A third-year resident in the University of Louisville Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has been awarded the Jeanne Spurlock, M.D. Congressional Fellowship of the American Psychiatric Association and the association’s related organization, the American Psychiatric Foundation.

Daniel T. Jackson, M.D., is serving in the Capitol Hill office of U.S. Rep. James McDermott, M.D. (D-Wash.) for the 10 months of the fellowship beginning in September. The award is offered to only one individual each year and provides the opportunity to represent the profession of psychiatry in Congress, working with federal policy makers to shape public policy.

“My work with Rep. McDermott – who is a psychiatrist himself – focuses on mental health issues including the Mental Health Reform Act of 2015 in the Senate and the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 in the House,” Jackson said. “We hope to see action on one or both bills in the coming months.”

Both bills propose to reform current mental health law to make available needed psychiatric, psychological and supportive services to individuals with mental illness and families in mental health crisis. The bills focus on providing more programs and resources to help those suffering from mental disorders.

Jackson is a two-time graduate of UofL, earning his medical degree in 2013 and a bachelor of arts degree cum laude in psychology with concentration in the natural sciences in 2007. He entered the residency program in July 2013.

As a resident, he lectures on substance abuse topics to third- and fourth-year medical students and sits on the UofL Psychiatry Residency Admission Committee. He also is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, Kentucky Psychiatric Medical Association, Kentucky Medical Association and Greater Louisville Medical Society.

He also has undertaken public policy advocacy work as a resident, attending the Advocacy Leadership Conference in Washington last year. There, he joined with others in the health care profession to recommend for increased federal investment through the National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Indian Health Service. He has lobbied for passage of the Ensuring Veteran’s Resiliency Act and helped efforts that were successful in reforming Medicare’s physician payment formula.