NEW YORK CITY --The
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation honored Beatrix
(Betty) A. Hamburg, M.D. and David A. Hamburg, M.D.
with The Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health for over six
decades of pioneering work in mental health. This international
Prize is given in recognition of individuals whose extraordinary
contribution has made a profound and lasting impact in advancing
the understanding of mental health and improving the lives of
people suffering from mental illness. The award was presented by
Herbert Pardes, M.D., President of the Foundation’s
Scientific Council and Executive Vice Chair of the Board of
Trustees at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, at the Foundation’s
28th Annual National Awards Dinner at the Pierre
Hotel. Over 300 people attended the event, which also honored
former First Lady Rosalynn Carter with an Honorary
Tribute for her tireless work in mental health advocacy.
The
$300,000 annual prize focuses public attention on the burden
mental illness places on individuals and society, and the urgent
need to expand mental health services globally. Established in
2014, The Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health was named
in honor of Dr. Herbert Pardes, a noted psychiatrist,
outspoken advocate for the mentally ill, and the
award’s first recipient.
The
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation raises funds to invest in
cutting-edge research to understand, treat, and, ultimately,
prevent and cure mental illness. Since 1987, it has
awarded over $340 million in NARSAD
Research Grants to more than 4,000 scientists around the world.
Funded through private contributions, the Foundation invests 100
percent of donor contributions directly into its
NARSAD Grants.
“It is a great honor to present The
Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health to Drs. David and
Betty Hamburg, who have blended their scientific knowledge,
understanding of human behavior and profound compassion into a
unique, humanistic vision,” said Dr. Pardes. “Their work has
transformed our view of mental illness and minimized its stigma.
They have taught us about the interconnections of all humans,
the importance of hope and compassion, and using our knowledge
toward the greater good for all humanity.”
“We are
deeply honored to receive the Pardes Humanitarian Prize from our
dear friend and colleague Herb Pardes,” said Dr. David Hamburg.
“It is especially meaningful for Betty and I to share this award
for our work together, a lifelong effort to understand how human
beings cope during the most difficult circumstances. This work
has ever greater urgency in today’s world of strife and
conflict.”
The Hamburg’s started their careers jointly
studying human coping processes under severe stress--from
physical stress to mental illness, severe depression, poverty
and war--after meeting at the Yale School of Medicine in 1948
where Betty Hamburg became its first African-American graduate.
David Hamburg set up the first Mental Health
Clinical Research Center at the National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH), and initiated a line of research on the role of
stress biology in severe mood disorders. As Chair of the
Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University, he created a
visionary, highly multidisciplinary department that became a
prototype for others across the nation.
The kidnapping of four Stanford students in rural
Congo brought him to the international scene and showcased his
unique skills in negotiating complex situations in
conflict.
His focus shifted to health and science policy as
he became the President of
the Institute of Medicine (IOM), followed by a
stint at Harvard University as Director of the Division of
Health Policy Research and Education, and then almost 15 years
as President of the Carnegie Corporation. More recently, he
chaired commissions for both the United Nations and the European
Union, and received the United States’ highest civilian award,
the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has authored many books,
including
As a clinician, researcher,
and leader, Betty Hamburg advanced
the field of adolescent psychiatry-- through groundbreaking work
on minority
populations,
early development and
adolescence, school-based
programs for
conflict
resolution
and violence
prevention.
As head of child psychiatry at
Stanford, she developed the concept of peer counseling, and
continued her work at Mt Sinai and Cornell University. She
helped influence public policy as President of the William T
Grant Foundation, a member of the President’s Commission on
Mental Health under President Carter, a member of the
IOM, and as co-author, with her husband, of Learning
to Live Together, teaching
children not to hate.
Guests in attendance at
the dinner included Foundation President and CEO
Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein; Constance and Stephen Lieber; Dr. Nancy
Wexler; Anne and Ronald Abramson; Milton and Tamar
Maltz; Suzanne and John Golden; J. Anthony and Raymonde Boeckh;
Dr. Jack Barchas; Jill and Sandy Sirulnick Sheri Wechsler;
Bonnie Lautenberg; former NFL Football player Keith
O’Neil; former FDA commissioner Dr.
Margaret Hamburg; Cannon Y.
Harvey, President and Chief Operating Officer at
Anschutz Company; Barbara Toll; Dr. Judith
L. Rapoport,
Chief of the Child Psychiatry Branch National Institute of Mental
Health; and
Dr. Helen Mayberg.
The dinner also honored
winners of the Foundation’s 2015
Outstanding Achievement Prizes, including the
Lieber Prize (Schizophrenia Research); the Colvin Prize
(Mood Disorders Research); the Ruane Prize (Child &
Adolescent Research); the Goldman-Rakic Prize (Cognitive
Neuroscience); and the Sidney R. Baer Jr. Prize
(Innovative and Promising Schizophrenia Research).
The recipients were
selected by the
Foundation’s
Scientific Council,
which comprises 162 leading experts
across disciplines in brain and behavior research, including two
Nobel laureates; four former directors of the NIMH; 13 members
of the National Academy of Sciences; 21 chairs of Psychiatry and
Neuroscience Departments at leading medical institutions; and 47
members of the Institute of Medicine.
They included Lieber Prize Winners
Robert Freedman, MD,
Colorado Psychiatric Hospital and University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center, and Patrick McGorry, MD, PhD, FRCP,
FRANCZP, University of Melbourne; Colvin Prize
Winners Michael Berk, MBBCh, MMed, FF (Psych) SA, PhD,
FRANCZP, Deakin University, and L. Trevor Young,
MD, PhD, FRCPC, University of Toronto; Ruane Prize winners
BJ Casey, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College and The
Rockefeller University, and Francisco Xavier Castellanos, MD,
NYU Langone Medical Center and the Nathan Kline Institute
for Psychiatric Research; Goldman-Racic Prize Winner Amy F.
T. Arnsten, PhD Yale University School of Medicine and the
Kavli Institute of Neuroscience at Yale; and Sidney R. Baer, Jr.
Prize winners M. Camille Hoffman, MD, MSCS, University of
Colorado School of Medicine and Denver Health Medical Center,
and Barnaby Nelson, PhD of Orygen, The National Centre
of Excellence in Youth Mental Health
and the University of Melbourne.
About the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
The Brain &
Behavior Research Foundation is committed to alleviating the
suffering of mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to
advances and breakthroughs in scientific research. The
Foundation funds the most innovative ideas in neuroscience and
psychiatry to better understand the causes and develop new ways
to treat brain and behavior disorders. These disorders include
depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism,
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, borderline
personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and
post-traumatic stress disorder. Since 1987, the Foundation has
awarded more than $340 million to fund more than 5,000 grants to
more than 4,000 leading scientists around the world. This has
led to over $3 billion in additional funding for these
scientists. The Foundation
is also dedicated to educating the public about mental health
and the importance of research including the impact that new
discoveries have on improving the lives of those with mental
illness, which will ultimately enable people to live full, happy
and productive lives. For more information, visit
www.bbrfoundation.org.