Howard Liu, MD, MBA, is a nationally recognized psychiatrist, educator, workforce expert, social media innovator, and global health champion at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). He serves as the Chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, a Professor with Tenure in the UNMC College of Medicine, Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Communications, Co-chair of the World Psychiatric Association’s Interest Group on Medical Students and as the Past President of the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP).  Previous roles include Nebraska state workforce director for mental health careers, psychiatry clerkship director and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Faculty Development.  He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. Nationally and internationally, Dr. Liu has presented over 100 peer-reviewed abstracts and is a frequently invited speaker on mental health, social media, and psychiatric education.

As chair of psychiatry, Dr. Liu was instrumental in the creation of a new UNMC adult psychiatry residency program, the launch of an addiction medicine fellowship, and the creation of Nebraska’s first Adult Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES).  Under his tenure, the psychiatry faculty has increased by nearly 90% over 5 years. 

Dr. Liu is an innovative teacher who is known for the use of technology in medical education.  He co-chaired the Clinical Simulation Initiative; an online library of free, peer-reviewed simulated psychiatric cases for medical students that is widely accessed around the world. He has been recognized for teaching excellence and creativity by the American College of Psychiatrists (ACP), the Association of Academic Psychiatry (AAP), and the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP).  

Dr. Liu is an expert on the professional use of social media in healthcare and is a frequently quoted media expert on mental health topics. He chairs the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Communications which amplifies the voice of organized psychiatry throughout the world. He serves on the editorial advisory board for APA’s publication, Psychiatric News.  

Dr. Liu is a champion for gender equity in leadership and has served as an invited speaker at the Harvard Women’s Leadership Course, the Brave Enough Conference, and the Women in Medicine Summit. He serves as the founding faculty advisor to the UNMC Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Student Association and as the executive sponsor of the Nebraska Medicine AAPI Employee Resource Group. 

Dr. Liu is active on boards locally and nationally.  He served for 8 years on the National Advisory Council of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Clinical Scholars Program.  This program awarded grants to practicing clinicians partnering with community members to solve healthcare disparities with a 27:1 return on investment. He is also serving in his second term as board chair for Radius; a nonprofit which raised $25 million to build a trauma-informed, family centered program for justice involved youth in Omaha. 

Internationally, Dr. Liu is active in initiatives fostering the future psychiatry workforce.  He co-chairs the World Psychiatric Association’s Medical Student Interest Group, leading initiatives to combat stigma about psychiatry as a profession.  He also served on a Lancet Psychiatry Commission on the Future of Psychiatry in Ukraine.

Twitter:     @DrHowardLiu

LinkedIn:   www.linkedin.com/in/drhowardliu 

Bluesky:    @drhowardliu.bsky.social