Prioritizing Partnership and Progress, Dr. Karen Derefinko Guides Faculty Senate Forward

As president of the Faculty Senate, Karen Derefinko, PhD, is focused on uniting and energizing people across the UT Health Sciences community to work toward common goals.

When Karen Derefinko, PhD, talks about her work, there is a theme that comes up again and again: people working together can solve almost anything.

This principle is what first drew her into clinical psychology, what motivates her research today, and what shapes her goals as president of the Faculty Senate at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Before she came to Memphis, Dr. Derefinko trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of Kentucky, finishing her degree in 2010. She then worked at Florida International University's Center for Children and Families, where she saw firsthand how families struggled to find help for children facing ADHD, conduct problems, and violence in their communities. The experience convinced her she wanted a career where research and treatment lived side by side.

"I really saw the benefit of the medical center model," she says. "We could test out new ways of treating folks and find the most affordable, effective methods to get families engaged in treatment."

After returning to Kentucky for postdoctoral training, Dr. Derefinko began searching for a long-term home. UT Health Science Center impressed her immediately with its strong National Institutes of Health-funded research community. "If you want to do academic medicine, you have to be fluent in writing grants," she says. "The best way to do that is to train with the best."

Joining the College of Medicine's Department of Preventive Medicine in 2014, she found the collaborative environment she was looking for.

"The caliber of the folks we have at UT Health Science Center - the faculty, staff, students, administrators - these are some really outstanding individuals, and we have a common vision to help the people in our communities," she says. "Everyone I meet here has a great love of Memphis and a desire to help the folks in Memphis. It really unites us."

Of all her collaborations throughout her career, Dr. Derefinko is proudest of her work with her mentors, Karen Chandler Johnson, MD, MPH, Endowed Professor in Women's Health and former chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine, and Ronald Cowan, MD, PhD, Harrison Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry. She says they are "absolute pillars of UT Health Science Center," renowned in their fields, and she credits them with helping her become a better researcher.

Her research has increasingly focused on opioid use disorder, especially helping people stay in treatment once they begin it. Her NIH-funded work has been successful in that, leading to high adherence rates among people seeking recovery. While the opioid crisis has changed over time, she sees no sign it will disappear soon.

"We're seeing new combinations of drugs and new challenges," she says. "The crisis isn't going away, so continuing this work and addressing the many factors that come with substance use is where we need to be headed."

Alongside her research, Dr. Derefinko has built a strong reputation for service and clear communication, earning her a UT President's Award, the highest honor given by the UT System to employees, in the Transparent and Trusted category. "I'm really forthcoming and straightforward," she says. "If there were a President's Award designed for me, it would be the Transparent and Trusted award."

Dr. Karen Derefinko speaks at the final Faculty Senate meeting of the 2024-25 academic year in June, when the role of president was passed to her.

Dr. Derefinko's service to the Faculty Senate began in 2019, when her department elected her to represent it. She joined the research committee, then served as its chair, and soon realized just how much the group could accomplish when it brought people together.

"We had a lot of smart people in a room accomplishing a lot of stuff," she says. The experience pushed her to get more involved in officer roles, serving as secretary before being elected president-elect, and now president for 2025-26.

Dr. Derefinko says the Faculty Senate's greatest strength comes from its people and their willingness to work together. "We are in a changing landscape," she says, adding that shared governance is more important than ever. She praises Chancellor Peter Buckley, MD, and campus leadership for involving the senate in major conversations. "Having a seat at the table during fluctuating times has strengthened our partnership."

Another strength she highlights is the statewide reach of the Faculty Senate, which spans the UT Health Sciences campuses in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. "Our faculty senators are from across the state, and that gives us great perspective," she says.

Much of Dr. Derefinko's early focus as president has been on rebuilding energy in the Faculty Senate. Attendance at meetings is now higher than at any time since she joined. "People understand we're a point of advocacy," she says. "We're part of the governance of the university, and we treat that with honor and respect."

She emphasized that, to her, leadership means empowering others to lead, not just directing them. "My legacy isn't what I do as president," she says. "It's the success of other folks, and what the senate becomes after I leave." She says she relies on senators across campus to help shape the group's mission and identify issues that matter to faculty.

One of her main goals as president is building partnerships both within the Faculty Senate and across all parts of the UT Health Sciences community. She believes many challenges can be solved more effectively when faculty, staff, students, and administrators share information openly.

"What I want to do is break down walls and talk to each other as humans to accomplish our common goals," she says.

She has already begun strengthening ties with the Staff Senate, meeting with its leadership and identifying how the groups can collaborate. "There are areas where we can share knowledge and get things done more effectively."

That idea threads through both her research and her leadership. Whether she is supporting people struggling with addiction or guiding faculty through a period of change, Dr. Derefinko returns to the same principle.

"We are stronger together."