Formal investiture ceremony held Juliana fort, md, mph, mba

Dr. Fort is the holder of the Brad and Kay McPherson Professorship in Child Psychiatry

June 30, 2023

Pictured left to right: Pamela McPherson, MD, MBA, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine; James C. Patterson II, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine; Juliana Fort, MD, MPH, MBA, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine; Charles Fox, MD, Vice Chancellor for Shreveport Clinical Affairs

On Friday, June 30, 2023, the LSU Health Sciences Foundation hosted the formal investiture ceremony for Juliana Fort, MD, MPH, MBA as the holder of the Brad and Kay McPherson Professorship in Child Psychiatry.

The Brad and Kay McPherson Professorship in Child Psychiatry was initiated and funded by the McPhersons’ daughter, Pamela Kay McPherson, MD, and her husband, Scott Cassingham, MD.

Since 2007 the professorship has brought well-known psychiatrists to campus annually as part of a visiting professor program for residents in the Department of Psychiatry. Specialized educational seminars like these are not otherwise possible at LSU Health Shreveport without private support.

The professorship is a tribute to Brad & Kay McPherson and reflects their desire to provide educational opportunities for future psychiatric healthcare providers and ultimately enhance the level of healthcare received by children needing psychiatric services.

Brad McPherson, PhD, joined the faculty of Centenary College of Louisiana in 1971. He was the inaugural holder of the Mary Warters Endowed Chair, a professor emeritus of biology, and retired in May 2003.

Dr. Pamela McPherson and Dr. Scott Cassingham are both LSU Health Shreveport alumni. Dr. McPherson is an Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, and the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program Director. Dr. Cassingham was also an associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at LSUHS before his retirement.

About Dr. Juliana Fort

Dr. Juliana Fort is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at LSU Health Shreveport as of her July 1 promotion.  She has been on the faculty teaching at LSUHS off and on since 1991. Dr. Fort is a graduate of the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine and completed her Residency and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at Tulane Medical School in New Orleans.

Dr. Juliana Fort is a board-certified child and adolescent, geriatric, forensic, and addictions psychiatrist. She is also a registered play therapist/supervisor and enjoys training and conducting training in expressive arts therapies that enrich psychotherapy and personal growth through drama therapy, improvisation, art and poetry therapy.

Dr. Fort has four grown children and four grandchildren. She enjoys traveling to facilitate interactive expressive arts workshops in collaboration with colleagues and training her dog in her spare time.

We are grateful to have Dr. Fort as part of the LSU Health Shreveport faculty!  Congratulations, Dr. Fort!