Pillai Promoted to ACNP Fellow

Anilkumar Pillai, PhD, professor and director of the research track residency program, was promoted to the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) fellow.

Pillai has been a member of ACNP for many years. In order to be a part of the college, you must apply for membership. The first step is to become an associate member. Then, after time and positive contributions to the organization, one can become a full member.

A select few members get promoted to fellow status annually. Pillai was selected by the organization to become a fellow based on his contributions to the society and how well he has done as an individual scientist.

Pillai is a translational neuroscience researcher with a longstanding research program specifically in understanding the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders that can lead to the development of novel treatment strategies.

“This a great honor to be a fellow of ACNP,” Pillai said. “It is one of the most well recognized scientific organizations. It’s a place where most of the leading scientist come to talk about their ideas, share their thoughts, and provide guidance to junior people.”

One of Pillai’s passions is mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members. Since joining UTHealth Houston, he has developed and launched the Career Development and Research Excellence (CaDRE) program in Psychiatry.

The CaDRE program’s goal is to provide guidance and mentorship to early career researchers to become the next generation of academic leaders, promote the career advancement and research interests through personalized mentorship program, and facilitate the retention of highly talented junior faculty by providing opportunities for faculty professional development.

“When I see our junior investigators, I feel it is important to provide them guidance in their career and research careers,” Pillai said. “What’s unique about our department is our leadership is very supportive of this mission. It’s not just me coming up with the idea for the program. It’s a team effort.”