The Yale Department of Psychiatry presented its Research Advocacy Award to Jeremy Richman, PhD, and Jennifer Hensel, MS, co-founders of the Avielle Foundation in Newtown, at the department's annual neuroscience conference on May 7.
The Avielle Foundation was started by Richman and Hensel after their daughter, Avielle Rose Richman, was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on December 14, 2012. The foundation funds research that explores the underpinnings of the brain that lead to violent behaviors, and fosters the engagement of communities to apply those insights.
The award was given at "Neuroscience 2016: From Aggression to Recovery," the department's 25th annual neuroscience conference, held at Harkness Auditorium at the Yale School of Medicine.
Presenting the award to Richman and Hensel was John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Neuroscience, and Chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
The following faculty spoke at the conference:
- Marc N. Potenza, MD, PhD: "Impulsivity and Aggression"
- Deepak Cyril D'Souza, MD, MBBS: "Psychosis and Aggression"
- Alan Lewis, MD, PhD: "Dissecting Aggression in Mice: The Role of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors"
- Madelon Baranoski, PhD: "Aggression, Psychiatry, and the Law."
Also attending and making remarks were Marissa Walls, president of NAMI-CT, and Daryl McGraw, associate director of the Office of Recovery Community Affairs for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Christopher Pittenger, MD, PhD, was the conference organizer.