Adriane dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

Adriane dela Cruz, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. dela Cruz focuses on the treatment of patients with drug and alcohol addictions.

Dr. dela Cruz earned her medical and graduate degrees from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. Following her residency in psychiatry at UT Southwestern, she completed advanced training in addiction psychiatry at UT Southwestern. Dr. dela Cruz has been a faculty member at UT Southwestern since she completed her training in 2016.

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. dela Cruz is active in research and education. Her research work has been published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research and the American Journal on Addictions, among other journals. A curriculum she developed for training psychiatry residents in understanding the medical literature has been published by the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training. She received a Faculty Innovation in Education Award from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 2020-2021 for her project "From 'Yeah, No' to 'Yeah, Yeah!': Development and Assessment of a Podcast to Promote Critical Evaluation of the Literature and Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry." In 2021 Dr. dela Cruz joined the psychiatry residency training program faculty as the associate program director for resident didactics and scholarly projects.

Dr. dela Cruz was first drawn to addiction psychiatry during her work for her Ph.D. in neuroscience. There, she developed a passion to better understand how people lose and gain control over their behaviors. The brain regions critical to the development and maintenance of addictions include learning and memory, reward, and self-control and are thus fundamental to how we lead our lives and what makes us who we are. She has furthered this work through her medical training and the recognition that many patients with addictions suffer in silence, often ashamed to seek care and unaware of the effective medical and behavioral treatments for addictions. Dr. dela Cruz is proud of helping patients identify the treatments that work for them and partnering with patients to help them achieve and maintain sobriety, which often also involves treatment for other psychiatric illnesses like depression and anxiety. Helping patients get well is the best part of her job, and she is glad to receive feedback from patients that they trust and respect her. Her recent research projects have focused on testing the efficacy of a combination of medications for patients with methamphetamine use disorder and developing a measurement-based-care program to support primary care physicians in treating patients with opioid use disorder.

Education

Other Post Graduate Training: University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (2011)
Graduate School: UT Medical Branch-Galveston (2011), Neuroscience
Medical School: UT Medical Branch at Galveston (2011), Medicine
Residency: UT Southwestern Medical Center (2015), Psychiatry
Fellowship: UT Southwestern Medical Center (2016), Addiction Psychiatry

Research Interest

Drug Addiction

Publications

Featured Publications

Same Material, Different Formats: Comparing In-Person and Distance Learning in Undergraduate Medical Education.: Dela Cruz AM, Alick S, Das R, Brenner A, Acad Psychiatry 2020 Oct
Baseline medical comorbidities in adults randomized in the STRIDE trial for psychostimulant use disorders.: Dela Cruz AM, Carmody T, Greer TL, Rethorst CD, Warden D, Walker R, Trivedi MH Am J Addict 2016 Apr 25 3 215-20
Opioid addiction screening tools for patients with chronic noncancer pain.: dela Cruz AM, Trivedi MH Tex Med 2015 Feb 111 2 61-5
Self-rated measure of pain frequency, intensity, and burden: psychometric properties of a new instrument for the assessment of pain.: dela Cruz AM, Bernstein IH, Greer TL, Walker R, Rethorst CD, Grannemann B, Carmody T, Trivedi MH J Psychiatr Res 2014 Dec 59 155-60
Novel approach to data analysis in cocaine-conditioned place preference.: dela Cruz AM, Herin DV, Grady JJ, Cunningham KA Behav Pharmacol 2009 Dec 20 8 720-30
When Are "Paraphernalia" Critical Medical Supplies?: Dela Cruz AM, Egan D, Baker SE, Sadler JZ, AMA J Ethics 2024 Jul 26 7 E527-533
Stigma towards opioid use disorder in primary care remain a barrier to integrating software-based measurement based care.: Dela Cruz AM, Karns-Wright T, Kahalnik F, Walker R, Lanham HJ, Potter JS, Trivedi MH, BMC Psychiatry 2023 Oct 23 1 776
Creation of an algorithm for clinical decision support for treatment of opioid use disorder with buprenorphine in primary care.: Dela Cruz AM, Walker R, Pipes R, Wakhlu S, Trivedi MH, Addict Sci Clin Pract 2021 02 16 1 12
Bupropion and Naltrexone in Methamphetamine Use Disorder.: Trivedi MH, Walker R, Ling W, Dela Cruz A, Sharma G, Carmody T, Ghitza UE, Wahle A, Kim M, Shores-Wilson K, Sparenborg S, Coffin P, Schmitz J, Wiest K, Bart G, Sonne SC, Wakhlu S, Rush AJ, Nunes EV, Shoptaw S, N Engl J Med 2021 01 384 2 140-153
Demographic and clinical characteristics of current comorbid psychiatric disorders in a randomized clinical trial for adults with stimulant use disorders.: Warden D, Sanchez K, Greer T, Carmody T, Walker R, Dela Cruz A, Toups M, Rethorst C, Trivedi MH Psychiatry Res 2016 Sep 246 136-141

Honors & Awards

Finalist, Innovation in Education Award
University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education (2024)
Nancy C.A. Roeske, MD Certificate of Excellence in Medical Student Education
American Psychiatric Association (2024)
Outstanding Educator Award for Pre-Clinical Basic Science Education
Southwestern Academy of Teachers (2023)
Devneil Vaidya Junior Faculty Teaching Award
Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (2022)
Faculty Excellence Award, Brain and Behavior Course
UTSW Medical School Class of 2025 (2022)
Innovations Award
Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (2022)
Texas Super Doctors Rising Stars(SM)
(2022)
Early Career Development Award
Association for Academic Psychiatry (2021)
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Faculty Innovation in Education Award
(2020-2021)
Texas Super Doctors Rising Stars(SM)
Celebrating the best doctors in Texas who have been practicing approximately 10 years or fewer (2020)
Southwestern Academy of Teachers Office of Medical Education Fellowship
(2018-2019)
Leadership Emerging in Academic Departments (LEAD) Program for Junior Faculty Physicians and Scientists
(2016-2017)
American Psychiatric Association Research Colloquium for Junior Investigators
(2015)
Chairman's Research Award for Excellence in Research, Department of Psychiatry, UTSW
Awarded for outstanding research during residency (2015)
Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society
(2011)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training
Association for Academic Psychiatry
Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry