APA nominates 2023 president-elect

Members of the American Psychiatric Association have chosen Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DrMedSc, DLFAPA, as the society’s 2023 president-elect, according to a press release.

Viswanathan is professor, interim chair of psychiatry, director of the consultation-liaison psychiatry and fellowship and co-chair of the Faculty Wellness Committee at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. His research focuses on physician communication, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy innovations and treatment adherence in patients with diseases such as gynecologic cancers and children’s sickle disease, according to the release.

Within the APA, he is currently the assembly representative and the chair of the Committee on Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry for the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, and previously was the Minority/Underrepresented Representative (M/UR) Trustee on the APA Board of Trustees.

“I am honored that my colleagues in psychiatry have elected me to the APA presidency,” Viswanathan said in the release. “I look forward to working together to further develop and expand our workforce and to keeping up our momentum on research and development of cutting-edge psychopharmacologic, neuro-interventional and psychotherapeutic treatment and preventive approaches. We will also work together to advance physician wellness, reduce practice burdens, advocate for our patients and our profession, address inequities in health care and promote appreciation of diversity and inclusion.”

Viswanathan’s election to president-elect is not official until the Board of Trustees confirms it at its meeting in March. He will become APA president in May 2024, according to the release.

Other offices being filled at the APA meeting in May include:

• Secretary: Gabrielle L. Shapiro, MD;
• M/UR Trustee: Kamalika Roy, MD, MCR;
• Area 2 Trustee: Kenneth B. Ashley, MD;
• Area 5 Trustee: Heather Hauck, MD; and
• Resident-Fellow Member Trustee-Elect: Sarah El Halabi, MD, MS.