2021-2022 Teaching Awards

2021-2022 Psychiatry Teaching Awards 

The Psychiatry Teaching awards are presented annually before the Department of Psychiatry’s Grand Rounds.  Their purpose is to honor excellence in teaching, supervision, mentoring or related instructional activities in a number of categories.  Nominees for each award are selected for their ingenuity, clinical skill, availability, supportiveness, inspiration, dedication, humanism, patience, respect for diversity, and improvement in the teaching process. 

Outstanding Faculty Housestaff Teaching Adult/Geri Division

Eligible candidates are full-time faculty in the department who lecture, supervise, or tutor psychiatry residents, psychiatry fellows, or psychology trainees in the Adult or Geriatric Psychiatry Divisions at any of the DGSOM sites, and who have not received the award in the past three years.  

Linda Ercoli, Ph.D.  

The first faculty housestaff teaching award goes to Dr. Linda Ercoli. To describe Dr. Ercoli’s mentorship style, a trainee quotes” "Leadership is not so much about technique and method as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration - of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about a human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine". I have witnessed the myriad of ways in which Dr. Ercoli diligently and responsively engages with antiracist principles and actions while teaching, providing love-centered patient care, and addressing systemic barriers.”

A Research Fellow wrote “Dr. Ercoli practices what she teaches, and through this modeling of actively utilizing evidenced-based practices, reviewing to most current literature, advocating for patients across disciplines, connecting patients to services, and conceptualizing patients within systems, she naturally engenders a passion for working with older adults. She artfully creates a learning space that makes you feel valued, heard, and safe to ask questions.”

A colleague writes, “Dr. Ercoli deserves this award for reasons well beyond the conveyance of knowledge, though. Dr. Ercoli unwaveringly puts her students first. She demonstrates that she is deeply invested

in your professional growth, both for your own career success and as an agent to improve our institution, profession, and the clinical care of older adults. That implicit message is very inspiring to young trainees, and instrumental to orienting us to meaningful careers in clinical service. Dr. Ercoli makes her trainees feel valued, both for their ideas and their commitment to clinical care, regardless of their level of experience and knowledge. I firmly believe that Dr. Ercoli makes our department better, more just, more honest, and more welcoming to students of all backgrounds. She is a model citizen and mentor, elevating us all, and sets a standard to which her students aspire and expect of themselves.

Outstanding Resident / Fellow Teaching

Eligible candidates are psychiatry residents, or child, forensic, geriatric, or other fellows, or psychology trainees who have primary teaching or supervisory responsibilities on their service or clinic for medical students, beginning residents, psychology trainees, or other trainees. 

Kevin Kennedy, M.D.

Dr. Kevin Kennedy, a second year psychiatry resident, is this year’s recipient of the award for outstanding resident/fellow teaching. A co-resident states, “As I progress through my training, I have grown to understand that teaching is truly a labor of love. It is rare to find a resident physician who approaches their role as an educator with such commitment and intentionality. Dr. Kennedy inspires students, trainees, and colleagues to approach the complex work of clinical psychiatry with honesty, humility, and compassion. Looking forward, I have no doubt that he will continue to grow into an exceptional clinician-educator - one who embodies the ideals of humanistic medicine.”

Kevin has routinely gone above and beyond to teach medical students at every turn, and it is clear to everyone that being an educator is his top priority.

I found Dr. Kennedy to be an outstanding clinician-educator during my team on his team. Our service covered a challenging panel of acutely psychotic and manic patients who required active management throughout my two week stay on the team, an already challenging situation for any senior resident.

A faculty member writes, “I am confident that Dr. Kevin Kennedy will be a leader in the world of clinician-educators and has already made an impact on resident education and all of the medical students that rotated through UCLA this year. He will be joining the clinician-educator concentration next year where his talents will continue to evolve. He is incredibly deserving of this award for the impact of his work in teaching this year.”

Outstanding Community Educator

Full-time or part-time faculty or teaching staff who teach, train, provide professional development, coaching, or mentorship in the community. 

Julie Elginer, Dr.PH., M.B.A.

Dr. Julie Elginer is receiving an award for Outstanding Community Educator. Dr. Elginer is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health, and she helped co-design and conducts most of the teaching in our Community/Global Psychiatry PGY-4 Advocacy Selective, and she has gotten rave reviews from residents for her teaching in past years.

A graduate student adviser writes, Dr. Julie Elginer is knowledgeable and her diverse work experience from biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries bring a unique perspective into the classrooms. She utilizes unconventional styles of teaching: it’s not solely based off lectures, but rather, she places importance on student involvement, engagement, and student-led discussions. What I really respect about Dr. Elginer is that she enjoys sharing knowledge and experience with others. She also shares best practices with our faculty during the monthly faculty meeting when all the faculty had difficulty with transitioning from in-person to Zoom instruction and even when we were transitioning back to in-person teachings.

A faculty member writes “Dr. Elginer inspires her students and colleagues to excel in scholarship and to make a real impact on their communities in social justice. She has committed so much of her time,

energy, and expertise to our psychiatry residency program without compensation. This award would show our appreciation for Dr. Elginer’s work and would demonstrate our program’s support for advocacy and structural change.”

A colleague wrote In both courses I took with Dr. Elginer, she is innovative in her assignments. She uses them as an opportunity for students to create work that is ready to be showcased to potential employers. In these assignments, she would also provide incredibly detailed feedback that allowed us to grow and learn from. Further, she always made herself available to us to come for help with both class content and any professional questions.”

Outstanding Faculty Housestaff Teaching Child & Adolescent/Population Behavioral Health

Eligible candidates are full-time faculty in the department who lecture, supervise, or tutor psychiatry residents, psychiatry fellows, or psychology trainees in the Child and Adolescent or DPBH Psychiatry Divisions at any of the DGSOM sites, and who have not received the award in the past three years. 

Jena Lee Chung, M.D.

Dr. Jena Lee Chung is the recipient of this year’s housestaff teaching award for the division of child & adolescent and population behavioral health Dr. Lee serves as the Director of the Pediatric Psychiatry Consult-Liaison and Pediatric Emergency Psychiatry services at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. She also serves as an attending in the Child and Adult Neurodevelopmental (CAN) Clinic and as a staff psychiatrist at UCLA Behavioral Health Associates (BHA).

A colleague writes, “In the five years Dr. Chung has been Medical Director of our C/L service, she has transformed the rotation into a premier training experience for our CAP fellows. She rounds with fellows daily, explains complicated consult-liaison and emergency department cases in real time, and has infused a sense of wonder, excitement, and curiosity in our trainees.  As such, many have requested Dr. Chung as their ongoing mentor and I give her all the credit for bolstering trainee interest in more acute care settings.”

A fellow mentions, “Every single trainee who has worked with her can extol her virtues without end – she is kind, compassionate, thoughtful, genuine, brilliant, and sincere. She cares deeply about our learning and our development not only professionally, but personally as well. Through each patient interaction, she demonstrates for us what it means to treat the most vulnerable with dignity and respect.”

Outstanding Volunteer Clinical Faculty Teaching 

Eligible candidates are volunteer faculty in the clinical instructor or clinical professor series whose primary work or responsibilities are outside the university (such as private practice, other clinics or hospitals, or public agencies), who have not received this award in the past three years, and provide clinical supervision or teach in courses offered to medical students, undergraduate or graduate students, residents and fellows, or psychology trainees or participate in other clinical teaching activities in the Semel Institute or Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital (or its affiliated hospitals and clinics).

Carlos Saucedo, Ph.D.

This year’s Volunteer Clinical Faculty teaching award goes to Dr. Carlos Saucedo. Dr. Saucedo is a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences who has devoted his career in training budding clinical neuropsychologists. Dr. Saucedo also has a thriving forensic practice and has mentored many over the years in providing much needed bilingual services within the med-legal arena.

His teaching approach is trainee-centered, always making them feel welcome with questions and clarifying any doubts about brain-behavior relationships. He is particularly fond of being an attending for complex pediatric bilingual cases (i.e., stroke, epilepsy, learning disabilities), where he spends most of his time reviewing crucial medical, behavioral, and cultural aspects of the case. He likes teaching about functional neuroanatomy and cognitive and behavioral processes. Dr. Saucedo is a highly sought out practitioner and educator, not only for his many years of experience, but also because he is highly eager to teach through a scientist-practitioner model.

Outstanding Research Mentor

Eligible candidates are full-time faculty or staff in the department who are directly supervising research projects of residents and fellows and of psychology trainees and/or who are providing mentoring to such trainees or to junior faculty (below the rank of associate professor) on research, promotion, or career advancement who have not received this award in the past three years.

Bonnie Zima, M.D.

