Each year the four residency programs in Brooklyn (Interfaith Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Brookdale University Medical Center, and SUNY Downstate Medical Center) participate in a scholarly competition of poster and oral presentations. It was founded in 1992 by Ramaswamy Viswanathan, M.D., when he was president of the Brooklyn Psychiatric Society (BPS). The competition serves as a platform to exchange ideas and showcase projects that are the original works of residents produced during the course of their training.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was held virtually this year. The event was hosted by Dr. Viswanathan, a professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, with the help of Linda Majowka, executive director of BPS. The judges were Dr. Jeffrey Geller, APA president; Dr. Gabrielle Shapiro, a clinical professor at Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine; and Dr. Daniel Chen, chair of psychiatry at Medisys Health Network.
Here are the competition winners:
Oral presentations
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First Prize: “Combating Modern Slavery: The Anti-Human Trafficking Project” by Dr. Rachel Varadarajulu of Maimonides Medical Center.
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Second Prize: “Where Did the Tryptophan Go? A Meta-analytic Journey Through the Kynurenine System in Major Depression, Schizophrenia, and Bipolar Disorder” by Dr. Paulo Sales of SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Poster presentations
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First Prize: “Avoiding the Chill Pill—Verbal De-escalation Training for Residents in a Simulated Lab” by the author of this article.
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Second Prize: “Investigation Into Disparities of Opioid Use Disorder Between Sexual Minority and Sexual Majority Populations Using Population-Based, Publicly Available Data” by Dr. Lance Irons of SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
The other competition participants were Dr. Olayinka Olaniyi of Interfaith Medical Center; Dr. Sapna Jairath and Dr. Mahfuza Akhtar, M.D., of Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center; and Dr. Olusegun Popoola, M.D., of Interfaith Medical Center.
This annual competition allows residents in training programs across Brooklyn an opportunity to network with colleagues and potential mentors. It fosters a sense of community, celebrates academic progress, and reminds residents of the multiple opportunities and avenues that exist for growth and development.
Having served as the resident-fellow member (RFM) Assembly representative and deputy representative of Area 2 and now APA’s RFM trustee-elect, I appeal to all trainees across the nation to find the time to come together and start events like these—they are not only rewarding and meaningful for growth, but also a symbol of unity within the profession. ■
