Portrait of Vanessa Khanh Le

Vanessa Khanh Le

Ph.D. Candidate in Clinical Psychology

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Vanessa is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she is completing her APA-accredited internship and dissertation research on cognitive and neuroimaging biomarkers in schizophrenia. Her clinical work spans inpatient psychiatry, psycho-oncology, psychiatric emergency care, and forensic consultation, with expertise in evidence-based therapies including CBT, ACT, DBT, and motivational interviewing. She is passionate about advancing the understanding of serious mental illness through neurobiological research while providing compassionate, culturally responsive clinical care.

vanessa.le@utsouthwestern.edu

Education

2022 – Present

Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

  • APA Accredited Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program
  • APA Accredited Internship in Clinical Psychology
  • Dissertation: Disambiguating the Effects of Aging and Disease Course: Patterns of Cognitive and MRI Biomarkers in Schizophrenia
  • Co-Chairs: Elena Ivleva, M.D., Ph.D. & Shawn McClintock, Ph.D., MSCS
  • GPA: 4.0
2015 – 2019

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

  • Minor: Sociology
  • Forensic Science Certificate
  • Honors Program: 2016 – 2017

Clinical Experience

Internship Training

APA Accredited Doctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology

Aug 2024 – Present

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Two-year, half-time internship comprising over 2,000 hours of clinical training across multiple settings.

Inpatient Psychiatric Unit 08/2025 – Present

Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX

Conducting clinical interviews, mental status exams, psychological assessments, and delivering brief psychotherapeutic interventions (CBT, ACT, MI) for adult patients with psychotic disorders, severe depression, personality disorders, substance use, bipolar disorders, and high suicide risk. Co-leading twice-weekly group psychotherapy sessions and collaborating with interdisciplinary treatment teams.

Psycho-Oncology Clinic 08/2024 – 08/2025

UTSW Simmons Cancer Center, Fort Worth & Dallas, TX

Delivered conceptualization-driven psychotherapy (CBT, ACT, Supportive Therapy) for 10–12 oncology patients per week. Adapted interventions for medical complexity. Co-led a 4-week CBT telehealth group for cancer patients and provided supervision to practicum students.

Psychiatric Emergency Department 08/2024 – 01/2025

Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX

Conducted clinical interviews and mental status exams in the psychiatric emergency department at the largest county hospital in Dallas. Consulted with multidisciplinary teams on case conceptualization, treatment recommendations, brief intervention, and safety planning. Over 75 hours of patient contact.

DBT Skills Group 08/2024 – Present

UT Southwestern Psychotherapy Clinic

Selected as one of five graduate student leaders for a DBT skills-only outpatient group. Facilitating weekly 1.5-hour sessions focused on mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness for adults with diverse psychiatric diagnoses.

Student Psychotherapist 08/2024 – Present

UT Southwestern Psychotherapy Clinic

Providing community outpatient psychotherapy for adults utilizing dynamically-oriented, CBT, MI, ACT, DBT, and mindfulness-based interventions. Presenting issues include depression, anxiety, emotion dysregulation, trauma, and ADHD.

Practicum Training

Clinical Psychology Practicum — Consult Liaison Psychiatry/Psychology

May 2023 – Aug 2024

Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX

Conducted focused diagnostic evaluations, delivered brief bedside psychotherapy, and provided behavioral medicine interventions for medically hospitalized patients with co-occurring psychiatric concerns. Implemented evidence-based approaches (CBT, ACT, MI) adapted to acute medical settings.

Forensic Psychology Training

Forensic Psychology Consultation

May 2023 – Present

Dallas, TX

Collaborating with attorneys from UT Austin and Texas A&M to complete psychological evaluations as part of pro bono civil rights cases. Shadowed forensic psychologists conducting competency evaluations, risk assessments, and forensic report preparation.

Research Experience

Graduate Research

Graduate Research Assistant / Dissertation Student

Jan 2023 – Present

Department of Psychiatry · Early Psychosis Clinical and Research Program
UT Southwestern Medical Center — PI: Elena Ivleva, M.D., Ph.D.

