Julio Nunes, MD, a fourth-year Neuroscience Research Training Program resident, has been selected as a 2026 Laughlin Fellow of The American College of Psychiatrists (ACP).
The fellowship, awarded to 12 trainees annually, recognizes psychiatry residents and fellows who demonstrate exceptional potential to advance the field of psychiatry. The fellowship provides recipients with the opportunity to attend two ACP annual meetings, facilitating networking and knowledge exchange with leaders in the field.
Laughlin Fellows are chosen from an elite pool of applicants based on their outstanding leadership qualities, clinical excellence, dedication to teaching, community service, and research and scholarly work. They participate in all educational and social functions during the annual meeting.
ACP comprises more than 750 psychiatrists who have demonstrated excellence in the field of psychiatry and achieved national recognition in clinical practice, research, academic leadership, or teaching. The organization is committed to advancing psychiatric knowledge and maintaining the highest standards in the profession. Its members select Laughlin Fellows as potential future leaders in the field.
Nunes is chief resident of Outpatient and Addiction Services at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven. His work focuses on addiction, chronic pain, and health disparities, with an emphasis on translating research into patient-centered policy, advocacy, and practice. Selected for this work, Nunes serves as a Leadership Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
As a member of Yale’s Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Laboratory and a former research fellow at the Stanford Center for Clinical Research, Nunes has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, chapters, and commentaries. His scholarship has been recognized by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry.
Nunes is mentored by Joao P. De Aquino, MD, at the Pain Lab; Ellen Edens, MD, MPE, at the Chronic Pain and Opioid Safety Clinic; and Dolores Vojvoda, MD, at VA Outpatient Mental Health Services.