect consultation to primary care physicians who care for patients with behavioral health needs. In addition to her clinical work, Stern works longitudinally with psychiatry residents and is grateful for the opportunity to support their growth and to learn from them every day.

Jocelyn S. Cox, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has been a psychiatrist at the Atlanta VA in the Substance Abuse Treatment Program since 2008. During her time with SATP, she has worked in a variety of areas including the intensive outpatient program, the evaluation clinic and the consult-liaison service. She was also instrumental in securing continued funding for a program for Veterans in rural communities. Cox is board certified in addiction psychiatry and was in the first class of fellows in Emory's Addiction Psychiatry Program. She has served as both the director and associate director of the Emory Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. She is passionate about helping people with substance use disorders. She also enjoys teaching and has won the Emory Faculty Medical Student Teaching Award. This year, she was the recipient of The Outstanding Teaching Award from the Emory Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. Cox has mentored fourth year residents from Morehouse School of Medicine who were interested in addiction psychiatry. In addition to her work at the VA, she has organized and participated in numerous seminars with the Atlanta Chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College to raise awareness about mental health.  

Susan Reviere, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has been an adjunct faculty member since 2000 and primarily supervises through the Nia Project and provides research consultation. The author of Memory of childhood trauma: A clinician’s guide to the literature, she engages in mindfulness-based psychotherapy with individual adults, couples and groups and has considerable experience and expertise in working with trauma healing in both psychotherapy and in meditation practice. She also has studied mindfulness/meditation practices for more than 30 years and has learned from multiple teachers in the Insight tradition through one-on-one, silent retreat, group study and study course formats. A graduate of the initial cohort of the two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP), an intensive training program led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield and certified through the Awareness Training Institute and University of California Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, she now serves on the MMTCP mentor faculty, mentoring mindfulness meditation teacher trainees. In 2012, she co-founded the Atlanta Insight Meditation Community where she teaches regularly. She works individually with meditation students locally and internationally.  

Ren Massey, PhD, (he/him), Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences who is an active member of the Diversity Inclusion and Social Justice Committee, was awarded the 2025 Adjunct Faculty Community Service Award in recognition of his years of service to the transgender and gender diverse (TGD) community. At the 2024 WPATH Symposium in Lisbon, Massey received the WPATH Harry Benjamin Distinguished Education Award for years of providing and organizing educational programs around the world on transgender and gender diverse issues. Massey is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in the Atlanta area for over 30 years. He conducts psychotherapy and evaluations for children, adolescents and adults, and specializes in LGBTQIA+ issues, particularly in gender identity. Massey was elected a Fellow of the Georgia Psychological Association (GPA) for founding the committee that is now GPA’s Gender & Sexual Minorities Committee. He has served GPA in many roles, including on GPA’s Ethics Committee and 2017-18 GPA President. For the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) he has served on the Board of Directors and on the committee that updated the WPATH Standards of Care (Version 8) for people who are Transgender and Gender Diverse. After serving on the Faculty and Steering Group of the WPATH Global Education Institute (GEI), he was nominated and selected as Mental Health Chair (2021-2024) and he now serves as the Mental Health Programming Chair of WPATH GEI. In this position, he oversees the mental health aspects of the national and international training programs of the WPATH GEI.

Delmarsha (Del) Hanson is the recipient of the inaugural Faculty Partnership Award. She has been a member of The Emory Healthcare Family for 32 years. She currently serves as the Supervisor of Operations in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her passion has always been for the needs of others. Her goal as a leader is to elevate our staff and to be an example of excellence and a positive role model for them as well as our faculty. She wants to ensure that the day to day function of our department flows smoothly and is well- organized. For our patients, she strives to present a calm, supportive and compassionate atmosphere for them to feel respected, safe and that their needs and concerns matters to all of us. Del remarked, “Thank you for this wonderful honor I truly appreciate it.”