UAMS Earns Accolades from Arkansas Times’ Readers
| Arkansas Times’ readers offered recent praise for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), with the Psychiatric Research Institute, Lee Archer, M.D., and C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., taking home “Best of Arkansas” honors.
The Psychiatric Research Institute was named Best Mental Health Facility while Archer and Barnes were recognized as Best Neurologist and Best Orthopaedic Surgeon, respectively.
“I applaud Dr. Archer, Dr. Barnes and the clinicians, nurses and staff at the Psychiatric Research Institute for the high-quality care they provide for Arkansans,” said Steven Webber, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine and executive vice chancellor of UAMS. “Honors like these mean so much because we are being recognized by our patients and others in our community.”
Archer is a professor in the College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology and former chair of the department. A fixture at UAMS for nearly 40 years, Archer provides world-class care of Arkansans with multiple sclerosis (MS) while conducting research and teaching and mentoring future neurologists.
Barnes currently serves as UAMS’ interim chancellor. He is also a professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the College of Medicine and a renowned fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in joint reconstruction and replacement surgery of the hip and knee.
The UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute opened in 2009 and combines psychiatric research and education with inpatient and outpatient care as one of the most innovative psychiatric treatment and research facilities in the nation. In 2024, the institute, led by Laura Dunn, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry, became the first medical facility in the United States to provide an innovative therapeutic treatment for major depressive disorder.
In its 30th year, the Best of Arkansas poll allows Arkansas Times readers to vote for their favorite local businesses, people and places across various categories.