Kurt Ackerman, MD, PhD, Receives Special Honor from Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

Please join us in congratulating Kurt Ackerman, MD, PhD (Clinician Emeritus of Psychiatry), who has received the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP)’s 2025 Special Recognition Award, recognizing an individual who has provided outstanding service to the field of consultation-liaison psychiatry locally and nationally. The Award, as determined by the ACLP Fellowship and Awards Committee, is a special ACLP honor that is not conferred annually.

Dr. Ackerman is recognized as an outstanding physician and a leader in the field of consultation-liaison psychiatry and is an elected fellow of the ACLP. He has served as medical director of the Psychiatric Consultation-Liaison Service at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH), and as chief of psychiatry at UPMC Shadyside Hospital, chair of psychiatry at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, and vice president of psychiatry in the UPMC Presbyterian/Shadyside Hospital medical staff. 

As a clinician, Dr. Ackerman cares deeply about his patients and is known for demonstrating to trainees and early-career physicians how an effective therapeutic relationship can be formed in an outpatient office and at the bedside of a medical hospital. Among his numerous clinical innovations, Dr. Ackerman played a key role in developing multiple policies around patient safety and improved clinical care. In addition, Dr. Ackerman is an expert in behavioral health informatics and conducted impactful advocacy work around sharing electronic health records between medical and psychiatric health care providers. 

Congratulations to Dr. Ackerman!