Psychiatry

New Clinicians, Researchers at UConn Health

Posted on November 18, 2015November 19, 2015 by Chris DeFrancesco

Meet some more of the clinicians and researchers who recently joined UConn Health.

Dr. David Karimeddini leads the nuclear medicine section of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Therapeutics. His clinical interests include radiology, nuclear cardiology, thyroid disease and oncology imaging. His training includes a nuclear radiology fellowship at Yale University, a diagnostic radiology residency at Hartford Hospital, and an internship in medicine at UConn Health. His M.D. is from the Temple University School of Medicine. He is board certified in nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology.

Dr. Keri Discepolo is a dentist who is board certified in pediatric dentistry. She sees patients in several locations, including Farmington and West Hartford, and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Discepolo completed a pediatric dentistry residency at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, where she remained as a clinical instructor for nearly seven years. Her interests are in infant and adolescent oral health interventions, with a focus in hospital dentistry. She holds a D.D.S. (doctor of dental surgery) from the New York University College of Dentistry and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University.

Dr. Saira Cherian is a primary care physician seeing patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. Her clinical interests include preventive medicine and osteopathic medicine, including treatment of back and neck pain. Cherian stayed at UConn Health, joining the faculty after completing an internal medicine residency here. She holds a D.O. from the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Cherian is board eligible in internal medicine and speaks English, Spanish and Malayalam.

Lyla Natt, family medicine nurse practitioner

Lyla Natt is a family medicine nurse practitioner who sees patients in West Hartford. Her experience includes medical-surgical, step down, psychiatry, and long-term care. Other clinical interests include primary and preventive care, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In addition to being licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse, Natt holds a Master of Nursing from the Quinnipiac University School of Health Sciences.

Dr. Cristina Sánchez-Torres is now a member of the UConn Health psychiatry faculty, with whom she trained as a fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry. She sees patients in Farmington and West Hartford. Her clinical interests include electroconvulsive therapy, autism, attachment, psychotic disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sánchez-Torres completed medical school and a psychiatry residency at the University of Puerto Rico before her fellowship at UConn. She is board eligible in both psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, and speaks English and Spanish.

Kristyn Zajac is a researcher in the Behavioral Cardiovascular Prevention Division of the Calhoun Cardiology Center. She earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Delaware, then completed a National Institute of Mental Health-funded postdoctoral research fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina’s National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center. Zajac’s research focuses on the development and evaluation of interventions for substance abuse and mental health disorders among high-risk adolescents and young adults.

Photos by Janine Gelineau/UConn Health (except Zajac’s, which was submitted)

UConn Health Welcomes New Physicians

Posted on November 2, 2015August 4, 2016 by Chris DeFrancesco

Meet some of the clinicians who recently joined the UConn Health faculty.

Dr. Matthew Imperioli, neurologist	Dr. Matthew Imperioli is a neurologist seeing patients in the UConn Health Outpatient Pavilion. He specializes in neuromuscular medicine and electromyography, and treats variety of neuromuscular disorders and diseases of the peripheral nervous system, including myopathy, myasthenia gravis, and autonomic disorders. Imperioli completed his neurology residency at UConn Health and a fellowship in neuromuscular medicine and electromyography at the University of Michigan Medical Center. His M.D. is from St. George’s University, Grenada.
Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues, neurologist	Dr. Bernardo Rodrigues is a neurologist with expertise in movement disorders who offers treatment including botulinum toxin (Botox) injections and deep brain stimulation. He also sees patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. Rodrigues is a graduate of the UConn School of Medicine Neurology Residence Program. Before returning to UConn Health, he completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Michigan Medical Center. He holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D. from Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. He is board certified in neurology and speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Dr. Jose Montes-Rivera, neurologist	Dr. Jose Montes-Rivera is another recent addition to UConn Health’s neurology faculty and is seeing patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. He specializes in general neurology and epilepsy. Montes-Rivera completed a fellowship in neurophysiology and electroencephalogram (EEG) interpretation, as well as his neurology residency, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. He’s a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University.
Dr. Houman Rezaizadeh, gastroenterologist	Dr. Houman Rezaizadeh is a gastroenterologist seeing patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. His expertise is in Barrett’s esophagus and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Rezaizadeh is specially trained in Barrett’s ablation. He remains at UConn Health, where he completed gastroenterology fellowship following his residency training in internal medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Rezaizadeh earned his M.D. at New Jersey Medical School. He is board certified in internal medicine and board eligible in gastroenterology.
Dr. Mona Shahriari, dermatologist	Dr. Mona Shahriari is a UConn-trained dermatologist who sees patients in Farmington, at 21 South Road, and the UConn Health office in Canton, 117 Albany Turnpike. She practices general dermatology and has specialized interests in pediatric dermatology and pigmented lesions. Shahriari earned her M.D. at the UConn School of Medicine and completed a residency in dermatology at UConn Health, including as chief resident her final year. She also completed an internal medicine internship at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Shahriari is board certified in dermatology, and speaks English and Farsi. She also is associate director of clinical trials at UConn Health.
Dr. Glenn Konopaske, psychiatrist	Dr. Glenn Konopaske is a psychiatrist with expertise in a variety of psychiatric disorders, especially bipolar disorder. He sees patients in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and in the Huntington’s Disease Program, where he’s medical director. He also is medical director of UConn Health’s Partial Hospital and Intensive Outpatient Program. Konopaske graduated from the UConn School of Medicine and from the UConn Health/Institute of Living Adult Psychiatry Residency program, then completed a fellowship in translational neuroscience at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh.Konopaske rejoins UConn Health from MacLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., where, as a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty, he saw patients in the Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Program and the Clinical Evaluation Center, and conducted NIH-funded research of the biology of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He is board certified in psychiatry.

