NARSAD Awards Prizes for Outstanding Research

National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
Wednesday, 1 November 2000

Scientists Honored for Pioneering Work in Schizophrenia, Affective Disorders, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Great Neck, NY (November 2000). The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) recognized six scientists for outstanding achievement in psychiatric research at its recent Gala Awards Dinner at the Pierre Hotel in New York. In addition to presenting awards for research achievement in schizophrenia and affective disorders, it was the first time NARSAD presented a prize for outstanding research in childhood and adolescent psychiatry. The event raised $800,000 for research funding.

The prestigious Lieber Prize for Schizophrenia Research, the Nola Maddox Falcone Prize for Affective Disorders Research and the Ruane Prize for Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatric Research each carry a cash award of $50,000.00.

The Lieber Prize

This year, the award for Schizophrenia Research was shared by Nancy Andreasen, MD, PhD, of the University of Iowa College of Medicine, and William Carpenter, Jr., MD, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Dr. Nancy Andreasen is considered a world leader in schizophrenia research. She has addressed and refined the defining clinical symptoms of this brain disorder both conceptually and pragmatically. Credited with developing an assessment scale that improved clinical research worldwide, she led the DSM-IV committee that revised the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. A pioneer in the use of neuroimaging techniques to explore structural changes that accompany symptoms of mental illness, Dr. Andreasen's current work in functional brain imaging and cognition continues to advance the field.

Dr. William Carpenter has made fundamental contributions to the study of schizophrenia, clarifying key aspects of its phenomenology (description, understanding and classification) and pathophysiology. He has also contributed broadly to the introduction and testing of new treatment modalities. Currently, he is leading an effort to study informed consent processes in people with schizophrenia, data critical to the public debate on research ethics.

The Nola Maddox Falcone Prize

The Affective Disorders prize was awarded to three outstanding researchers: Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; A. John Rush, Jr., MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and Robert Belmaker, MD, of Ben Gurion University in Israel.

Among her achievements, Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison co-authored a medical text on bipolar illness chosen in 1990 as the Most Outstanding Book in Biomedical Sciences by the American Association of Publishers. Considered one of the world's leading experts on bipolar disorder, Dr. Jamison went on to write about her own manic-depressive illness in An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. This fascinating and deeply moving book was on The New York Times Bestseller list for more than five months and has been translated into 15 languages. In another remarkable work, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide, Dr. Jamison brought the topic of suicide to the forefront to promote discussion and prevention of this often avoided subject.

Dr. A. John Rush, Jr. performed the scholarly review that resulted in the publication of guidelines for the treatment of depression in primary care. These guidelines were quickly followed by those of the American Psychiatric Association and began the process of placing recommended treatment approaches for depression on the most solid evidentiary basis possible. Dr. Rush was one of the leaders in the establishment of the Texas Algorithm Project, designed to assess the merits of various treatments for affective disorders and provide data on optimal therapeutic approaches. He also played a leadership role in the development of the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) program, a national project designed to determine the most effective treatments for refractory depression. Most recently, he has been investigating the use of vagus nerve stimulation for treatment-resistant depression.

Dr. Robert Belmaker has made significant contributions to the understanding of bipolar disorder and the mechanisms underlying mood-stabilizing treatments, with a focus on lithium. His paper in Nature in 1988 on lithium and G-proteins opened a new field of inquiry. He also studied inositol as a novel treatment for depression, paving the way for this therapy to be included in the NIMH STEP-BD program exploring treatments for refractory depression. Dr. Belmaker was one of the first scientists to see the potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for use in psychiatry, studying it to treat acute mania.

The Ruane Prize

The Ruane Prize for outstanding research in childhood and adolescent psychiatry went to Professor Sir Michael Rutter, of the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College in London. Professor Rutter's research has included studies on resilience in relation to stress, the genetics of autism, the effect of early deprivation on Romanian orphans adopted in England, schools as social institutions and environmental influences on children's behavior. He has a special interest in the interplay between genetic and psychosocial risk factors for illness. Professor Rutter has published 38 books and has written more than 400 chapters and scientific papers.

"Each of these distinguished scientists has made an enormous contribution in elucidating the intricate mechanisms that underlie brain disorders such as schizophrenia and depression," said Constance Lieber, President of NARSAD. "In the complex world of brain science and human behavior, each discovery is part of a painstaking process. All of our honorees, through their vision, determination and tireless work, have advanced the quest for a cure."

About NARSAD

NARSAD, a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 1986 as the research arm of the four leading mental health organizations: the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Mental Health Association, the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association and the Schizophrenia Research Foundation. It is the largest donor-supported, non-governmental funder of psychiatric research in the world. Since 1987, NARSAD has raised more than $99 million and awarded grants to more than 1,200 scientists worldwide at over 160 research centers worldwide.

For more information, or to contact National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, see their website at: www.narsad.org