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Lawrence Malak, M.D.

Lawrence Malak

Candidate for 2025 Area 6 Trustee

Biography

Dr. Malak is a Clinical Professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), Director of the Community Psychiatry Residency Track and Education Program and Director of the Combined Family Medicine and Psychiatry Residency Program. He has held multiple leadership positions within various parts of APA and has received the honor of being recognized as a Distinguished Fellow of the APA.

Within the APA, he has served as a representative to the APA Assembly for over 10 years, has been on the APA Communications Council and served on Scientific planning committee for both the APA Annual Meeting and the APA Fall Services Meetings, the IPS and Mental Health Services Conference. He has most recently served as part of leadership on the Assembly Executive Committee as Area 6 Representative in addition to being Chair of the Mental Health Services Conference from 2022 to 2024.

In his time as faculty at UC San Diego, Dr. Malak has been dedicated to the mentorship and training of psychiatric residents, medical students and interdisciplinary teams as a clinical and educational leader. In his role as Director of the UCSD Community Psychiatry Residency Track and Program, Dr. Malak helped to create an innovative training program that paired clinical work with underserved populations along with leadership training and a dedicated community psychiatry curriculum.

His commitment to education and creating an inclusive environment has also led to him being at the forefront of creating and implementing a Holistic review process for screening and interviewing residents. His dedication to promoting diversity and creating a supportive learning environment led him to get involved with DEI initiatives within UC San Diego and to help start a BIPOC Community/Affinity space for trainees to come together for support.

Dr. Malak’s leadership beyond academics is evident by his involvement in several statewide and nationwide psychiatric organizations since residency. He has served as President for the San Diego Psychiatric Society, a board member for the American Association of Community Psychiatry, and a member of the California Psychiatric Association and on the board for the California State Association of Psychiatrists.

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California at Berkeley
  • Doctor of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
  • Psychiatry Residency and Chief Resident, University of California at San Diego Department of Psychiatry
  • Community Psychiatry Fellow, University of California at San Diego Department of Psychiatry

Awards and Honors

  • APA Area 6 Mentorship Award
  • UCSD Whitehill Foundation Teaching Award
  • National Center of Leadership in Academic Medicine
  • 2 x Full Time Faculty Annual Teaching Award, UCSD Department of Psychiatry
  • Early Career Psychiatrist Leadership Award, San Diego Psychiatric Society
  • Resident Recognition Award, American Psychiatric Association
  • Lewis Judd Resident Research Award, UCSD Department of Psychiatry

Medical leadership for mind, brain and body.

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