On June 16, the University of Michigan Regents approved the appointment of Kara Zivin, Ph.D., as the Marcia A. Valenstein, M.D., Collegiate Professor of Psychiatry, Medical School, effective June 1, 2022.
The Provost’s Office established the Marcia A. Valenstein, M.D., Collegiate Professorship in Psychiatry in May 2022. It is intended to honor Marcia A. Valenstein, M.D., who served as faculty in the Department of Psychiatry from 1990-2017. She is currently a professor emerita.
"Dr. Zivin is a highly accomplished scholar, mentor and scientist," says Dr. Gregory Dalack, Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Daniel E. Offutt III Professor of Psychiatry. "Her research examines intended and unintended consequences of health policies on clinical and functional outcomes for individuals with mood and substance use disorders."
The themes of Dr. Zivin's work have long focused on issues of access to, and quality and costs of care, for vulnerable populations including pregnant and postpartum individuals, military veterans, and senior adults. Her collaborations within the University of Michigan and the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health System, as well as with other universities, state government, foundations and federal funders have had an impact on quantifying and clarifying the population-level impacts of clinical research. Extensively published in high-impact journals including American Journal of Psychiatry, Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, JAMA Psychiatry, and New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Zivin has been consistently and highly funded by the VA and NIMH as well as by the State of Michigan for key evaluation and implementation projects.
A unique feature of Dr. Zivin's continuing development as a scientist and communicator is the pursuit of a masters of fine arts degree in creative nonfiction writing. "I am very interested in writing effectively to educate the lay public about the work I am doing, particularly in the area of reproductive behavioral health, and describing how data intersects with personal narrative," says Dr. Zivin. "It has always been a passion of mine to find ways to bring research outcomes into the public eye and to make sure that non-scientists can comprehend our work and benefit from it."
Marcia A. Valenstein, M.D., retired in July 2017 and currently serves as active emerita professor in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Valenstein’s research focused on assessing the quality of care for patients with mental health conditions. Dr. Valenstein was involved in developing and testing (in multiple randomized controlled trials) lower cost, innovative ways to provide treatment to individuals with mental health conditions.
"It is a special privilege to honor both Dr. Zivin and Dr. Valenstein. Please join me in congratulating them," says Dr. Dalack.
