University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia Clinical Professor Shilpa Srinivasan, M.D., has been honored as the 2021 Educator of the Year by the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry.

The award recognizes extraordinary efforts, innovations and accomplishments by a member which have a direct impact on the quality of geriatric psychiatry education.

Srinivasan has been a member of the School of Medicine faculty since 2006. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Medical University, Szeged, Hungary, and completed residency in adult psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana. She then went on to complete a geriatric psychiatry fellowship at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans.

As a professor of clinical psychiatry and training director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at Prisma Health and the School of Medicine, Srinivasan also serves as psychiatry M4 clerkship and Acting Internship (AI) director for the School of Medicine. In her clinical practice, she focuses on outpatient geriatric psychiatry, integrated care and telepsychiatry.

Srinivasan’s interest in geriatric psychiatry stems from positive relationships she formed with older adult family members who were role models for her.

“My grandparents were pivotal in my life,” she says. “They were nurturing and always motivating and supportive of my interest in becoming a physician. I remain their biggest fan.”

As she pursued medicine and psychiatry, Srinivasan found herself drawn to the complexities and rich life histories she encountered working with older adults.

“For me, it is very fulfilling, both personally and professionally to practice geriatric psychiatry,” she says. “The older adult population is extremely underserved. I feel a need to serve the older adult population and to help treat their mental health conditions.”

While Srinivasan is appreciative of the award, she gives credit to her teachers and mentors who set the tone for her to be an educator in the field of geriatric psychiatry.

“It is an indescribable honor to be recognized among those who I consider to be incredible role models and foremost in the area of geriatric psychiatry,” she says. “It’s really not about me but about recognizing the importance of the field and of the work that we do every day as part a team.

“Being a part of this team at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia and Prisma Health Midlands is a blessing. I am also grateful to our trainees - I learn so much from working alongside them.”