2025-26 Award Recipients

Weibo Niu, PhD is an assistant professor. His research integrates human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived brain organoids, neurons and microglia with cutting-edge multi-omics and computational approaches to uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Focusing on Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS), his work has revealed how disease-associated genetic variants disrupt brain development and neuron–glia interactions, leading to the identification of novel therapeutic targets. By combining innovative experimental models with systems-level analyses, his research bridges fundamental neuroscience and translational psychiatry, advancing precision medicine strategies for genetically defined brain disorders. His research has been recognized by several competitive awards and research grants, including the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award, TSC Alliance Research Grant and Emory University Research Committee Award. He is committed to translating stem cell discoveries into future therapies while fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and mentoring the next generation of neuroscientists.

Vincent Costa, PhD, associate professor, conducts research that investigates the mesocorticolimbic and prefrontal circuits governing emotion, motivation and complex decision-making. By integrating computational modeling of reinforcement learning with invasive neurophysiology, chemogenetics and single-nucleus transcriptomics, his laboratory maps how brain regions like the basolateral amygdala, nucleus accumbens and frontopolar cortex manage explore-exploit tradeoffs. This work aims to explain how neural circuit dysregulation drives psychiatric conditions, particularly anhedonia and the behavioral inflexibility observed in substance use disorders. Furthermore, his group contributes to the development of cross-species, primate-specific transcriptomic atlases for these motivational structures to better identify precise molecular targets. In addition to his circuit-level research, Costa advances primate neurotechnology. He co-developed Nonhuman Primate Released Markers of Activity (NHP-RMAs), a novel platform that enables noninvasive, longitudinal monitoring of neural circuit engagement and immediate early gene expression through standard blood tests. Looking ahead, his multidisciplinary program will leverage high-resolution transcriptomic atlases, programmable RNA-sensing technologies and individualized neuromodulation techniques to establish a robust preclinical pipeline. By validating exact neural mechanisms in nonhuman primates, Costa’s research strategy seeks to overcome traditional translational barriers, ultimately facilitating the development of targeted, circuit-based precision psychiatry.

Samantha Patton, PhD, ABPP, assistant professor, has played a key role in expanding clinical services and training opportunities within the Addiction Center. She provides ongoing supervision for medical residents, practicum students, master's-level therapists and the clinic's first postdoctoral fellow. She serves as clinical director of the Intensive Outpatient Program and Partial Hospitalization Program and has spearheaded the implementation of measurement-based care to enhance treatment quality and outcomes. She also leads efforts to recruit additional psychologists and therapists. Patton is an active leader in professional service in addition to clinical service. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Atlanta Behavioral Health Advocates (ABHA), represents ABHA within the Georgia Parity Collaborative and co-chairs the ABHA Blog Committee. She is also an active member of Emory's Faculty Development Committee. Beyond Emory, she was elected Secretary of the Georgia Psychological Association in 2025, where she serves on the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Public Interest Review Committee.

Donovan Ellis, PhD, assistant professor, is a clinical psychologist whose clinical work focuses on expanding access to evidence-based care for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and related conditions. He serves as a team lead for the Emory OCD and Anxiety Intensive Program and is a core clinician in the Clinic for Anxiety Resilience, Education and Support (CARES) Program, where he collaborates with multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality, measurement-based behavioral healthcare. Ellis also developed the department's ADHD Skills Group, addressing a longstanding unmet need for structured, evidence-based treatment for adults with ADHD. Beyond direct patient care, he leads innovative implementation initiatives that improve the delivery of behavioral health services, including Project ACCESS, which integrates Digital Navigator services into collaborative care clinics to expand equitable access to digital mental health interventions. His work bridges clinical psychology, implementation science and healthcare innovation to ensure effective treatments reach more patients in real-world settings. In addition, Ellis is dedicated to educating healthcare professionals through continuing education programs, invited lectures and trainee supervision, with the goal of strengthening the quality and accessibility of behavioral healthcare across Emory and beyond.

Erin Jones, PhD, assistant professor, is a licensed psychologist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Jones specializes in treating youth with eating disorders (EDs) and their families. She has directed Healthy Eating and Weight Services within the Division since 2014, providing ED evaluations and diagnostic assessment, treatment, and case consultation. Jones is committed to providing empirically based care and has dedicated more than 200 hours to completing specialized clinical and/or certification training in relevant ED treatment modalities, including Family Based Treatment, Enhanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders, Adolescent Focused Therapy and Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy. In addition to her active clinical practice, Jones is actively involved in education and supervision. She leads eating disorder didactics for Emory’s predoctoral clinical psychology interns, psychiatry residents and child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, and has supervised predoctoral psychology interns for more than a decade. More recently, Jones partnered with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Behavioral Mental Health to support development of their outpatient eating disorder treatment program. Outside of work, Jones loves spending time with her family and friends. When she is not chasing around her two young children, she enjoys running, photography and catching up on sleep.

