Awards

Research Awards
Enlightenment Award
Poster Display

Research Awards

THE HENRY AND AMELIA NASRALLAH ANNUAL OPPF RESEARCH AWARDS

OPPF encourages scholarly work in Ohio by presenting annual research awards/recognition in three separate categories:

General OPPA Members
Resident-Fellow OPPA Members
Medical Student OPPA Members

The winners and runners-up are invited to attend the OPPA Annual Psychiatric Update which will be held on April 18-19, 2026 at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus. Each winner will receive $250 and a plaque. Each runner-up will receive an award certificate. The registration fee to attend the Annual Meeting will be waived for the winners and the runners-up in each category.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Click HERE for the criteria and submission details. Deadline is December 31, 2025.

Congratulations to the recipients for work published in 2024 who were recognized at the OPPA Annual Psychiatric Update on March 1, 2025!

Our congratulations to all the winners and runner-ups, and our compliments to all those who submitted an entry to the OPPF Research Awards Competition.

Enlightenment Award

ENLIGHTENMENT AWARD

The Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Foundation (OPPF) is pleased to announce the Enlightenment Award. The award recognizes outstanding activities, presentations or publications during the past year, which

Enhances the public's access to treatment;
Enhances the public's understanding of mental disorders (including substance use disorders); or
Decreases the stigma often associated with mental illness.

Nominees can include an individual, organization, government entity, media (newspaper, radio or TV station or internet based communication) or a form of art.

Click HERE for the criteria and nomination form. Nominations can also be made ONLINE.

The submission deadline for next year ends on January 31, 2026.

This year's winner!

2025 Enlightenment Award Winner

Nominated by Dale Svendsen, MD, congratulations go out to Jenny Applegate, Associate Editor, Ohio State Alumni Magazine for her

The Enlightenment Award recognizes outstanding activity or presentations during 2024 which enhance: the public’s access to treatment; enhances the public’s understanding of mental and substance use disorders; and/or decreases the stigma often associated with these disorders

Poster Display

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association (OPPA) and Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Foundation (OPPF) invite all OPPA members, resident/fellows and medical students to participate by submitting an abstract for consideration to display a poster during the upcoming Annual Psychiatric Update to be held on April 18-19, 2026. The Poster Display is designed to encourage participation in the scientific method and to highlight original contributions to the field of psychiatry. There will be no judging of posters in advance, and there will be no awarding of prizes. The only judging that will take place is of the abstracts.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Members, residents/fellows and medical students must be an OPPA member or Affiliate SUSP member.
Submission areas may include research reports, research in-progress, case reports, and posters that have already been presented elsewhere within the past year.
See FAQs for more information
Submission of abstracts will be in three parts:
1. The primary contact will complete the “Intent to Submit an Abstract” form, which includes the title of abstract, along with contact information for ALL authors.
2. All authors identified on the intent to submit abstract form must complete a “Disclosure of Financial Interests” form prior to submission of the abstract. The primary contact is responsible for ensuring that all disclosures have been submitted to OPPF - it is the responsibility of the primary contact to follow-up with
authors who have not submitted their disclosures.
3. Once all disclosures have been received from all authors, OPPA staff will send a link to the “Abstract for Poster Display” form.
All abstracts must be received by 11:59 pm on Feb. 18, 2026 for consideration for inclusion in the poster display in 2026.

IMPORTANT: Incomplete entries and late entries will not be accepted. There will be no exceptions.

The OPPF wishes to thank all the authors, presenters and excellent posters that were submitted for display in 2025:

