(PHILADELPHIA) - The Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania announces the establishment of the Neuroscience of Behavior Initiative. This new initiative, funded by an anonymous gift, will strengthen Penn programs in basic, translational, clinical, and population research into the areas of addiction, depressive disorders, and neurodegenerative disease. The gift, totaling more than $16.3 million, is the largest to neuroscience at Penn Medicine, and among the largest individual gifts to medical research in the U.S. in 2011. The gift is the first phase of what is anticipated to be a long-term investment by the donors in this initiative.
"Only by uniting physicians, scientists, educators, and policymakers, will we better understand and eventually conquer neurologic disease," said University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, PhD. "With this generous gift, Penn will assemble the world’s foremost experts from a variety of disciplines. These teams will work to move breakthrough therapies from the lab bench to the hospital bedside to benefit patients and their families.”
The Neuroscience of Behavior Initiative will advance previous groundbreaking work in mental and neurological research and care at Penn Medicine. The goal of this interdisciplinary effort is to develop new science, and to translate existing science into improved clinical care for patients.
The new initiative will be led by Brian Strom, MD, MPH, chair and professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Penn, and vice dean for Institutional Affairs. Dr. Strom is a world-renowned epidemiologist, as well as an expert in preventive medicine and public health. He has made many significant contributions as a researcher and clinician in applying epidemiologic methods to the study of drug use and effects.
"Addiction,depressive disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases take a toll not only on sufferers themselves, but also on families, caregivers, and society as a whole. Prevention, treatment, management, and rehabilitation of these conditions are central to improving health care for millions of people," said Dr. Strom. "This gift represents an enormous opportunity and will enable us to apply ideas emerging in the study of effective interventions and treatments in a way that will benefit not only our patients, but the community as well."
Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, said, "Penn Medicine has a long history of leadership in the fields of neuroscience and psychiatry. Today, Penn is one of the few places in the world with the depth of expertise and experience to launch such a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and outcomes-oriented program. This transformative gift will allow us to innovate in areas of medicine that impact millions of patients directly and society as a whole."
As part of the nation's first school of medicine, established in 1765, Penn Medicine has a rich history in the area of innovation and patient care for mental and neurologic health. Benjamin Rush, the first chair of Chemistry in America, and one of the earliest teachers in the nation's first medical school, was the world's leading expert on mental diseases in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. For his clinical work and scholarship, Rush is recognized as the Father of American Psychiatry.
Today, Penn continues to define the future of the field through advances in research, clinical care, education, and public outreach. Penn Medicine researchers have been instrumental in the development of many clinically effective treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Prolonged Exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), naltrexone for addiction, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for depression, and the first new medication for depression in a decade. Penn researchers have also evolved the field's understanding of neurodegenerative diseases - including the landmark discoveries of key proteins in the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases, leading development of biomarkers for earlier disease diagnoses in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease - and are spearheading the genetic and drug discovery efforts to combat Alzheimer's disease.
###
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 17 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2013 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2013, Penn Medicine provided $814 million to benefit our community.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.