Appointment Honors Her Research in the Biological Factors
of Schizophrenia
(Philadelphia,
PA) -- Raquel Gur, MD, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry
at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
has been appointed the Karl and Linda Rickels Professor
in Psychiatry.
"I'm delighted to be honored in this way,"
Gur said. "This appointment recognizes the significance
of biological studies in the field of psychiatry, emphasizing
the importance of this field of research at a crucial
time in our exploration of how the brain works."
Gur is Director of the Neuropsychiatry Program and Principal
Investigator for Penn's Conte Center for Neuroscience
and Mental Disorders, which is funded by the National
Institutes for Mental Health. In addition, she heads
the clinical Schizophrenia Unit of the Penn Health System.
An established expert in schizophrenia and gender differences
in the brain, Gur will hold the Karl and Linda Rickels
Chair for 10 years. She was selected by a search committee
appointed by Dwight L. Evans, MD, Chair of the
Department of Psychiatry.
The chair Gur assumes is named for Karl Rickels,
MD, who is also a Penn psychiatrist, and his wife,
Linda. Rickels holds the Stuart and Emily Mudd Professor
of Human Behavior and Reproduction Chair. He has endowed
two academic chairs in Psychiatry at Penn. The first
chair, named for his father, is held by Wade Berrettini,
MP, PhD.
"I have known Dr. Gur since she came to Penn as
a resident (physician), and I've always been impressed
by her clinical acumen, the warmth of her personality,
and the thoroughness of her research," Rickels
said. "Dr. Gur has earned international recognition
for her work, and she is truly a person that I would
like to see younger scientists emulate."
Gur attended Hebrew University of Jerusalem in her native
Israel prior to moving to Michigan State University,
where she earned her undergraduate degree in science
and went on to obtain her doctorate in psychology. She
also spent a year working on a predoctoral fellowship
at Stanford University. She came to Penn as a postdoctoral
fellow in psychology in 1974, and stayed to earn her
medical degree in 1980 from Penn's School of Medicine.
Gur is a member of many societies including the Institute
of Medicine, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology,
and serves on committees including the International
Congress of Schizophrenia Research, and the Research
Planning Neuroscience Work Group of the American Psychiatric
Association/National Institutes of Mental Health.
She is also an editor or member of the editorial boards
of 10 prestigious scientific journals. Her editorial
positions include: Associate Editor of the Schizophrenia
Bulletin; Field Editor for Neuropsychopharmacology,
and Editorial Board member of The American Journal
of Psychiatry. In addition, Gur has been on academic
committees at Penn, including the Committee on Appointments
and Promotion, the Academic Review Committee and the
Research Coordinating Council, which are all part of
the School of Medicine.
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