NARSAD presents 2007 prizes for outstanding achievement in neuroscience and psychiatri...(nvestigations of the mechanisms underlyi...)

Jack D. Barchas, M.D., chair of NARSADs Goldman-Rakic Prize Selection Committee, commented: "Huda Akil has made exceptional contributions to cognitive and systems neuroscience by powerfully advancing our knowledge of the neurobiology of emotions including pain, anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Through her own work and her efforts with colleagues, including her brilliant collaboration with Stanley Watson, she has unraveled key aspects of the role and function of endorphin systems, provided new understanding of stress systems, and undertaken genetic studies that are key to research on mental illness. "

• The Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Prize for Schizophrenia Research: Jeremy Hall, M.D., Ph.D., is a Medical Research Council Fellow and Honorary Specialist Registrar in Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Hall was selected for the Baer Prize by Dr. Johnstone, this years Lieber Prize recipient. Dr. Halls work focuses on the effect of genetic factors on brain structure and function causing risk for major mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. Since 2006, he has been studying genetic factors influencing cognitive function in major mental disorders. This work integrates genetics, neuroimaging and neuropsychology.

(Additional background on the prize recipients is available on request.)

All of the researchers we honor in 2007 have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to research and devised outstanding approaches that are significantly enhancing our understanding and treatment of an area of human illness more devastating than any other, said Herbert Pardes, M.D., president and chief executive officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, who serves as president of NARSAD
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