A Systematic Review of Hippocampal Volumetric Changes Post-ECT in Patients with MDD Authors: Jasmine Haraburda, BS^{1, 2}; Nasrallah, Henry, MD² Institutions: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine¹; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine².
“Atypical Debuts of Creutzfeldt–Jacob Disease: Two Cases” Authors: Anna Campana MD, Slater Karen, MD, Gaelle Rached, MD, MS, John Sanitato, MD, Anna Shapiro-Krew MD Institution: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation (OH)
Auditory Hallucination Simulations in The Medical SchoolCurriculum: The Impact of Distressing Voice Simulations on TheEmpathy of Medical Students Authors:Emma Wolinsky, Britta Eldridge, Charlotte Lennox, Alyssa Davis, Catherine Howell, Kelly Morgan, Carley Kelly, Sonali Doshi, Victoria Kelly MD, Jamie Dowling PhD, Chandani Lewis MD, Thomas Roach MD Institution:Department of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Breaking Barriers: Increasing Support for Breastfeeding Psychiatry Residents Authors: Julie McCormack, Courtney Kiggins, Renata Reuenthal, MD, Ramzi W. Nahhas, PhD, Larrilyn Grant, MD Institution: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine; 1Department of Psychiatry, 2Department of Population and Public Health Sciences
Development of Psychotic Symptoms Involving Cochlear Implantation Authors: Dominic Theodore, MS; Nita Bhatt, MD, MPH Institution: Department of Psychiatry, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University
Evaluating the Impact of an Interactive Intimate Partner Violence Module on Medical Student Preparedness, Knowledge, and Confidence Authors: Sugapradha Saravanan, MS2, Ivy Petsinger, MS3, Rahul Manne, MS2, Justin Tom, DO, Ramzi Nahhas, PhD, Bethany Harper, MD, Larrilyn Grant, MD, MS Institution: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Feasting on Flesh: A Case Report and Literature Review of Cannibalistic Ideation in Children & Adolescents Authors: Sarah Porter²; Alyssa Davis ²; Dominique Digiacomo ²; Michelle Cherian ²; Navtej Mann, MD ^1,2; Garrett Spradley, DO ^1,2; Victoria Kelly, MD ^1,2 Institutions: ¹Department of Psychiatry, ²College of Medicine and Life Sciences
Gangstalking: A Systematic Review of a Shared Internet Delusion Authors: Daniel Heringer¹, Victor Campos², Gabriel P A Costa³, Brian Barnett¹ Institutions: ¹ Department Of Psychiatry And Psychology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH; ² Independent Researcher; ³ Department Of Psychiatry, Yale University School Of Medicine, New Haven CT
Harnessing AI and Large Language Models in Psychiatry Medical Education Authors: Lauren Ferguson MS3¹, Dr. Ramzi W. Nahhas PhD^1,2, Dr. Larrilyn Grant MD¹ Institutions: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine; ¹Department of Psychiatry, ²Department of Population and Public Health Sciences
Healthy Lifestyle Interventions – An Integral Player in the Comprehensive Mental Health Treatment Plan for the Aviator Authors: Tyler Yorgason, DO, Julie McCormack, MD, Samantha Courtney, MD, Stephen Edstrom, MD, Benjamin Onnink, MD, Terry Correll, DO Institution: Wright State University Department of Psychiatry
How to Effectively Manage Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) on an Inpatient CL Psychiatry Service Authors: Jacob Wardyn, MD Institution: Cleveland Clinic
Hyperlipidemia Correlated with Better Neurocognition in Patients with Schizophrenia Authors: Kara B. Miecznikowski, BS¹, Thomas J. Blom, MS², Henry A. Nasrallah, MD² Institutions: ¹University of Cincinnati College of Medicine ²Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Inequities in Bipolar Disorder Treatment: A Focus on Racial and Ethnic Minority Youth Authors: Kristy Nguyen BS¹, Elyse Llamocca PhD², Rui Huang², Danielle Steelesmith PhD², Cynthia Fontanella PhD²Institutions: The Ohio State University College of Medicine¹, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital²
Literary Prescriptions: Applying Bibliotherapy in a Psychotherapeutic Context Authors: Andrew Correll, Matthew Correll, and Terry Correll, DO Institution: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Medical Student Intent to Prescribe Medication for Opioid Use Disorder in Future Practice Authors: Alexandria Goff, MPH; Anna Squibb, MD; Angie Castle, MA, LPCC-S, Timothy Crawford PhD, MPH Institution: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Mind and Spine: The Prevalence of Psychiatric and Sleep Disorders in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis Authors: Sabrina Khuder MD, Paola Pedraza Cruz, Garrett Spradley MD, Nilan Mani MD, Jeffrey Boward MD, and Victoria Kelly MD Institution: The University of Toledo College of Medicine & Life Sciences, Department of Neurosciences and Psychiatry
Reducing Restraints on a Child Residential Unit with a DBT-informed Visual Skills Plan Authors: Lauren Zylka APRN, Kristy Arnett LISW, Shelley Scutters LISW, Tori Lorie MA, Brian Cornish MSN, RN, Drew Barzman MD, Aaron Lee MD Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Ropinirole Exacerbated Psychosis in a Patient With Schizophrenia: A Case Study Authors: Lara Shoukair, Stephen Edstrom, MD, Larrilyn Grant, MD Institution: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Symptoms of psychosis seen in patient with Type 3C Gaucher’s disease Authors: Ashley Perez BS¹, Matthew Morris BA², David Gilbert BS¹, Karina Kowalski MD³, Garima Garg MD^1,3 Institutions: ¹ Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, ² Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, ³ MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Telehealth as Harm Reduction Authors: Courtney Kiggins MS3, Lexi Singh MS3, Larrilyn Grant MD Institution: Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
The Role of Psychiatric Consultation in Diagnosis and Early Intervention in an Adolescent with Down Syndrome Disintegrative Disorder Authors: Anjali Dagar, MD, Erin Fulchiero, MD, Jasdeep Sohi, MD, Barry Simon, DO Institutions: Cleveland Clinic
Trends in Opioid Overdose Deaths and Naloxone Distribution from 2019-2022 in Lucas County, Ohio: A Retrospective Study Authors: Summer Drees, Kelli Curcillo, John Najjar, Alyssa Davis, Chadwick Huss, Erik Southard, Tanvir Singh, MD Institution: The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences