MUSC Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

10/02/2026

Drs. Ethan Ashley and Baron Short attended the NC Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting this past weekend. Dr. Short presented “Rewiring the Depressed Brain & More: What Psychiatrists Need to Know About Available Clinical TMS,” and Dr. Ashley presented “TMS and Adolescents.”

Additionally, the meeting also brought together several former MUSC medical school and residency graduates who now practice neuromodulation across North Carolina including UNC and HopeWay.

09/30/2026

The Survivors of Homicide Support Group (SHSG) continues to offer in-person and virtual support groups for survivors and their loved ones.

The October–December 2026 schedule is now available. Meetings are held on Thursdays, with both afternoon and evening options throughout the month.
Transportation may be available for those living in the Tri-County area.

See the schedule below for upcoming dates and times.

For information about attending or connecting virtually, please contact Julia at 843-860-6976.

09/30/2026

The National Mass Violence Center (NMVC), based in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, has received a $6 million renewal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime, with anticipated funding totaling $30 million over the next five years.

Since 2017, the NMVC has provided critical support to more than 60 communities impacted by mass violence across the country through research, training, emergency-response planning and direct assistance.

Congratulations to Director Dean Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Associate Director Angela Moreland-Johnson, Ph.D., and the entire NMVC team for their continued dedication to survivors and communities nationwide.

09/29/2026

Dr. Tracy Smith was quoted in a MUSC News article, “Getting Paid to V**e? Researchers Say That’s a Dangerous Combination,” about a perspective she co-authored in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Read here:

Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center are sounding the alarm about emerging smart va**ng products in a new perspective published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

09/28/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Gray and Dr. Lindsay Squeglia on their National Institutes of Health (NIH) appointments! 🎉

Dr. Gray has been selected to serve on the NIH National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA), and Dr. Squeglia has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NCAA).

We are proud to see their continued accomplishments!

09/27/2026

Dr. Melissa Milanak and other collaborators released a new publication in the Journal of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders titled "Staying afloat with OCEAN traits: The five-factor model of personality and psychological resilience in multiple sclerosis."

Read here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2026.107425

09/26/2026

Drs. Sudie Back, Therese Killeen, and other collaborators released a new publication in the Journal of Traumatic Stress titled "Impaired but now diagnosable: Combining analytic frameworks for incorporating symptom weighting in the classification of full-threshold and subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder."

Read here: https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.70112

09/25/2026

Dr. Daniel Barbosa and other collaborators released a publication in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry titled "Cross-species brain-wide mapping reveals convergent mesocorticolimbic engagement by nucleus accumbens deep brain stimulation."

Read here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-026-03828-5

09/24/2026

Drs. Lindsay Squeglia, Anna Kirkland, and other collaborators released a new publication in Neuroscience & Behavioral Reviews titled "A clinical call to action - How developmental translational neuroscience can catalyze adolescent substance use treatment: The example of ADAPT."

Read here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106935

09/22/2026

Dr. Kathleen Brady and other collaborators released a publication in the Journal of
Drug and Alcohol Dependence titled "Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in substance use disorders is safe and tolerable: A Systematic review of 141 clinical trials including 4299 participants."

Read here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2026.113297