Dissertation: Disambiguating the Effects of Aging and Disease Course: Patterns of Cognitive and MRI Biomarkers in Schizophrenia. Utilizing Generalized Additive Models to investigate the effects of disease course, aging, and their interaction on neurobiological and cognitive biomarkers. Responsible for neuroimaging data preprocessing, clinical and neuropsychological assessment administration, and training medical students and undergraduate research assistants.

Forensic Psychology Research Assistant

Jan 2025 – Present

UT Southwestern Medical Center — Supervisor: Michael Gottlieb, Ph.D.

Conducting literature reviews and providing research support for forensic investigations. Assisting expert witnesses with information for testimony in legal and judicial settings.

Post-Baccalaureate Research

Research Engineering Scientist Associate I

Jun 2019 – Jul 2022

Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences · Mood Addiction Interaction Neuroscience (MAIN) Lab
UT Austin Dell Medical School — PI: Elizabeth Lippard, Ph.D.

Served as research coordinator for studies investigating bipolar disorder and alcohol/substance use disorders. Led data collection for behavioral testing, clinical interviews, and structural/functional MRI scans. Created and implemented study protocols, managed IRB submissions, and designed REDCap databases. Trained and supervised 14 undergraduate research assistants and 3 high school interns. Operated Siemens 3T MRI scanners and preprocessed neuroimaging data.

Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Research Assistant & Honors Thesis Student

2016 – 2019

The University of Texas at Austin

Research across multiple labs including the Mood Disorders Lab (PI: Christopher Beevers, Ph.D.), Social Cognition Lab (PI: Bertram Gawronski, Ph.D.), Center for STEM Education, and Swann Lab. Honors thesis: Meaning Maintenance Model and Moral Judgements — The Relationship between Meaning System Violations and Moral Decision Making.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. Lippard, E. T. C., Kirsch, D. E., Le, V., Lee, S., Bibb, N., Meek, K., Kosted, R., Huffman, A., Almeida, J. R. C., Fromme, K., & Strakowski, S. M. (2025). Nucleus accumbens functional connectivity changes underlying alcohol expectancies in bipolar disorder and prospective alcohol outcomes: A within-subject randomized placebo-controlled alcohol administration fMRI study. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 19. doi:10.3389/fnins.2025.1549295
  2. Kosted, R., Kirsch, D. E., Le, V., Almeida, J.R.C., Strakowski, S.M., Fromme, K., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2023). Subjective response to alcohol: Interactive effects of early life stress, parental risk for mood and substance use disorders, and drinking context. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 229, 173591.
  3. Kirsch, D. E., Kosted, R., Le, V., Almeida, J.R.C., Fromme, K., Strakowski S.M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2023). Ventral prefrontal network response to alcohol in young adults with bipolar disorder: A within-subject randomized placebo-controlled alcohol administration study. Neuropsychopharmacology, 48(13), 1910–1919.
  4. Lippard, E. T. C., Kirsch, D. E., Kosted, R., Le, V., Almeida, J. R. C., Fromme, K., & Strakowski, S. M. (2023). Subjective response to alcohol in young adults with bipolar disorder and recent alcohol use: A within-subject randomized placebo-controlled alcohol administration study. Psychopharmacology. doi:10.1007/s00213-023-06315-9
  5. Kirsch, D. E., Le, V., Kosted, R., Fromme, K., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2022). Neural underpinnings of expecting alcohol: Placebo alcohol administration alters nucleus accumbens resting state functional connectivity. Behavioural Brain Research, 437, 114148.
  6. Tretyak, V., Kirsch, D. E., Le, V., Fromme, K., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2022). Coping drinking motives, neural functional connectivity during emotion processing, and alcohol use in young adults with bipolar disorder. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 46(8), 1482–1496.
  7. Kirsch, D. E., Tretyak, V., Le, V., Huffman, A., Fromme, K., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2022). Alcohol use and prefrontal cortex volume trajectories in young adults with mood disorders and associated clinical outcomes. Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 57.
  8. Le, V., Kirsch, D. E., Tretyak, V., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2021). Recent perceived stress, amygdala reactivity to acute psychosocial stress, and alcohol use in adolescents and young adults with bipolar disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 767309.
  9. Kirsch, D. E., Preston, A., Tretyak, V., Le, V., Weber, W., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2021). Neural functional connectivity changes to psychosocial stress in young adults with bipolar disorder and preliminary associations with clinical trajectories. Bipolar Disorders, 00, 1–12.

