Building on their 2026 Psychiatry Clinical Research and Scholarship Retreat, Howard Liu, MD, MBA, and the UNMC Department of Psychiatry have launched a Clinical Research and Scholarship Accelerator to mentor clinical faculty who are interested in growing their research and scholarship skills through a mentored project.
In August, the inaugural scholars were given 5 percent protected time to meet with mentors and develop a yearlong project that would enhance their clinical research or scholarship skills. The 2026 cohort included five psychiatry faculty members and one internal medicine faculty member who conducts research in the psychiatry department.
The accelerator is supported by Dr. Liu, its sponsor and department chair; Jeanne Lincoln, department administrator; Soonjo Hwang, MD, director of global research; and Justin Weeks, PhD, director of clinical research methods. The cohort meets monthly with individual mentoring sessions to advance their projects. This year’s projects include integrating clinical research metrics into specialty clinics, writing systematic review papers and navigating a first research grant.
The group has already achieved results. Sara Zachman, MD, an addiction psychiatrist, served as principal investigator for a $260,000 grant that will be funded through the Clarkson Institute.
“I think the research accelerator represents the department’s growing commitment to research and scholarship,” Dr. Zachman said. “Offering dedicated time, structured support, mentorship, and accountability make the goal more concrete, feasible, and sustainable. “I’m grateful and excited to be part of the inaugural group among curious colleagues who I am learning from and inspired by.”
Melissa O’Dell, MD, founder and director of the Active Support for Psychosis in Recovery, or ASPIRE, Clinic at Nebraska Medicine, said her team has been working on new data-collection programs and writing papers for priority journals.
The accelerator has many goals for the rest of the academic year, including finalizing a statistical analysis plan for ASPIRE projects, submitting funding proposals to local and national foundations and inviting guest speakers for future meetings.
Sarah Fischer, PhD, said the accelerator is giving crucial support for new clinical researchers.
“Our faculty have the knowledge, passion, and the abilities to build up our research efforts if we come together and support one another,” she said.
2026 Psychiatry Clinical Research and Scholarship Accelerator Scholars and their affiliations
- Psychiatry Scholars: Sara Zachman, MD, assistant professor, addiction division; Lauren Edwards, MD, assistant professor, Anxiety Disorders Subspecialty Clinic; Sarah Fischer, PhD, assistant professor, ASPIRE Subspecialty Clinic (Psychosis); Riley Machal, MD, assistant professor, ASPIRE Subspecialty Clinic (Psychosis); Melissa O’Dell, MD, assistant professor, ASPIRE Subspecialty Clinic (Psychosis).
- Internal Medicine Scholar: Amber Brown Keebler, MD, assistant professor, UNMC Division of General Internal Medicine, ASPIRE Subspecialty Clinic (Psychosis).