WILMINGTON, Del., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and AstraZeneca today announced the winners of their prestigious “Young Minds in Psychiatry” awards program. Now in its fourth year, the award recognizes excellence in research and provides support for the development of future leaders in the field of psychiatry research from around the world. The award presentations took place at the APA’s 159th Annual Meeting during the Early Research Career Breakfast meeting, where it was also announced that submissions are now being welcomed for the 2006 awards program.
“These Young Minds in Psychiatry awards have already made a big difference in helping to energize promising research careers,” commented Darrel A. Regier, M.D., MPH, Director of the Division of Research at the American Psychiatric Association, and Executive Director of the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education (APIRE). “This has been a very productive partnership between APA and AstraZeneca, and is helping to stimulate new research that can lead to breakthroughs in psychiatry’s most intractable conditions.”
The 2005 Awards Program attracted 34 submissions from around the world that were reviewed by a panel of acclaimed psychiatry experts. Submissions were reviewed based on the strength of each proposal, the future potential of the candidates, and their career advancement prospects.
Six winners were selected across two research categories: schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A winner from both the United States and the international community (Brazil, Turkey, Uganda and UK) was selected in each category for the importance and value of their research proposal, each receiving a career development award of $45,000.
The 2005 Young Minds in Psychiatry Award Winners are Catherine Abbo, M.D., Uganda (schizophrenia); R. Andrew Chambers, M.D., United States (schizophrenia); E. Serap Monkul, M.D., Turkey (bipolar disorder); Sheila C. Caetano, M.D., Brazil (bipolar disorder); Falk Lohoff, M.D., United States (bipolar disorder); Paola Dazzan, M.D., United Kingdom (schizophrenia).
Dr. Abbo’s award will enable her to pursue an interest in the field of transcultural psychiatry. Her specific focus is the unexplored relationship between traditional African healing practices and schizophrenia. Her ultimate objective is the creation of a transcultural psychiatry unit at Butabika Psychiatric Hospital in Uganda where she currently heads the forensic unit.
Dr. Chambers will use his Young Minds award to further his research at the University of Indiana School of Medicine into the underlying neural mechanisms that predispose an individual to substance abuse. In particular, Dr. Chambers is focusing on the role of adolescent neurodevelopment in these processes, including frontal cortical neuronal morphology in animal models of schizophrenia.
Dr. Monkul received her psychiatric training in Ankara, Turkey. With her Young Minds award, Dr. Monkul will continue her exploration of brain changes linked to bipolar disorder at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She is also engaged in a number of projects linking the biology and psychology of mood disorders.
Dr. Caetano has studied neurochemical abnormalities in both children and adolescents who suffer from major depression. She has pursued her studies in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she earned both a medical degree and a doctorate. With the Young Minds award, Dr. Caetano will be able to carry out a new analysis of children and adolescents with ADHD and bipolar disorder.
Dr. Lohoff, who completed his psychiatric residency at the University of Pennsylvania, will use his Young Minds grant to probe the genetic origins of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, specifically to try and identify those at risk. His current work is aimed at finding a transporter gene that confers susceptibility for both diseases.
Dr. Dazzan is a lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, but she earned her medical degree in Italy. She developed an interest in neuroimaging while she was a fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Dazzan will use the Young Minds award to continue on this path as she studies the effect of antipsychotics on brain structure as well as structural changes in the brain following the first psychotic disorder.
The 2006 “Young Minds in Psychiatry” awards program was also launched today at the APA meeting. Researchers who are within five years of completing a psychiatric residency can apply for the award by submitting a proposal of scientific merit that demonstrates academic promise and explaining how winning an award will further their career.
Jamie Mullen, M.D., Senior Director of Clinical Research at AstraZeneca said: “The Young Minds Awards address a critical need in psychiatry - the international shortage of promising researchers undertaking the two major challenges of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We believe these promising medical scholars will make a significant contribution to enhancing the science of the mind in the years to come. AstraZeneca is proud to have supported the program for four years, as it has grown and flourished.”
Application forms can be found via: http://youngminds.astrazeneca.com.
ABOUT YOUNG MINDS IN PSYCHIATRY INTERNATIONAL AWARDS PROGRAM
Young Minds in Psychiatry is a joint initiative between AstraZeneca and the American Psychiatric Association which has been running since 2002. Since then, 19 young researchers have been awarded research grants. The following distinguished, independent steering committee is responsible for reviewing proposals and advising on those to be funded.
United States Review Committee Robert N. Golden, M.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Stephen R. Marder, M.D. UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute Jerrold F. Rosenbaum, M.D. Massachusetts General Hospital Alan F. Schatzberg, M.D. Stanford University School of Medicine S. Charles Schulz, M.D. University of Minnesota International Review Committee Gerhard Heinze, M.D. Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatria Ramon de la Fuente Dilip V. Jeste, M.D. University of California-San Diego Valery N. Krasnov, M.D. Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry Sing Lee, FRCPsych Prince of Wales Hospital, Department of Psychiatry Alan F. Schatzburg, M.D. Stanford University School of Medicine Michele Tansella, M.D. University of Verona About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 36,000 physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.healthyminds.org.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $23.95 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $10.77 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.
AstraZeneca
CONTACT: AstraZeneca, USA, Lynn Gionta, +1-302-885-5672, orlynn.gionta@astrazeneca.com, or Jim Minnick, +1-302-886-5135, orjim.minnick@astrazeneca.com; or AstraZeneca, International, James Read,+1-302-885-9944, or james.read@astrazeneca.com; or American PsychiatricAssociation, Office of Communications and Public Affairs, +1-416-585-3500(onsite in Toronto), or press@psych.org
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