Clinical Neuroscience Scholars Program
The O'Donnell Brain Institute Clinical Neuroscience Scholars Program (OBI CNS) is an integral part of the O’Donnell Brain Institute’s goal of developing the next generation of outstanding clinician leaders in all areas of brain disease. The CNS program is centered on patient-facing clinical program development with particular emphasis on novel, innovative approaches to care, such as multidisciplinary programs organized around a specific disease or disease area. Recent meritorious examples include the development of a clinic for Parkinson’s disease palliative care and a program focused on the care of suicidal transitional age youth. Clinical research is welcome and encouraged when it flows directly from, and is embedded within, such a program. The CNS program is not intended to support clinical research that is independent of patient care or clinical program development.
At its core, the program is a career development vehicle: all scholarly activities should meaningfully advance the applicant’s clinical expertise and help to advance their goal of becoming a nationally recognized leader in their area of focus. Faculty recruitment and ongoing mentorship are central to this mission, with the goal of promoting enduring excellence in the care of patients with brain disease — care that is state-of-the-art, patient-centered, personalized, and empathetic.
The CNS Program provides exceptional junior faculty in Neurology, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with funding as well as mentoring in brain disease-related disciplines. Faculty with primary appointments in other departments are also eligible but will typically have a secondary appointment and active collaboration with one of the OBI departments.
Overview
Eligibility Criteria
• Physicians seeking initial appointment as an assistant professor or early career individuals, up to and including recently appointed Associate Professors (within one year of appointment or hire). Newly recruited individuals or those currently working at UT Southwestern are eligible.
• Demonstrated excellence in and passion for clinical care.
• Demonstrated excellence and future promise in clinical program development and/or clinical investigation.
Financial Support
Each Scholar will receive $1M to be used over 5 years. $100K annually will be used for salary support and $100K annually will be used to support clinical program development and scholarly work. Scholarly work may include the development of a specialized clinical program, patient-centered outcomes tracking, embedded clinical research, or related activities. As an example, prior awardees have used this support to fund a nurse or coordinator to enable the new clinical effort.
Senior Mentor
A master clinician will serve as a senior mentor to each O'Donnell Scholar. Scholars and mentors will be paired within their shared clinical specialty.
Multidisciplinary Mentorship Team
A master clinician will serve as a senior mentor to each O'Donnell Scholar. Scholars and mentors will be paired within their shared clinical specialty.
Advisory Committee
The committee will consist of Institute-wide senior faculty who will coordinate and direct the longitudinal efforts of the program and track Scholar career development. This committee will work with Scholars to select an appropriate senior mentor and mentorship team and be an additional resource for Scholar mentorship.
Application Process
Candidates should indicate their interest in being considered for the OBI CNS program to the Chair/Director of the UT Southwestern department they seek to join or in which they currently work. Nomination will be made by Chair/Director and requires:
- A nomination letter from the Chair or Division Director of the UTSW department they seek to join or in which they currently work.
- Candidate CV.
- Additional letters of support specific to the applicant’s suitability for the program: one letter from a faculty member (from any institution) who can speak to applicant’s promise as relevant to proposed activities. *Optional letter from UTSW collaborator(s) who will be heavily involved in the success of the candidate's program.
- A budget detailing how the $100K/annual scholarship support will be utilized. The budget may include (but is not limited to) ancillary clinical support, protected research time, travel, career enhancement and educational activities.
- A statement describing the candidate’s clinical interests, future goals, and proposed scholarly activities — 5 page MAX (page limit will be enforced). The statement must clearly articulate a patient-facing vision and demonstrate how the proposed work will advance the applicant’s clinical expertise and establish them as a leader in their field. The statement should address:
- Clinical Program Development (required): Provide a detailed description of the proposed clinical program, including the target patient population, unmet clinical need, and the innovative or novel approach to care (e.g., multidisciplinary structure, disease-focused model, new care delivery framework). Explain how the program is feasible within the applicant’s current abilities and institutional context, and how it will evolve over the award period.
- Outcome Measures and Metrics (required): Describe how the program’s effectiveness will be tracked and evaluated. This should include clinical outcome measures, quality indicators, and/or patient experience metrics relevant to the program. This is distinct from formal research — the goal is program accountability and continuous improvement.
- Clinical Research (optional): If applicable, describe research activities that are directly enabled by or embedded within the clinical program. Clearly explain how the research arises from and feeds back into patient care. Proposals for clinical research that is independent of the clinical program or not patient-facing will not be considered.
- Multidisciplinary Mentorship Team: Provide names of 3-5 individuals you think would make a valuable mentorship team. Individuals from outside UTSW are acceptable. Consider the range of expertise and mentorship you will require to successfully meet project goals and career advancement.
APPLY NOW
Deadline: July 13, 2026
Contact Information
Mary-Colette Lybrand, MS, CIP, CCRP
Program Manager, Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center
OBIEvents@utsouthwestern.edu
Meet Our Scholars
Dr. Jha, a researcher in the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care (CDRC), aims to develop novel treatments for patients with mood and substance use disorders. Dr. Jha conducts clinical trials on novel compounds for treatment-resistant depression and studies of individuals with stimulant use disorder with his senior mentor, Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., Director, CDRC.
“As an O’Donnell Brain Institute Clinical Neuroscience Scholar, I hope to develop my program of research in understanding the brain mechanisms of stimulant use disorder and identify circuits that can serve as targets for future experimental medicine studies."
Dr. Lane is a neuropsychiatrist with a special interest in epilepsy. He is part of UT Southwestern’s growing Geriatric & Neuropsychiatry Clinical Program, directed by Dr. Molly Camp, and conducts neuropsychiatric evaluations with epilepsy patients who are candidates for surgery. His clinical research focuses on biomarkers to predict post-surgery outcomes for patients with intractable epilepsy with the aim of guiding patient discussions on prognosis, treatment, and management.
"An enormous strength of the CNS program is in the mentorship it provides, allowing early-career faculty to further our understanding of the brain with the guidance of senior clinician-scientists."
Dr. Guillory, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, is interested in health disparities and equity, health care systems and operations, and transitional-age youth and young adult (TAY) psychiatry. His career goal is to be an independent, federally-funded investigator who develops community-based, peer-led clinical programs for TAY with suicidality.
"The CNS Program gives me the opportunity to achieve substantial progress toward my career goals through protected time for research activities and ongoing development, and support for developing a clinical program over the next five years."
Jenny Riecke, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology and Internal Medicine, specializes in palliative care for patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The OBI CNS program will support Dr. Riecke's work building a robust neuropalliative care program including expanding access to specialty trained palliative care and building new collaborations with multidisciplinary care partners.
"The CNS program will allow me to dedicate time to building a robust neuropalliative care clinical program and provide the mentorship and support necessary for me to grow as a physician leader in a novel field."