Founding Dean Staff

Dr. Briones served as the Regional Chair of the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences University at El Paso between 1978 and 1996 and has served as Interim Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology since June 2007. He became a full tenured Professor in 1990.

Dr. Briones began his medical education at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas between 1967-1971. He then completed a residency in Psychiatry at the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, Texas in 1974.

He founded the Regional Department of Psychiatry in El Paso in 1976 and has developed and maintained private and teaching child, adolescent and adult outpatient psychiatry services on and off-campus and has provided psychiatric care focusing on Mood, Anxiety and Sleep Disorders, provider/attending faculty to teaching services with medical student and resident trainees in outpatient, inpatient, Consultation-Liaison and community agency settings.

Dr. Briones has twice served as training director of the psychiatry residency program. He has been medical student clerkship director on three separate occasions.

Besides receiving student honors and awards, commendations, and other honorary scholarships. Dr. Briones has been honored as a Distinguished Life Fellow by the American Psychiatric Association in 2005.

He has served on many medical school committees and has participated in designing, developing and teaching medical and residency curricula since 1976 and is actively contributing to the new curriculum of The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. He also serves as a consultant to various organizations and has participated in numerous professional societies including holding office and serving in local, state, and national board and advisory committee appointments. He is well published and is involved in general psychiatry and epidemiology research and has presented papers at the national level.