Heather Burrell Ward, MD

Excited to announce the Notice of Award for my K23, "Network-Targeted Neuromodulation for Nicotine Dependence in Schizophrenia" It truly takes a village, and I have the very best, with a mentorship team of @StephanHeckers @roscoebradyjr @cately00 @hilary_tindle @EdenEvins

NIH slowdown hit women hardest. Five years of gain erased in ~1.5 cycles. Female PI-led R01 grants ⇣938 with $444M gone. This chart is the cleanest capture of this loss. Cuts landed where women lead: breast, ovarian, and gynecologic cancers. Dig deeper & the gap keeps widening: ▫️ women start small: $0.94M vs $1.4M for men ▫️ larger losses: 57.9% vs 48.2% for men ▪️ early-career hit hardest: 59.8% of affected assistant professor grants are women led This is how you reset a generation: ↳ cut funding → fewer labs ↳ fewer labs → fewer leaders ↳ fewer leaders → fewer women at the top Pipelines don't bounce back, they just thin out silently. If you are a woman in science, now is the time to pay attention Read more about this in first comment below = = = = = Source: NIH RePORTER via Jori (@jori_health) Method: PI gender-inference is non-trivial. Jori classified 91% algorithmically, then we manually reviewed profiles to classify another 6% (ie, ~ 3% remain unclassified). This chart reflects the 97% classified names with high confidence. = = = = =

We are hiring for an Assistant Instructor (junior faculty position) with expertise in fMRI/DTI analytics and neuromodulation to support and lead cutting-edge clinical trials in precision transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Join us tomorrow at 9:00am for @KittlesonMSTP’s defense!!

🚨We are hiring a ⭐️Research Assistant⭐️ to run TMS🧲🧠 clinical trials in people with substance use & psychosis @VUMCPsych! RAs get lots of clinical interactions and experience with neuromodulation! Great for someone applying to MD or PhD programs! Email heather.b.ward@vumc.org!

Honored to receive 1 of 12 @AMIAinformatics LEAD Fund Scholarships for the Amplify Conference! I hope to use clinical informatics to build precision treatment selection tools for adolescent addiction — so the right care reaches the right patient at the right time.

We are so very proud to have you in the Research Track @VUMCPsych and look forward to seeing all the wonderful things you’ll accomplish! 🥳🎉

We are hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher in Connectivity-Guided Brain Stimulation at the Neuroimaging & Translational Psychiatry Lab (Synapsy Centre for Neuroscience and Mental Health Research, University of Geneva).

My goodness, what a year for Shea Ralph.

Hannah Ray, a 9-year-old with Down syndrome and autism, has a magnetic personality that instantly connected her with Justine Pissott and the team. “She is somebody who is very special.” More on the friendship: 247sports.com/college/vander…

@NoahSPhilipMD @wickedneuro @SOBP Congratulations! It’s such a great review! 🎉

Our review out now in Biological Psychiatry @SOBP : Low-intensity focused ultrasound (FUS) as a tool for non-invasive deep brain neuromodulation in psychiatry. In this review, we synthesize evidence across molecular, synaptic, and network levels and place FUS in context with DBS, TMS, and TES. Exciting possibilities—and important unanswered questions. Low Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Psychiatric Disord... sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

The Dores are HOSTING!!! No. 2 Vanderbilt faces No. 15 High Point on Saturday at Memorial Gym ⚓️⬇️

Excited to announce our next VBI Neuroscience Seminar Series with guest lecturer Dost Öngür, MD, PhD from the McLean Hospital at Harvard Medical School! Seminar is next Wednesday, March 18 at 4:00pm. See you then!

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 @TheAthletic has named @mikaylablakes to its 2025-26 WBB All-America first team 🇺🇸🏀

@pshrink @EmoryPsychiatry @PsychiatryUic @YalePsych @NoahSPhilipMD @BrownPsychiatry @UABPsychiatry @UMich @WashU @VUMCPsych Wouldn’t be there without you, Olu! 🎉

@hbwardMD @EmoryPsychiatry @PsychiatryUic @YalePsych @NoahSPhilipMD @BrownPsychiatry @UABPsychiatry @UMich @WashU @VUMCPsych Thanks for leading the charge, Heather!

Establishment of the Society for the Advancement of Neuroscience and Psychiatry in Residency Research Education (Synapse): An Organization to Promote Research Training in Residency, a 🧵: link.springer.com/article/10.100…

We plan to continue meeting semi-annually @ACNPorg and @SOBP, including on Saturday of the 2026 annual meeting. All are welcome!

Led by David Goldsmith, Jessica Cooper, Andy Miller @EmoryPsychiatry, @pshrink @PsychiatryUic, Youngsun Cho @YalePsych, Boadie Dunlop, @NoahSPhilipMD and Audrey Tyrka @BrownPsychiatry, Brandon Pruett @UABPsychiatry, Stephan Taylor @UMich, Alecia Vogel @WashU, and @VUMCPsych