Philanthropy and Research—Truly a Win-Win!
By Rebecca E. Barchas, MD, DLFAPA
After 34 years in clinical practice as a general adult psychiatrist in Virginia Beach, Rebecca E Barchas, MD, DLFAPA, retired from clinical work in 2013. Retirement, however, has been the start of a new, productive phase. Since stepping back from practice, Dr. Barchas has continued scholarly work, publishing two manuscripts on stigma in 2021 and 2025, and in 2021 establishing an endowed chair in translational psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in her name.
CWRU recently highlighted this partnership, including details of advances in brain health being made by the inaugural chair recipient, in The Daily (1/26/26), showcasing how an endowed chair can accelerate high impact research while honoring a donor’s commitment: https://case.edu/news/cwru-school-medicine-alumnas-gift-advances-brain-research
This story illustrates the potent synergy between private philanthropy and academic medical research. Endowed support strengthens institutional capacity, enables sustained innovative research by the chair holder, and advances our collective knowledge. Equally important, it offers profound personal fulfillment to donors who can observe, within their lifetime, the tangible advances that their philanthropy makes possible. This reciprocal model is a true win-win for science, institutions, clinicians, and the communities we serve.
Dr. Ali Elected Director of Mental Health Services by Rotary Club
Past PSV President, and current PSV Foundation President, Rizwan Ali, MD, DFAPA, was elected as the Director, Mental Health Services for district 7600 of the Rotary Club of Virginia.
Dr. Brown’s Testimony Helps Determine Sentence in Assault Case
Former FCC Employee Sentenced to one year in Alexandria Metro Station Assaults
From: The Alexandria Brief by Ryan Belmore, March 20, 2026, A summary
The Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria, Virginia, finds that the defendant was in a state of delirium at the time of the attacks, driven by mis-prescribed medications and undiagnosed mental illness. The court found that mis-prescribed medications contributed to the defendant’s behavior on the night of May 30, 2025, and that he demonstrated genuine remorse.
The defendant was arrested on June 1, 2025, and was fired from the FCC following his arrest. He faced two Class 5 felony counts of abduction by force or intimidation under Virginia Code 18.2-47 and one Class I misdemeanor count of sexual battery under Code 18.2-67.4. He entered a plea of no contest a few months earlier; therefore, the court held a sentencing hearing. A powerful victim impact statement was entered into the court record.
According to the forensic psychiatric testimony and the evaluation report filed with the court by Robert Brown Jr., MD, PSV Blue Ridge Chapter President, the defendant consumed between $50 and $100 worth of alcohol at a bar between leaving work and approximately 8:30 pm on the night of the attacks. Dr. Brown wrote that the medications prescribed for the defendant, fluoxetine, buspirone, and dextroamphetamine – combined with excessive alcohol ingestion would be expected to produce a delirium, which Dr. Brown described as a disturbance of attention and cognition developing over a short period of time along with memory deficit, disorientation and impaired perception.
Dr. Brown also testified that the defendant suffered from bipolar I disorder, which was not properly recognized or treated before May 30, 2025, meaning that he was not on appropriate medications for that serious mental disorder at the time of the offenses. Forensicpsychiatry.com
