Lia Thomas, M.D., F.A.C.P., Medical Director, Mental Health Trauma Services, Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS), and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, will speak on the topic “A Soldier’s Mind: Mental Health Needs of Combat Veterans,” on Tuesday, November 16, at 12 Noon in the McDermott Plaza Lecture Hall (Room D1.700). Registration is not required to attend the forum; light lunch will be provided.
A graduate of Smith College and the Tulane University Health Science Center’s School of Medicine, Dr. Thomas completed her residency in psychiatry at UT Southwestern, where she won the 2004 Award for Outstanding Resident Contribution to Medical Student Education. Since 2007 she has served as a staff physician, acting medical director, and current medical director at the VANTHCS. Dr. Thomas’s research interests include diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), veterans and suicide, and the impact of PTSD on the families of veterans.
The event will be hosted by Alina Suris, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Clinical Director, Mental Health Trauma Services, VANTHCS, and Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston, Dr. Suris joined the VANTHCS in 1991 as a clinical psychologist and is currently the clinical director of the Mental Health Trauma Services Program and the director of the Women’s Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma Program.
For more information, contact John Fullinwider either by email or by phone at 214-648-3801.
Co-sponsors: UT Southwestern Medical Center Library / UT School of Public Health, Dallas Regional Campus / UT Southwestern Department of Psychiatry / UT Southwestern School of Health Professions / UT Southwestern, Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Ethics & Health Policy / American Medical Women’s Association, Dallas / Dallas County HHS District 3 Public Health Advisory Committee American Medical Student Association, Dallas / UT Southwestern Medical Humanities Interest Group / UT Southwestern Global Health Interest Group / Dallas Ft. Worth Area Health Education Center / UT Southwestern, Office of Community Recruitment Initiatives / UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Department of Clinical Sciences, recipient of the North and Central Texas Clinical and Translational Science Initiative (CTSA NIH Grant UL1-RR024982)

An exhibit featuring the works of two local photographers opens in the Library on Monday, October 25 through December 30. Bill Carter will display twelve photos of colorful European street scenes. Eric Schoondergang will show eight stunning close-ups of single flower blossoms on a black or white background.
The exhibit has been arranged under the auspices of Business Council for the Arts (BCA), which also sponsors the annual “On My Own Time” art show. UT Southwestern is a member of NTBCA.

The National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) exhibition, Vital (A)(R)(T), will be on display November 1, 2010 through December 5, 2010 and co-sponsored by the UT Southwestern Medical Center Department of Psychiatry.
Vital (A)(R)(T) is a curated exhibit designed to promote public discussion about depression, bipolar illness and other mood disorders. The exhibit aims to reach a wide spectrum of viewers, from mental health professionals to individuals with mood disorders and their families, to the general public. Many of the artists featured have lived with depression or experienced mental illness through family members or others.
Themes in the exhibit reflect the diversity of these experiences and present a spectrum of attitudes – from suffering to hope. NNDC hopes this exhibit will amplify the diverse voices which are often unheard due to the stigma and debilitating effects of mental illness.

The UT Southwestern Library and the Medical Humanities Interest Group are presenting three dialogues on the subject of Suffering & Medicine. Join the conversation in an informal, intimate setting with three outstanding scholars. All dialogues will be from noon to 1 p.m. in the South Campus Library 3rd Floor Conference Room(E3.314.E).
Wednesday, November 3 – Suffering & Medicine, An Introduction: Dr. Beverly Davenport, University of North Texas, Department of Anthropology. Dr. Davenport has a B.A. in Anthropology from Harvard, a Master’s of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) from the University of North Carolina, and a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the Joint Program in Medical Anthropology of the University of California, San Francisco and Berkeley. She specializes in the anthropology and social epidemiology of chronic disease in the United States, focusing on race and class as determinants of health disparities. Her current research projects focus on school-based interventions for adolescents at risk for Type II diabetes.
Wednesday, November 10 – Representation of Suffering in Literature: Dr. David Markham, M.D., UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Internal Medicine / Cardiology. Dr. Markham is a specialist in heart failure, assist devices, and transplant medicine. Having been involved in various Humanities and Medicine Programs around the country, he has a long interest in the relationship between literature, poetry, art, and medicine. Dr. Markham helped organize one of the first national conferences on poetry and medicine at Duke University.
Wednesday, November 17 – Christian Bioethics and Suffering: Dr. Charles Curran, Ph.D., Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Dr. Curran has served as president of The American Theological Society, The Catholic Theological Society of America, and The Society of Christian Ethics. He has authored and edited more than fifty books in the area of moral theology. His latest book, Catholic Moral Theology in the United States: A History, from Georgetown University Press, won the 2008 American Publishers Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence in Theology and Religion. In 2010 he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Refreshments will be served. Bring your lunch – and your ideas!
Seating is limited. To register: www.utsouthwestern.edu/libraryclasses.
For info, contact: john.fullinwider@utsouthwestern.edu, jennifer.harris@utsouthwestern.edu