Photos by Janine Gelineau/UConn Health

Dentist, Physicians, APRN Seeing Patients at UConn Health

Posted on October 5, 2015October 3, 2016 by Chris DeFrancesco

UConn Health continues to grow its volume of practitioners in both Farmington and Storrs Center. Here are some of those who’ve recently started seeing patients.

	Dr. Hsung Lin, a graduate of the UConn School of Dental Medicine, is back with UConn. She practices family dentistry, including pediatric dentistry, in Storrs Center, where she is the director of dental services. One day a week she sees patients in the dental clinics in Farmington. In addition to general dentistry, she offers services including wisdom teeth extractions, root canals and dental implants. Lin completed her general practice residency at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. She is fluent in Chinese.
Dr. Lenora Williams, Ob/gyn (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)	Dr. Lenora Williams joins UConn Health at Storrs Center after more than 25 years providing comprehensive individualized ob/gyn care to a diverse population of patients at her private practice in Ellington. Williams’s clinical interests include menopause, reproductive needs, pap abnormalities and HPV, adolescent reproductive health, preconception counseling, PMS and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and minimally invasive in-office and outpatient procedures. Williams is a graduate of the UConn School of Medicine and the UConn Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, and is a fellow of the American College of Ob/Gyn. She is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and is accredited in ob/gyn ultrasound by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.
Dr. Philip Blumenshine, psychiatry	Dr. Philip Blumenshine is a psychiatrist specialty trained in psychotherapy, including psychodynamic, brief dynamic, and supportive psychotherapy. He sees patients in Farmington, at both the new Mood and Anxiety Clinic in the main building and at Adult Psychiatric Outpatient Services office, 10 Talcott Notch Road. He also is medical director of psychiatry emergency services. Blumenshine’s training includes a psychiatry residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center and an M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Janice Oliveri, primary care (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)	Dr. Janice Oliveri, a member of the UConn School of Medicine faculty since 2000, is now part of the UConn Health primary care practice, seeing patients in the Outpatient Pavilion. Her clinical interests include preventive care, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and common dermatologic problems, and she offers office-based procedures such as joint injections and skin biopsies. She completed an internal medicine residency at UConn Health after earning her M.D. from the University of North Carolina.
	Vivan Huynh is nurse practitioner, also in the primary care practice in the Outpatient Pavilion. She sees general medicine patients for chronic conditions, sick visits, urgent care, and preventive health. Huynh is an advanced practice registered nurse in adult gerontology primary care and is licensed to prescribe medications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Fairfield University and a doctorate of nursing practice from Quinnipiac University. She is fluent in Vietnamese.

Photos by Janine Gelineau/UConn Health

Pearson Named Editor-in-Chief of Nursing Scholarly Journal

Posted on September 9, 2015September 9, 2015 by Chris DeFrancesco

Geraldine Pearson starts as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Jan. 1, 2016. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Center Photo) — Geraldine Pearson starts as editor-in-chief of the *Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association* Jan. 1, 2016. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Center Photo)

UConn Health’s Geraldine Pearson will serve as editor-in-chief for the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (JAPNA) starting next year.

JAPNA is a bi-monthly peer-reviewed publication with an international circulation of nearly 13,000.

“At an exciting time of growth and increased visibility for the journal, it was paramount to secure an editor who could build upon current momentum,” says APNA President Susie Adams. “With her prior experience as an editor as well as her clearly defined vision for developing JAPNA, the Board of Directors feel confident that Dr. Pearson will be successful as editor-in-chief of JAPNA in meeting readership interests across diverse settings and roles while retaining the quality and rigor of the journal.”

Pearson, associate professor of psychiatry at the UConn School of Medicine, has been the editor of Perspectives in Psychiatric Nursing since 2008.

“My appointment as the editor-in-chief of JAPNA presents an exciting opportunity to work with an association journal that includes a membership from all ranges of psychiatric nurses involved in practice, education, administration, and research,” Pearson says. “I hope to craft a journal that meets a broad range of member needs while maintaining a professional, evidence-based focus.”

Pearson is an advanced practice registered nurse and has a doctorate in nursing research from the UConn School of Nursing. She serves as chair of the medical school’s admissions committee, as director of UConn Health’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic in West Hartford, and as director of the HomeCare Program for adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system.

“Dr. Pearson adds this achievement to several other accomplishments in her career,” says Dr. David Steffens, UConn Health psychiatry chair. “This is a recognition of her longstanding leadership in the field of academic nursing, and it speaks volumes about the important roles that nursing leaders play at UConn Health.”

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association focuses on the specialty practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing and wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems, and the care and treatment of those with psychiatric disorders. Its journal publishes clinical and research articles intended to promote psychiatric nursing, shape health care policy for the delivery of mental health services, and improve mental health care for culturally diverse people, families, groups and communities.