Keith Wood, PhD, ABPP, associate professor, has made exceptional contributions to the clinical care of individuals through his unwavering commitment to compassionate, person-centered, evidence-based behavioral health services. He is recognized for his remarkable ability to establish trusting therapeutic relationships by prioritizing each person's unique experiences, cultural background, environmental influences and personal strengths over diagnostic labels. Wood excels in engaging individuals with the most complex clinical presentations, including those actively experiencing psychosis, severe motivational impairment and agitation or threatening behaviors, using skilled de-escalation techniques and collaborative interventions that preserve dignity while promoting safety and recovery. His treatment approach emphasizes measurable functional improvement through evidence-based practices, shared decision-making and ongoing monitoring of each person's progress. As a highly respected member of interdisciplinary teams, Wood collaborates seamlessly with psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, therapists, social workers, support case managers, employment specialists and peer counselors across outpatient psychiatry, coordinated specialty care services, Assertive Community Treatment teams and intensive case management programs. He also serves as a valued educator and clinical resource, sharing his expertise through case consultation, mentoring and interdisciplinary discussion to strengthen the delivery of high-quality care. Through his clinical excellence, collaborative leadership and steadfast dedication to recovery-oriented practice, Wood has had a lasting and meaningful impact on both person improvement outcomes and the quality of delivered behavioral healthcare services.

Walid Nassif, MD, assistant professor, has led the psychiatrists’ group at the VA since 2015. Over his tenure on the Consultation-Liaison service since 2007, he has established himself as a highly trusted and respected clinician, with uniquely thorough and knowledgeable support to his colleagues in medicine and surgery. This has earned him the appreciation of multiple disciplines at the hospital and has promoted a unique spirit of cooperation in the care of the most complex patients with dual presentations. His attention to clinical detail and his passion for teaching have characterized his clinical leadership over the years. His lectures are highly praised by learners at multiple levels of training, and he is routinely invited to deliver talks for the department of medicine and hospital grand rounds. In addition, Nassif has distinguished himself as the reference for complex psychiatric cases ranging from forensic psychiatry to neuropsychiatric presentations to somatic symptom disorders. He also serves as the primary reviewer for second opinion requests and involuntary psychotropic reviews at the VA.

Jennifer S. Stevens, PhD, associate professor, is also on the faculty in Emory's Neuroscience PhD program. She conducts research on psychiatric risk and resilience following traumatic experiences as co-director of the Grady Trauma Project and co-chair of the ENIGMA PTSD working group. Stevens has served as primary research mentor for numerous postdoctoral fellows, doctoral students, medical and master's students, undergraduate honors students and early-career faculty. Her trainees have gone on to tenure-track faculty positions at institutions including the University of New Mexico, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Agnes Scott College, Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital and Emory University. Others have continued into competitive postdoctoral fellowships and residencies at leading academic medical centers. Along the way, her trainees have been awarded fellowships and career development awards attesting to the quality of their research including the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, NIH F31, F32, K99/R00, TL1, T32, R25 IMSD and VA Career Development Award. Looking ahead, she hopes to continue building a diverse community of scientists dedicated to understanding women's brain health and stress-related psychiatric disorders, while helping to integrate neuroscience-based approaches into psychiatric education, clinical practice and the development of the next generation of translational researchers. 

Adriana Hermida, MD, professor and eminent physician, is deeply honored and truly grateful to receive the 2026 Distinguished Mentor Award: Service and Education from the Emory School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Throughout her career at Emory, mentorship has been one of the greatest joys and most meaningful privileges of her professional life. As chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship and faculty member, she has been committed to creating an environment where learners and junior faculty feel supported, encouraged and inspired to reach their full potential. To her, mentorship is more than just academic guidance. It is about building relationships, helping others discover their strengths, opening doors to new opportunities and encouraging purpose, curiosity and lifelong learning. She has been fortunate to mentor medical students, residents, fellows, junior faculty and colleagues, and is deeply committed to supporting others by creating opportunities for growth, encouraging collaboration and celebrating each person's unique strengths. The greatest reward is watching those she has mentored grow into outstanding clinicians, educators, researchers and leaders. Seeing their success and knowing she played a small part in their journey is one of the greatest privileges of her career and continues to inspire her commitment to mentoring the next generation of academic psychiatrists.                       

