Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Committee

Co-Chair 

 Katiuska J. Ramirez, MD

Co-Chair

Damien M. Miran, MD

Co-Leader

Aashima Sarin, MD

Co-Leader

Sunita Singh, MD

May 2026 C-L Psychiatry Committee Report

The Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Committee is building an engaged community of psychiatrists across Massachusetts who are committed to advancing the care of medically complex patients, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration, and cultivating the next generation of C-L leaders. Co-chaired by Katiuska Ramirez, MD, and Damien Miran, MD, who assumed leadership of the committee in July 2025, with resident co-chairs Drs. Sunita Singh and Aashima Sarin, the committee is guided by a vision of clinical excellence, mentorship, and innovation across the full spectrum of medical psychiatry.

Our mission is to provide a forum where clinicians can share emerging practices, explore complex psychosocial issues in medical settings, develop scholarly and educational initiatives, and support one another in growing meaningful and sustainable C-L careers.

The 2025-2026 academic year has been a productive and collaborative one. The first meeting of the year was held virtually on October 22, 2025, as a joint session with the MPS Women in Psychiatry Committee. The session featured a panel with Dr. Josh Leo (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), Dr. Polina Teslyar (Brigham and Women's Hospital), Dr. Ilana Braun (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), and Dr. Kaila Rudolph (Boston Medical Center). Panelists reflected on what first drew them to C-L psychiatry, how they have built meaningful careers, and how they continue to integrate academic, clinical, and leadership roles. The discussion set a strong foundation for the year ahead and emphasized intentional career development and creative professional growth.

On January 28, 2026, the committee held a joint meeting with the MPS Early Career Psychiatry Committee featuring Dr. Theodore A. Stern, Chief Emeritus of the Avery D. Weisman Psychiatric Consultation Service and Director of the Thomas P. Hackett Center for Scholarship in Psychosomatic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. In a fireside chat, Dr. Stern shared strategies for building meaningful clinical careers, translating everyday consultations into scholarship, and sustaining curiosity over a long career. The conversation reinforced that the most impactful scholarship grows directly out of clinical work, that simple writing frameworks can turn cases into manuscripts, and that the most enduring C-L practices are anchored in reliability, collegiality, and intellectual curiosity. 

In early March, the committee shared information with members about the ACLP 2026 Annual Meeting (theme: Expanding the Vision of C-L Psychiatry: New Roles, New Settings, New Pathways; San Diego, November 18-21, 2026), along with submission guidance and a collaboration sign-up sheet to help members build multi-institutional teams. 

On April 1 and April 22, 2026, the committee held a two-part neuroimaging series for the C-L psychiatrist, jointly with the MPS Early Career Psychiatry Committee, featuring Dr. Danny Mendoza, Director of Neuropsychiatry at the BIDMC Cognitive Neurology Unit, Director of the BIDMC Heart Transplant Psychiatry Service, BID Community Hospital Regional Director, and Chief of Psychiatry at BID Needham and BID Milton. Dr. Mendoza grounded the group in a practical framework for neuroimaging in C-L work, including reviewing images before the radiology report, understanding when to use CT versus MRI, and recognizing the key MRI sequences most relevant to consultation. He brought the framework to life through a series of memorable teaching cases that members can carry directly into their clinical work. Overarching takeaways included recognizing apathy as a common neuropsychiatric presentation, appreciating the ways structural pathology can mimic or unmask primary psychiatric illness, and the value of early imaging in atypical presentations given that imaging changes often precede clinical changes by years.

Our next meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, June 3, from 6:30-7:45 pm and will feature a panel of incoming and graduating C-L fellows from programs across Massachusetts. Incoming fellows will share what drew them to C-L psychiatry, how they thought about the value of fellowship training, and what they are most looking forward to in the year ahead. Graduating fellows will reflect on their experiences, the moments that shaped them, and the advice they wish they had received at the start of fellowship. Our goal is to have a candid and energizing conversation, particularly for residents considering C-L careers and fellowship.

As we look ahead to the 2026-2027 academic year, we extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Aashima Sarin for her many contributions as Resident Co-Chair this past year. Dr. Sunita Singh will continue with the committee as Fellow Co-Chair as she begins her C-L fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in July 2026. We are also delighted to share that two of our committee members, Drs. Rayah Touma Sawaya, MD, MPH and Juan Correa Rubianes, MD, both rising PGY-4 psychiatry residents at Boston Medical Center, will step into the Resident Co-Chair role in July 2026

We welcome MPS members at all career stages who are interested in C-L psychiatry and look forward to building an even stronger network of clinicians who share a passion for caring for medically ill patients.

If you would like to join the committee, please contact Mayuri Patel at [email protected].

Warmly,