The recipient of the Outstanding Research Mentor Award is Dr. Bonnie Zima. A former resident states, “Along the way, Dr. Zima has had a tremendous impact on my early research career trajectory. She has directly introduced me to chairs of departments, NIH program officers, national experts in pediatrics, public health, computer science and informatics, community leaders, youth advocates, administrative staff, advocacy groups, journal editors, and leaders of councils and committees of national organizations.

A PI wrote, The grant is now entering its 17^th year. Dr. Zima has been one of our eight-member core of faculty mentors for over a decade. She mentors many of the 18 annual trainees during our research institute and

then is a mentor for 2 or 3 each year providing them with a year or more of additional

A Clinical Instructor wrote, It is abundantly clear that Dr. Zima prioritizes mentorship and helps UCLA live up to its goal of serving as a training institution. Not only is Dr. Zima an expert researcher and physician, but she is also greatly dedicated to teaching and passing on her knowledge to trainees. In being so committed to mentorship and education, she has become a great source of support and guidance

A Fellowship Class wrote, Early in the academic year, following input from fellows requesting examples of the application of research methods to the ascertainment of health disparities, Dr. Zima rapidly adapted the

curriculum to allow fellows to select high impact articles from a variety of journals and discuss ongoing scientific advancements in equity, diversity, and inclusion as a group. This flexibility allowed a learner-driven approach to the curriculum and brought a series of highly relevant articles attuned to shifts in scientific discourse. During rapidly fluctuating demands secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent surge from the Omicron variant, Dr. Zima has been a tireless advocate for trainee exposure to research methods and learning in an environment fostering curiosity and camaraderie.

Outstanding Medical Student Teaching

Eligible candidates are full-time faculty or staff in the department who lecture, supervise, or tutor medical students in courses, selectives, the required clerkship, or elective at any of the DGSOM sites, and who have not received the award in the past three years.

Sarah A. Nguyen, M.D.

The recipient of this year’s Medical Student Teaching award is Dr. Sarah A. Nguyen. A current reisdent writes “Dr. Nguyen’s contribution to resident education at UCLA Department of Psychiatry has been substantial.  On geriatric rounds, both medical students and residents thoroughly enjoyed her. Dr. Nguyen also has an impeccable bedside manner/rapport with patients which really improved their mental health outcomes.”

A medical student notes, “Dr. Nguyen has both challenged me to grow as a future psychiatrist while offering ample guidance, which is a delicate balance that is difficult to strike as a teacher. She is a role model for the type of mentor and clinician I hope to be. Dr. Nguyen has been instrumental in shaping my medical student experience and I believe she will enrich the experiences of many other students and trainees to come.”

A resident writes, “Dr. Nguyen is an incredible physician, mentor and human being who has served a very important role in my own personal development. I first met Dr. Nguyen during my intern year when she was the geriatric psychiatry attending for Team Gold. She was arguably the most dedicated attending I had ever worked with, spending 20-30 minutes each morning teaching relevant psychiatric topics and psychotherapy techniques.”

A medical Student reflects, By the end of our time together, I had a serious conversation with Dr. Nguyen about transitioning to a career in psychiatry. On a rotation, I have yet to have a better teaching experience than I did with Dr. Nguyen. I was pushed to do my best work daily and was met with positive reinforcement.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Rhonda Sena, Ph.D.

The recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award is Dr. Rhonda Sena. Dr. Sena has served as a ward psychologist on the child and adolescent inpatient and partial hospitalization services for decades and is possibly the longest serving Training Director for the UCLA Semel Institute Psychology Internship program (serving in her role since 1996). Within this role, she provides support and mentorship for a large number of psychology interns. Additionally, she In her clinical roles, she provides direct supervision to both psychology and psychiatry trainees.

A former trainee, now colleague, reflects Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Dr. Sena’s approach is her ability to gauge your needs as a trainee and meet you where you are.  Her disarming approach facilitates the primitive questions that need to be asked in order to build a strong foundation in the basics of psychodynamic psychotherapy.  Each week, she listened intently to my questions, concerns and patient observations, guiding me with resources, presenting helpful ideas for formulation and approach, and infusing her larger-than-life humor that made each meeting treasured.  I looked forward to seeing Dr. Sena, learning from her, and completely benefitted from her perspective. In many ways, she is the reason I pursued child psychiatry.

Trainees and colleagues alike respect Dr. Sena for her knowledge, skill, rational thinking, kind heart, and collegiality. She has been an important mentor for hundreds of past psychology and psychiatry trainees. It is the end of an era.