Selected Presentations

Invited Presentations

  • Le, V., Woolsey, A., Nwosisi, E., Noebel, N., Magill, R., & Shi, M. (2025). Student-led CBT group in psycho-oncology: Creation, implementation, and feasibility. Invited clinical psychology didactic, Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center.
  • Le, V. & Shorter, S. (2025). Socioeconomic status and mental health: Pathways, outcomes, and inequities across the lifespan. Invited didactic, UT Southwestern Medical Center.
  • Le, V. (2025). Self-care: The key to success. Invited lecture, Joint Admission Medical Program, UT Southwestern Medical Center.
  • Mathew, J., Le, V., & Gilpin-Macfoy, F. (2023). Creating cultural humility in clinical work. Invited Cultural Diversity CEU Workshop, Dallas Psychological Association.

Selected Conference Presentations

  • Ivleva, E. I., Palka, J. M., Feria-Vargas, M., Soto, C., Shokri-Kojori, E., Uh, J., Aslan, S., Yezhuvath, U., Choi, C., Le, V., Kennedy, K. M., Rugg, M. D., & Tamminga, C. A. (2024). Regional activity and excitatory/inhibitory biomarkers in the anterior limbic system: Effects of aging vs. disease course in schizophrenia. ACNP Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ.
  • Le, V., Tretyak, V., Kirsch, D. E., Kosted, R., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2022). Recent perceived stress and decision making in young adults with bipolar disorder with psychotic features. Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
  • Le, V., Kirsch, D. E., Tretyak, V., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2021). Recent perceived stress, amygdala reactivity to acute psychosocial stress, and alcohol use in adolescents/young adults with bipolar disorder. Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Meeting.
  • Le, V., Tretyak, V., Kirsch, D. E., Preston, A., Strakowski, S. M., & Lippard, E. T. C. (2020). Lower grey matter volume and emotion regulation in young adults with bipolar disorder and a history of psychosis. Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Meeting.

Full list of 30+ conference presentations available upon request.

Teaching & Mentorship

2025 – Present

Student Liaison — Psychiatric Emergency Department Rotation

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Serving as liaison between clinical psychology interns and Parkland PED attendings. Managing intern scheduling, supervision coordination, and co-leading invited guest lectures.

2024 – 2025

Teaching Assistant — JAMP Professional Helping Skills

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Grading and providing feedback on mock patient-provider interviews, supporting student learning, and co-leading invited guest lectures.

2024 – Present

Peer Mentor — Cultural Diversity Club

UT Southwestern Division of Psychology

Providing mentorship to undergraduate students of underrepresented backgrounds interested in pursuing graduate degrees in clinical psychology.

Honors & Awards

  • 2025 The Erin Bain Jones Scholarship for Academic Excellence
  • 2019 Psychology Departmental Honors Program, UT Austin
  • 2018 Liberal Arts Honors Research Support Award, UT Austin
  • 2016–17 University Honors, UT Austin

Professional Memberships

  • American Psychological Association Division 12 — Society of Clinical Psychology Division 35 — Society for the Psychology of Women
  • Dallas Psychological Association
  • Society of Biological Psychiatry
  • Psi Chi — International Honor Society in Psychology

Leadership & Service

APA Inter-Divisional Task Force

Student Representative for the Evaluation of the Proposed Ethics Code (2025)

BIPOC Collective at UTSW

Co-Treasurer — Coordinating events, service projects, and fundraisers for a community of women and gender diverse people of color in psychology (2024–Present)

FOCUS at UTSW

President (2023–2024) & Service Chair (2022–2023) of the Faculty-Student Organization of Clinical Psychology

Dallas Psychological Association

Student Representative serving on the Executive, DEI, and Programming Committees (2023–2024)