UT Southwestern Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute

02/12/2026

UT Southwestern will operate the first state acute care behavioral health hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Texas Behavioral Health Center opens this summer with 292 beds expanding access to mental health care for adults and children.

Developed in partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the state-funded facility – the first of its kind in DFW – is slated to open this summer

02/09/2026

Dr. Kathy Niu, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, is co-editor of the new textbook, "Psychiatric Neurology: A Clinical Approach." The text provides practical, up-to-date guidance on the evaluation and diagnosis of neurological disorders and their presentations.

02/03/2026

UT Southwestern epidemiologist, Dr. Wendy Wang, co-led a study that found changes in older adults' daily "rest-activity" patterns could be a clue to risk. Read about what the findings mean for populations underrepresented in previous research. https://bit.ly/4t1LA49

Disruptions in patterns of daily activity and rest may provide early clues to heightened dementia risk, a study co-led by a UT Southwestern Medical Center scientist found.

02/02/2026

Dr. Jenny Riecke, an O'Donnell Brain Institute Clinical Neuroscience Scholar, is expanding the neuropalliative care clinic that she established at UT Southwestern in 2023. The clinic will grow to include services such as chaplaincy and educational opportunities for future neurologists and palliative care professionals. Dr. Riecke started the program to improve the qualilty of life for patients living with progressive diseases such as Parkinson's and dementia.
https://bit.ly/49MKthh

01/29/2026

In a research collaboration that unites experimental and theoretical neuroscience, OBI Investigators, Drs. Todd Roberts and Wenhao Zhang, resolve a long-standing question about how interacting brain regions generate seamless motor behaviors such as speech.
https://bit.ly/4k6i8WJ

01/27/2026

Psychiatrist Dr. Collin Vas specializes in diagnosing and treating mood and anxiety disorders including body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Dr. Vas says BDD is when someone becomes intensely preoccupied with a specific body feature they see as flawed, asymmetric, or unattractive. Many people struggle for years before finally getting the right diagnosis, but once it is identified, the condition is highly treatable. Learn more.
https://lnkd.in/gGySqH2X

01/22/2026

OBI Investigator, Lu Sun, Ph.D. (right), & Aksheev Bhambri, Ph.D., developed a new research tool that sheds light on myelination. Learn how the discovery is providing deeper understanding of how neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis develop. https://bit.ly/49PPmEZ

01/09/2026

Alumni of the UT Southwestern Stroke Program are invited to join us for a networking event during the International Stroke Conference in New Orleans. We also welcome nurses, physicians, and administrative personnel interested in joining the stroke team to attend and connect with us. Medical Co-Directors, Dr. Babu Welch and Dr. Parth Upadhyaya, will be there to meet and greet attendees. RSVP to taylor.norman@utsouthwestern.edu

01/05/2026

Lukasz Joachimiak, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases and of Biochemistry and Biophysics, was study lead for research that created a designer tau protein. Tau plays an essential role in cells, but in some cases, it forms clumps in the brain, a pathological trait linked to neurodegenerative diseases. The designer tau maintains its biological function while resisting aggregation. Learn how the discovery could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s and other conditions. https://bit.ly/4jdL9iI

01/02/2026

Shawn McClintock, Ph.D., is one of three UT Southwestern faculty members selected to join the UT System’s Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education, an honor that recognizes outstanding teaching. Dr. McClintock is Professor of Psychiatry and an O'Donnell Brain Institute Investigator. Learn more about him and the other awardees.
https://bit.ly/4qE66Gc

12/30/2025

A multidisciplinary team at UT Southwestern received an O'Donnell Brain Institute grant to support their clinical research aimed at better understanding how brain activity gives rise to cognitive behavior. The project seeks to unravel how cholinergic systems influence theta oscillations that are crucial for memory formation, attention, and coordination between different brain regions. The grant is part of the OBI Human Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program that provides resources and funding for teams pursuing hypothesis-driven projects that will further scientific knowledge and encourage clinical and translational interdisciplinary research team development.

12/22/2025

A North Texas man who suffered a stroke in 2023 was not satisfied with the progress of his recovery, so he decided to seek treatment at UT Southwestern. Our rehabilitation experts devised a plan and helped him get back to his passion of playing Santa.
https://cbsn.ws/4sfaHAf