News Release: School of Medicine
Oct. 14, 2008
Institute of Medicine Elects Emory University School of Medicine Faculty Member
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has elected Emory University School of Medicine Professor Helen S. Mayberg, MD, to its 2008 class of 65 new members. This election brings Emory's total IOM membership to 22.
Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. Members are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health.
"I am pleased, honored and excited to be elected as a new member of the Institute of Medicine," says Dr. Mayberg who is a professor in the departments of psychiatry and neurology at Emory University School of Medicine. "The IOM is an exceptional organization, and I look forward to participating in activities that will advance public dialogue related to the clinical neurosciences."
Over the last 20 years Mayberg has done research on depression using neuroimaging to focus on neural network models of mood regulation in health and disease. Her work has led to a study testing deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subcallosal cingulate region (Cg25) of the brain. A recent study on DBS in Cg25 conducted by Mayberg in collaboration with researchers at the University of Toronto showed improvement in depressive symptoms of study patients with treatment resistant depression. Mayberg is continuing an expanded version of this study at Emory that includes patients with bipolar disorder.
"Dr. Mayberg has been an exemplary addition to the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, especially to the neurosciences program," says Fred Sanfilippo, MD, PhD, Emory executive vice president for health affairs, and CEO of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.
"Dr. Mayberg's election to the Institute of Medicine and her groundbreaking research is an example of the quality of exceptional scientists and their superb research programs here at Emory. The talent and dedication of researchers such as Dr. Mayberg, and the ability to translate that research from the bench to the bedside, moves us forward in our mission to make valuable contributions to the health and well-being of our nation and the world."
Mayberg is a Board Certified Neurologist, trained at Columbia's Neurological Institute in New York, with fellowship training in nuclear medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She received a BA in psychobiology from UCLA and her medical degree from the University of Southern California. She has held previous academic appointments in neurology, psychiatry and radiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio and the University of Toronto, where she was also the first Sandra Rotman Chair in Neuropsychiatry.
In 2007, Mayberg was awarded the Falcone Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research, a prestigious award presented to scientists of great achievement by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD).
"Dr. Mayberg's journey toward unlocking the mysteries of depression and her sincere concern for individuals who suffer with mental illness make her one of the most dedicated neuroscientists in the world," says Thomas J. Lawley, MD, dean of Emory's School of Medicine. "Her depth of knowledge in the field of neuropsychiatry has earned the respect of her peers, her students and her colleagues at Emory. She is very deserving of this great honor."
Mayberg is currently a member of the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Advisory Council, the American Neurological Association Council and the Scientific Advisory Board for NARSAD. She has served on the Clinical Neuroscience and Biological Psychopathology and the Brain Disorders and Clinical Neuroscience Study Sections at the National Institutes of Health.
She is active in the Society for Neuroscience, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Soci ety of Biological Psychiatry and the Organization for Human Brain Mapping. Her research program has ongoing funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Canadian Institute for Health Research, NARSAD, the Stanley Medical Research Institute, the Dana Foundation and the Woodruff Fund.
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The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University is an academic health science and service center focused on missions of teaching, research, health care and public service. Its components include schools of medicine, nursing, and public health; Yerkes National Primate Research Center; the Emory Winship Cancer Institute; and Emory Healthcare, the largest, most comprehensive health system in Georgia. The Woodruff Health Sciences Center has a $2.3 billion budget, 17,000 employees, 2,300 full-time and 1,900 affiliated faculty, 4,300 students and trainees, and a $4.9 billion economic impact on metro Atlanta.
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