Justin Palanci, MD, assistant professor, is an attending psychiatrist at Grady Health System. His teaching focuses on psychosis, community psychiatry and person- and family-centered approaches to care. He directs the residency psychosis course and teaches learners across levels through seminars, clinical supervision, case-based discussion and collaborative educational programs developed with individuals who have lived experience of serious mental illness. He believes psychiatric education is most effective when it brings together clinical knowledge, patient and family perspectives and thoughtful reflection on the systems in which care occurs. His work emphasizes helping trainees develop the practical skills needed to build trusting relationships, navigate uncertainty and engage patients and support networks as partners in treatment. He has also led educational initiatives on Open Dialogue, deprescribing and recovery-oriented care. Across these efforts, his goal is to help learners become more curious, collaborative and responsive clinicians while strengthening the connection between academic psychiatry and the communities it serves.

Rachel J. Ammirati, PhD, ABPP, assistant professor, is also the assistant vice chair for Faculty Development – New Initiatives in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She has established an outstanding national and international reputation as an educator and trainer in cognitive-behavioral therapy, particularly through her work with the Unified Protocol Institute. As lead expert trainer and consultant, she provides training and consultation to clinicians across the United States and internationally, supporting the dissemination of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Her teaching activities have reached clinicians in numerous states, including Utah, Montana, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio and Massachusetts, as well as professionals in Singapore, Bulgaria, England, Ireland, Croatia, Canada, Israel and other countries. In addition to delivering workshops and consultation, she has co-authored adaptations of the Unified Protocol for diverse populations, expanding its accessibility and clinical impact. Ammirati recently co-presented a clinical roundtable at the World Confederation of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies Congress, engaging an international audience on equitable and sustainable applications of the Unified Protocol. She has been invited to co-author a primary care adaptation of the Unified Protocol for Oxford University Press, an honor reflecting her national prominence and expertise. Ammirati brings these experiences back to Emory by training psychology interns and postdoctoral residents and psychiatry residents, and enriching local education through globally informed, evidence-based teaching and mentorship.

Jordan Cattie, PhD, ABPP, associate professor, has national and international teaching activities that are emblematic of her commitment to increasing access to evidence-based mental healthcare, interprofessional education and collaborative that includes all learners and teaching individual interventions alongside structural competency, advocacy and systems interventions using quality improvement (QI) methods. Cattie provides highly accessible, evidence-based instruction across major national platforms, including the Association for Contextual Behavioral Sciences (ACBS), NOCD Academy and as a faculty member for the International OCD Foundation’s (IOCDF) Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI). In these roles, she chairs national education committees and generates educational content and syllabi that explicitly incorporate culturally responsive care practices into best practices for both ACBS and IOCDF. For example, she and her committee members have contributed teaching and practice aids to the BTTI and foundational webinars like the "OCD Basics" series, ensuring learners at all levels are equipped to meet the highest standards of practice. Nationally and locally, Cattie provides critical instruction on improving patient-centeredness at the entry and access points for healthcare systems. Another hallmark of her pedagogy is her commitment to opening doors and highlighting the contributions of her learners and mentees. She enjoys welcoming them into national spaces and communities and cheering them on as they lend their unique expertise and grow as educators and leaders. 

Joseph Mathias, MD, assistant professor, has demonstrated continued contributions to inclusive excellence and community engagement since joining Emory faculty in 2020. He has been involved in mentoring undergraduate students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in medicine, offering guidance and support that helps diversify the future physician workforce. His commitment to education spans multiple levels of training, as he regularly delivers substance use disorder (SUD) lectures to undergraduates, nursing and medical students, fellows and psychology interns, strengthening the department's educational mission. Beyond the work he is doing at Emory, Mathias extends his expertise into the community through behavioral health advocacy. Most recently, he delivered talks on SUD prevention strategies and risk factors where target audiences have ranged from retirement communities to parents of teenagers. These efforts directly promote population behavioral health and help prevent adverse outcomes among vulnerable groups. Mathias remains passionate about sustaining his roles in mentorship, multidisciplinary education and public engagement.

Allison LoPilato, PhD, associate professor, is a clinical psychologist and associate director of Youth Behavioral Health in Emory's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. She sees youth and families, directs a research lab, mentors trainees, holds regional and national service roles and provides clinical leadership. A consistent thread across these roles is a focus on making things better for the people and systems around her. LoPilato notices problems, quietly works to solve them and supports others along the way. Whether developing innovative clinical programs, improving patient education in waiting rooms, creating new trainings in response to trainee needs or designing processes that better support clinicians and families, she brings a strong bias toward action. Much of LoPilato's work happens behind the scenes. She is the colleague people call to troubleshoot a difficult patient situation or review the first draft of a proposal, the mentor trainees turn to as they navigate clinical and professional challenges and the thought partner community organizations seek out when they need a sounding board. She willingly takes on the often unglamorous work required to leave programs, teams and systems stronger than she found them.

