Faculty & Disclosures

Feyza Basoglu MD is a board-certified CAP who serves as the medical director of the adolescent inpatient unit and associate director of Department of Psychiatry at INOVA Fairfax Medical Campus of UVA SoM. She graduated Istanbul University SoM before her residency in Berkshire Medical Center of University of Massachusetts and fellowship at University of Vermont. She practiced in rural community mental health agencies in her passion of working with underserved populations. Currently she loves the acute setting and complex patients in the DMV catchment area. She is deeply committed to medical education and carries the 2024 Golden Apple Award of UVA SoM, amongst many others. Her work extends beyond clinical care and teaching, with a strong commitment to reducing stigma and improving psychiatric literacy in minority populations, by attending community events. She is married with two beautiful children and loves time family and friends more than any hobbies.

Dr. Dubash is a practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist at New River Valley Community Services. She graduated from Edward Via School of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia and completed both residency and fellowship at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia. Dr. Dubash currently volunteers as a member of the Mental Health Advisory Committee for Montgomery County Public Schools and works as an attending with LG Psychiatry Residency. She has previously served as a physician member of the Virginia Board of Medicine's Advisory Committee on Behavior Analysis.

Dr. Liebesny completed her general psychiatry and child psychiatry fellowship training at Brown University. She joined Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry in 2016 and became the Child Psychiatry Fellowship Training Director in 2022. Dr. Liebesny enjoys the opportunity to teach medical students, PA students, NP students, pediatric, family medicine and psychiatry residents, and of course her Child Fellows. Teaching is at the foundation of her clinical work as well which is now a mix of general outpatient in a primary care co-located setting, eating disorders, and hospital-based consultation liaison.

Stephen O’Connor, Ph.D., ABPP, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine. Dr. O'Connor leads the Suicide Prevention Stabilization, Aftercare, and Recovery (STAR) Clinic at Northridge Psychiatric Medicine, where he provides direct service and resident supervision in suicide-focused psychotherapy. He is a core member of the UVA Psychiatry residency training program, leads the curriculum in dialectical behavior therapy, and co-leads the resident psychotherapy training clinic. Dr. O’Connor also provides direct service in the clinical health psychology outpatient specialty care clinic and inpatient consultation/liaison service. Dr. O’Connor has conducted research focused on early intervention for suicide attempt survivors in trauma centers, group-based treatment for suicidal Veterans, and other health services-oriented efforts to improve screening, assessment, and treatment of people at elevated suicide risk in both traditional and non-traditional behavioral health settings. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Military Suicide Research Consortium, and the UVA Gun Violence Solutions Project. Prior to joining UVA, Dr. O’Connor served as Chief of the Suicide Prevention Research Program in the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. O’Connor is a licensed psychologist and received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The Catholic University of America and completed his post-doctoral training in Injury Prevention Research at the University of Washington. He is board certified with the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Psychology.

Dr. Shriti Patel is a Board Certified Geriatric and Adult Psychiatrist, Associate Professor at EVMS at Old Dominion University, and has been practicing in the Hampton Roads community for 15 years. Prior to starting as faculty at ODU, she earned a B.A. degree in English at Emory University with a minor in religious studies. She obtained her Medical Doctorate at Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2006, trained at University of Florida for her Psychiatry Residency, and completed her Geriatric Psychiatry fellowship at Yale School of Medicine in 2011. After fellowship, she returned to EVMS as a faculty member. Her mission has been to provide quality psychiatric care with vulnerable populations in Hampton Roads, while practicing and sharing her academic and clinical expertise in a community that gave her great opportunity during her formative years. Dr. Patel’s current leadership position at EVMS is Psychiatry Residency Program Training Director and EVMS/Sentara Endowed Chair for Academic Leadership Advancement in Psychiatry. Dr. Patel is the Chair of the EVMS GME Community Health Education and Training Committee, which promotes and celebrates community connection, outreach, and advocacy through education. In 2024, Dr. Patel was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and in 2025, she was elected EVMS Psychiatry Faculty Member of the Year.

Dr. Mariam Rahmani is the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship training director at the Eastern Virginia Medical School (ODU) in Norfolk, VA. Previously she held the same position at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Dr. Rahmani has one several teaching awards at the local and national levels. She was inducted into the Society of Teaching Scholars at the University of Florida and into the Fine Family Academy of Educators at EVMS.

Tracie Rivera, MD, ABPN, is a board-certified psychiatrist, physician, brain scientist, author, and Neuroaestheticianâ„¢ whose work bridges psychiatry, neuroscience, interior design, and artificial intelligence. She is the founder of Davis Ferguson Medical, a psychoeducational company publishing its first book on AI, and Davis Ferguson, LLC, where she is developing neuroscience-informed therapeutic environments that translate emotional needs into spatial design. Her work explores how AI can support the creation of restorative, emotionally safe spaces while also examining the risks of artificial empathy and human-AI attachment. Dr. Rivera brings more than 25 years of clinical experience with children, adolescents, adults, and families across diverse psychiatric settings. She is a member of the International Association for Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence and studies the developmental, ethical, and psychological implications of AI relationships, particularly for children and adolescents.

Dr. Dimal D. Shah is an Assistant Clinical Professor and Program Director (PD) of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) Fellowship Program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He is board certified in both Psychiatry and CAP. Dr. Shah completed his residency at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia and a CAP fellowship at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he served as Chief Fellow. Since joining VCU faculty, he was promoted to Associate PD of the CAP fellowship program and then to PD. He co-founded the Integrated Fast-Track Program at VCU in 2023. His academic interests include childhood aggression, pediatric psycho-oncology, and early childhood behavioral health. Dr. Shah is a sub-investigator on investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored trials. In 2025, Dr. Shah received the Joel Silverman Award, a faculty education and teaching award from VCU’s Department of Psychiatry, and the Salute to Service Award from the Medical Society of Virginia.

Katie Smithwick, PharmD, BCPP is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Psychiatry at VCU Health. She graduated from VCU School of Pharmacy in 2011 and completed PGY1 Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy residencies at VCU Health. She is a Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at VCU School of Pharmacy and VCU School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and provides lectures and experiential rotation experiences in inpatient psychiatry and outpatient within a clozapine clinic.

Dr. Marketa Wills is the CEO and Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association, where she leads efforts to advance high‑quality, patient‑centered, evidence driven mental health care nationwide. A recognized leader in clinical innovation, she brings extensive experience in health care financing, digital care delivery, and physician leadership. Before joining the APA, Dr. Wills served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Johns Hopkins Health Plans and held positions on multiple for‑profit and nonprofit boards. She also chaired the Standards Committee of the National Committee for Quality Assurance, helping shape national approaches to health care quality. Dr. Wills holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, a medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from The Wharton School. She completed her residency in adult psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital program, where she served as chief resident. Outside her professional work, Dr. Wills enjoys fitness, travel, the arts, and community service. An avid meditator, she is also a certified yoga teacher.