The International Society of Psychiatric Genetics (ISPG) has named David Glahn, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, the winner of the 2011 Theodore Reich Young Investigator Award.
ISPG noted that Dr. Glahn has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including his recent research of developing brain-related traits to help find genes that influence schizophrenia, bipolar disorder (manic depression), and major depression. These traits, which are often measures of brain structure and function or cognitive abilities, are being used to not only identify mental illness genes but also provide information on how these genes influence the brain to increase risk for these debilitating illnesses.
The award recognizes published work on psychiatric genetics that is of exceptional merit, and candidates will normally be 40 years old or younger in the year of their nomination. The honor is named after Theodore (Ted) Reich (1938-2003) who was the first President of the ISPG and was both an outstanding researcher and mentor to young scientists.
Dr. Glahn remarked, "I am particularly proud to have received this recognition as Theodore Reich was one of my scientific role models. Dr. Reich’s family studies in bipolar disorder were groundbreaking. In many ways, my work extends the paradigm outlined by people like Ted Reich, Irv Gottesman, Ming Tsuang and Elliot Gershon. It is an exciting time to work in psychiatric genetics."
The award will be presented to Dr. Glahn on Wednesday, September 14th at the 2011 World Congress of Psychiatric Genetics in Washington, DC. Following the award presentation, he will present a talk titled, "Using Endophenotypes for Gene Discovery: Applications in Affective Disorders."