William Connor Darby, M.D.

About

After completing his medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, residency in general psychiatry at UCLA in 2017, and fellowship in forensic psychiatry at UCLA in 2018, Dr. Darby began teaching medical students, psychiatry residents, and forensic psychiatry fellows at UCLA as an Assistant Professor.  In 2019, Dr. Darby was recognized nationally by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law becoming the youngest winner of the Best Teacher in a Fellowship Program Award.  In 2020, Dr. Darby became the youngest program director at UCLA and youngest forensic fellowship program director in the country when he was named director at UCLA . In this role, Dr. Darby trains psychiatrists how to apply their psychiatric expertise to legal contexts in criminal and civil forensic evaluations, including how to write legal reports and give expert testimony.  Working with law school deans and professors, psychiatry chiefs, mental health directors, judges, among other stakeholders, Dr. Darby led educational activities and opportunities for forensic fellows at various institutions and systems including California DSH, LA County DMH, VA, LA County Court, Sonoma County Court, UCLA Law School, USC Law School, UC Law SF, and Loyola Law School.

In addition to being UCLA's Forensic Program Director, Dr. Darby runs the forensic section at the Greater Los Angeles VA and is Chair of the Bioethics Committee for the California Department of State Hospitals. Dr. Darby has held numerous national leadership positions for professional psychiatric organizations including Past President for ASAP, Council on Psychiatry and the Law for the American Psychiatric Association, Chair of the Judicial Action Committee and Past Chair of the Ethics Committee for AAPL, Past Councilor for AAPL,  Laughlin Fellow and Laughlin Selection Committee Member for the American College of Psychiatrists, among others. Dr. Darby is a leading forensic expert researcher with numerous publications in the major forensic psychiatric journals and national presentations on forensic topics.

Education and Training

• Bachelor of Arts: Swarthmore College with special major in Psychobiology
• Medical Degree: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
• Residency: Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Fellowship: Forensic Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Certifications

• Double Board Certified in Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry

Honors and Awards

• Rappeport Fellowship, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), 2016
• Laughlin Fellowship, American College of Psychiatrists (ACP), 2017
• UCLA Outstanding Teaching Award, Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, 2017
• Howard Zonana Award for Best Teacher in a Forensic Fellowship Program, AAPL, 2019
• Recipient of Three Shirley Hatos Prizes for outstanding writings, UCLA

Leadership and Professional Activities

• Director, UCLA Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
• Chair of Bioethics Committee, California Department of State Hospitals
• Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• Member, Council on Psychiatry and the Law, American Psychiatric Association (APA)
• Past Councilor, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL)
• Past Chair of Ethics Committee, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL)
• Past Chair of Disruptive Behavior Committee, Greater Los Angeles VA
• Past President, American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry (ASAP)
• Elected Fellow to APA, American Psychological Association (APA)

Publications and Presentations

• Numerous research publications including editing a forensic ethics book
• Multiple first-author peer-reviewed research papers and textbook chapters
• Hundreds of lectures and seminars
• Reviewer for top forensic psychiatry journals