Heather Vestal, MD
heather.vestal@duke.edu
Program Director, Psychiatry Residency Program
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Heather Vestal was born and raised in Belmont, MA, obtained her Medical Degree and Masters in Health Science from the Yale School of Medicine, and completed her residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mclean Hospital. She was on faculty at MGH/Mclean for 5 years and held several educational leadership roles there including Psychiatry Clerkship Director, Associate Residency Program Director, and Residency Program Co-Director, while also working as an inpatient teaching attending.
Dr. Vestal was thrilled to join the psychiatry department at Duke in 2019 as Residency Program Director. She is a passionate and devoted teacher and mentor to medical students and residents, and in addition to teaching about psychiatry she loves teaching residents about how to teach, and co-founded and co-directs the Duke Clinician Educator Track (CET) for residents.
Dr. Vestal is also passionate about resident wellness, and has conducted research on this subject, and has led various local and national efforts to support resident wellness. She is particularly interested in teaching residents how to practice self-compassion as a strategy to reduce intense self-critical thoughts, and encourages residents and faculty to embrace vulnerability and share when they are struggling, in an effort to reduce shame and imposter syndrome that is so common among trainees. She launched the “Sharing Struggles” series where faculty speak openly with residents about times that they have struggled personally or professionally.
Dr. Vestal is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has launched a new Anti-Racism Series for the residents. She is committed to ensuring that Duke residents receive outstanding clinical training in a diverse and inclusive training environment, are well supported by program leadership, mentors, and colleagues, and are empowered to develop and pursue their passions over the course of training.
Julie Penzner, MD
julie.penzner@duke.edu
Dr. Julie Penzner earned her M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completed residency and chief residency in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine. Prior to joining the Duke Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Penzner was Director of Residency Training in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell. She also worked clinically as an inpatient psychiatrist on resident and medical student teaching units. Dr. Penzner has expertise in educational, administrative and clinical leadership. She has published and presented widely on the development of clinical scholarship in psychiatrists in training, as well as on other areas relevant to medical education. She has won numerous local and national teaching awards, and is passionate about the training and development of residents and medical students. Clinically, she is devoted to working as part of a team to provide high quality, compassionate care for patients who need inpatient-level psychiatric treatment. Dr. Penzner is thrilled to join the community at Duke.
Marla Wald, MD
marla.wald@duke.edu
Dr. Marla Wald is Associate Program Director & Director of Psychotherapy Training for the Duke Psychiatry Residency Program and is both an adult and pediatric psychiatrist. She completed residency training at New York University/Bellevue Medical Center. She then completed fellowship at Children’s National/George Washington University Medical Center where she served on faculty. She also graduated from the Baltimore Washington Institute for Psychoanalysis. After joining the Department of Psychiatry at Duke 11 years ago, her clinical work has been primarily in the areas of Perinatal Psychiatry and Gender Care where she developed clinical services and training opportunities. As a clinician educator, Dr. Wald greatly enjoys teaching medical students, residents, fellows in a variety of clinical settings, seminars, team based learning groups and has received numerous recognitions and awards for her teaching. In her role as Associate Program Director & Director of Psychotherapy Training, Dr. Wald’s channels her passion for providing outstanding resident education and excellent training in the various psychotherapeutic modalities.
Tyson Pankey, PhD
tyson.pankey@duke.edu
Dr. Tyson Pankey is a counseling health psychologist and the Assistant Program Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for all training programs within the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Pankey earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Master of Public Health degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine & Public Health. He completed his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining Duke in 2021, Dr. Pankey completed fellowship training in medical psychology at Mayo Clinic with a dual specialization in transgender health and family medicine residency education. Dr. Pankey has expertise in culturally responsive behavioral healthcare, medical education, and training. He is passionate about using research, teaching, and clinical practice to address health disparities and systematic contributors to bias and inequity. He aims to advance evidence based training initiatives that optimize the health, resilience, and well-being of all patients, leaners, and providers within integrated medical settings.