Aparna Das, MD, assistant professor, is part of the Clinical and Research Program in Psychosis at Grady, contributing to Project ARROW, PSTAR and Youth and Family Tree (YFT). While ARROW and PSTAR were established, YFT was in its early stages. She played a key role in developing and expanding YFT, now in its third year, while supporting ARROW and PSTAR’s growth. Committed to lifelong learning, Das’values learning from colleagues, trainees and patients. Her dedication to education has led her to further develop her teaching skills through participation in the PACE Program. Her passion for science began in childhood with hands-on experiments. She was particularly inspired by the Scientists Who Changed the World biography series, which fostered her appreciation for questioning, embracing uncertainty and recognizing meaningful discoveries require patience and persistence. Although her primary role is as a clinical psychiatrist, she remains committed to research, believing it is essential to improving treatments and outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness. By integrating clinical care, education and research, she strives to advance patient care and improve the lives of individuals and families she serves.

Linda Harvey, MD, assistant professor, can remember having felt called to the practice of medicine and specifically to the field of psychiatry from a fairly young age. Walking alongside patients on their journey to recovery and optimal mental health has been an honor that she does not take lightly. She believes she owes good psychiatric care, empathy and compassion to her patients and specifically to the nation's military veterans, so she considers her work with the Atlanta Veterans Affairs system to be a true privilege. Considering this, she is honored to have been recognized for excellence while doing work she thoroughly enjoys and appreciates. In addition to the psychiatric care she provides, she has been able to collaborate with many fellow clinicians who similarly have a strong work ethic and unwavering commitment to our veterans. She would like to thank them for their quiet excellence and fortitude as well. Lastly, she would like to thank her family members who have served in the United States armed forces—both retired and actively serving, for their service to this country as she would not be able to work excellently in her role at the VA if it were not for them and millions of servicemembers like them.

Nicole Azores-Gococo, PhD, adjunct assistant professor, has felt immense affection for Emory since her undergraduate years. After completing her doctorate degree in clinical psychology, she was thrilled to return to Emory for her postdoctoral residency in forensic psychology. She now works as a forensic psychologist for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and, when able, volunteers at the Georgia Human Rights Clinic conducting asylum evaluations. She is board-certified in forensic psychology. She also serves as adjunct faculty in the Emory Psychiatry and Law Program, conducting individual supervision with forensic psychology postdoctoral residents and collaborating with them on presentations for national and regional conferences. Azores-Gococo takes great joy in supervision and mentorship. She aims to work with trainees in a manner that is approachable and encourages trainees to recognize their strengths, challenge themselves and think and communicate critically and ethically. She especially enjoys helping trainees find their voices through writing, sharing the values and challenges of work within public service systems and engaging in collaborative reflection on how one’s background affects their experiences and judgments.

Meghna Patel, PhD, ABPP, adjunct assistant professor, is a board-certified clinical psychologist, deputy chief of mental health at the Atlanta VA Health Care System and adjunct assistant professor in Emory University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to improving the lives of women and Veterans affected by trauma, with a particular focus on survivors of sexual assault and military sexual trauma. As a clinician, educator, researcher and leader, she has advanced evidence-based, trauma-informed care while mentoring the next generation of mental health professionals. Her commitment to community service extends beyond the clinic through leadership in national and state professional organizations, including serving as chair of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Women in Psychology and president of the Georgia Psychological Association. Through these roles, she has worked to increase public awareness of the lasting impact of sexual violence, amplify the voices of survivors who have too often been silenced and promote equity and access to compassionate, evidence-based mental health care. Patel’s career reflects a deep commitment to advocacy, education and service that has strengthened both the profession of psychology and communities it serves.

Johnnie Jenkins III, PhD, LPC, has been a licensed professional counselor since 1999 and certified professional clinical supervisor since 2011. He taught at Argosy University from 2008-2019 in the departments of counseling and human services. While there on August 1, 2015, he was appointed chair of the human services department until the school closed in 2019. Jenkins is also a registered play therapist supervisor. Since September 2022, Jenkins has worked as a team lead for Grady’s Project Arrow. From 1998 to 2007, he worked as a student counselor at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Since 2010, he has conducted crisis evaluations, uses CBT and play therapy to treat children, adolescents, adults, individuals and families at the Jenkins Center. Jenkins lectures on play therapy and legislative advocacy for counselors and provides trainings for the National Clinical Mental Health and the National Clinical Counselor Examinations. His educational background includes the following degrees: Bachelor of Science in biology and a minor in chemistry from Mercer University in Macon and a Master of Arts Degree in psychology with a specialty in  ounseling for the Georgia School of Professional Psychology and Master of Philosophy and PhD in public policy from Walden University.