Esteemed psychiatrist Thornton selected for Watson Award
UT System’s Greenberg to present 2016 Lecture in October
Highly respected for his expertise, compassion, and creative approaches to patient care, Dr. William Laurence “Larry” Thornton, Professor of Psychiatry, has been selected to receive the 2016 Patricia and William L. Watson, Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine.
The Award will be presented to Dr. Thornton this fall, in conjunction with the Watson Lecture, to be delivered by Dr. Raymond S. Greenberg, Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for the UT System. Dr. Greenberg will discuss “A New Paradigm in Chronic Disease Management.”
“The burden of chronic disease in the United States is growing, and traditional models of medical care are ill-suited to optimally managing these conditions. It is time to rethink our approach, and there is an opportunity for UT Southwestern and the UT System in general to be leaders in this effort,” said Dr. Greenberg, who has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers for the past six years.
The Watson Award was established in 2009 through a generous gift from Dr. and Mrs. Watson to create an annual opportunity for the campus community to recognize a UT Southwestern faculty physician who exemplifies excellence in clinical care.
“Dr. Thornton is widely regarded as a physician deeply committed to practicing medicine as an art as well as a science,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern. “His stature as a clinician stems in part from the depth and breadth of his expertise, along with his creativity and effectiveness in utilizing treatments ranging from psychotherapy to neuromodulation to psychopharmacology, to help mentally ill, treatment-resistant patients.”
Dr. Thornton’s clinical work is with general psychiatric inpatients, including individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and dementia. His outpatient work focuses primarily on individuals with mood disorders. He also works with patients in psychoanalytically-based psychotherapy.
Stemming from his interest in the field of neuro-stimulation, Dr. Thornton has participated in numerous clinical research projects designed to discover new, effective treatments for patients with severe mood disorders. Previously, Dr. Thornton served as the Medical Director of Zale Lipshy University Hospital’s psychiatric inpatient unit, and collaborated to develop novel treatments of Major Depressive Disorder, including Magnetic Seizure Therapy (MST), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), and Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS). He currently serves as director of the faculty psychiatry outpatient clinic.
In the words of one of his nominators, he has an extraordinary ability “to sense just the right words, tone, and body language to use to establish a healing relationship with patients.” Colleagues consistently indicate their respect and admiration for him by referring their own family members and friends to him, and they regularly consult with him on their most challenging patients.
“I am deeply honored by this award. There are so many fine physicians and scientists here at UT Southwestern working hard to ease suffering in the world. I am grateful to have had so many excellent teachers, colleagues, and students to challenge, inspire, and guide me along the way,” said Dr. Thornton. “I am thankful, too, to all the patients who have helped me understand a little more.”
In addition to his clinical reputation, Dr. Thornton is highly regarded as a teacher and has received Outstanding Teacher awards from medical students, residents, and fellows year after year, including the Outstanding Teaching Site for the Zale Lipshy Inpatient Psychiatric Unit in 2001, and the Junior Faculty Development Award from the Association for Academic Psychiatry in 1995. He also has been a model in the way he works with nurse practitioners, social workers, and psychologists as important members of the care team, and he previously won the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Edith Sabshin Teaching Award for teaching non-analysts.
A graduate of UT Dallas, Dr. Thornton received his M.D. from UT Southwestern Medical School in 1987 and remained as an intern and resident in psychiatry, earning Outstanding Resident in Psychiatry. Upon completion of his training in 1991, he was invited to join the faculty, and he has spent the past 25 years as a member of the UT Southwestern community. He pursued psychoanalytic training at the Dallas Psychoanalytic Center in 1998, and he has been associated with that institution in the years since then.
Dr. Thornton is the inaugural holder of the McKenzie Foundation Chair in Psychiatry II, which supports clinical care for those in need. The McKenzie Foundation, a private philanthropic entity based in Connecticut, contributed $1,025,000 to establish two chairs in clinical psychiatry at UT Southwestern.
Before coming to the UT System, Dr. Greenberg served for 13 years as President of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) – the state’s preeminent, research-intensive academic health institution. Prior to that, he served for five years as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of MUSC, which is composed of six colleges and multiple hospital facilities. He earned his medical degree from Duke University, a master’s of public health degree from Harvard University, and a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina. Dr. Greenberg holds honorary degrees from the College of Charleston, Simpson College and The Citadel. He also held leadership positions at Emory University, including Chair of the medical school’s department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Deputy Director of the Winship Cancer Center and Founding Dean of the Rollins School of Public Health.
Previous Watson Award recipients and the years they were recognized are: Dr. Gary Reed, Chief Quality Officer, Associate Dean for Quality, Safety, and Outcomes Education and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine (2009); Dr. Claus Roehrborn, Chairman of Urology (2010); Dr. Duke Samson, Professor Emeritus of Neurological Surgery (2011); Dr. Sharon Reimold, Professor of Internal Medicine (2012); Dr. Barbara Haley, Professor of Internal Medicine (2013); Dr. Marilynn G. Punaro, Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology and Professor of Pediatrics (2014); and Dr. Carlos Girod, Professor of Internal Medicine (2015).
Dr. Girod holds the Ron Anderson, M.D. Professorship in Clinical Care and Education at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Haley holds the Charles Cameron Sprague, M.D. Chair in Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Reed holds the S.T. Harris Family Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine, named in his honor; the Eva A. Rosenthal Professorship in Internal Medicine, also in his honor; and the Sinor/Pritchard (Katy Sinor and Kay Pritchard) Professorship in Medical Education Honoring Donald W. Seldin, M.D.
Dr. Reimold holds the Gail Griffiths Hill Chair in Cardiology.
Dr. Roehrborn holds the E.E. Fogelson and Greer Garson Fogelson Distinguished Chair in Urology, and the S.T. Harris Family Chair in Medical Science, in Honor of John D. McConnell, M.D.
