Informing and inspiring the next generation of public mental health professionals.
The Altshuler Center for Education & Research at Metrocare provides education that energizes public mental health clinicians. We promote research that leads to real-world results. We offer training that sends clinicians into the field equipped to provide the latest evidence-based practices and recovery-oriented services.
John W. Burruss, MD
Chief Executive Officer Metrocare Services
Dr. Burruss serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Metrocare Services and as the Executive Director for the Center for Education & Research at Metrocare. Dr. Burruss currently manages the Center’s operations and psychiatric care to nearly 50,000 patients each year. Burruss completed a psychiatric residency and earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He has a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and trained at both the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a fellow in the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the American College of Psychiatrists.
Carol North, MD, MPE
Medical Director Altshuler Center for Education & Research
Dr. Carol North is the Medical Director of the Altshuler Center for Education & Research. She holds The Nancy and Ray L. Hunt Chair in Crisis Psychiatry and Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Surgery/Division of Emergency Medicine/Section on Homeland Security at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. North completed medical school and residency training in psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Missouri, followed by a NIMH fellowship and a Masters degree, both in psychiatric epidemiology, at the same institution. She served 18 years on the faculty of Washington University, advancing to Professor of Psychiatry before moving to Dallas in 2005 to join the full-time faculty of the Dallas VA Medical Center and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Judith Hunter, MD, MMEd
Executive Medical Director Metrocare Services
Hunter is currently the Executive Medical Director for Metrocare Services and has served with the agency for 19 years. Currently she manages over 40 psychiatrists, advanced nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who provide psychiatric care to nearly 50,000 patients each year. She continues to provide clinical treatment to patients with severe mental illness who are involved in the criminal justice system, including jail diversion and outpatient competency restoration programs. Dr. Hunter is board certified in Adult and Forensic Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She also serves as psychiatric representative to the Behavioral Health Leadership Team, which is working on comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment reform in Dallas County.
Gregory Keith Graves, MD, BS
Medical Director Homeless and Housing Services
Graves is Medical Director of Homeless and Housing Services at Metrocare. He is a former Chief Medical Officer of Metrocare Services. He holds a BS degree in Psychology from Baylor University, a Doctor of Medicine degree from the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, and a medical license from the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. Graves completed his psychiatric residency in 1996 at UT Southwestern Medical Center and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Graves has also completed a year-long training course at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Ardashes Mirzatuny, MD
Medical Director Adult Psychiatry
Dr. Mirzatuny serves as the Medical Director and Adult Psychiatrist at Metrocare Services in Dallas. Dr. Mirzatuny graduated from Saint Edwards University in Austin TX, and completed medical school at Shiraz University, School of Medicine in Shiraz, Iran. Dr. Miraztuny completed his internship at the University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston Hermann Hospital, and at the M.D. Anderson Tumor Institute in Houston, TX. Dr. Mirzatuny completed a Fellowship Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, which included training with UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Medical Center, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, TX, and Terrell State Hospital – Child Adolescent Unit in Terrell, TX. Dr. Mirzatuny holds a license with the Texas Board of Medical Examiners, and a certificate with the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). He is a member of the Texas Medical Association, as well as the Dallas County Medical Society. Dr. Mirzatuny’s teaching experience started in 1982. He taught a group of Sophomore Medical Students called the “Psychiatry Teaching Groupsâ€, and he taught a group of “Senior Child Psychiatry Fellows.
Shashi Raj Motgi, MD
Medical Director Child and Adolescence Psychiatry
Dr. Motgi is the Medical Director for Child and Adolescence Services at Metrocare. She has been with us since 2005, and has been Clinical Assistant Professor of UT Southwestern Medical Department of Psychiatry since 2005. Dr. Motgi is board certified with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Psychiatry and Neurology, and she was certified as a Forensic Evaluator by the Forensic Department of the University of Virginia. Her medical degree is from the Medical College at Karnatak, South India.
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