National Academy Honors Pioneer in Psychiatric Research
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced that Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg, the Kenneth T. Norris Jr. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, was selected as the recipient of the 2025 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health.
The international award, which includes a medal and a $20,000 cash prize, recognizes Dr. Schatzberg for his foundational research advancing the scientific understanding and clinical treatment of mood disorders, with a specific focus on biological mechanisms and psychopharmacology. The formal award presentation was held during the National Academy of Medicine's annual meeting.
Dr. Schatzberg currently serves as director of the Stanford Mood Disorders Center, where his multi-decade academic career has focused on investigating major depressive disorder and biological markers underlying severe depression.
Breakthrough Contributions to Biological Psychiatry
Dr. Schatzberg's research achievements encompass clinical and translational breakthroughs that have reshaped standard psychiatric care globally. Among his key scientific contributions is his work on the role of hypercortisolism in psychotic depression and the development of targeted therapeutic protocols.
Additionally, Dr. Schatzberg contributed to establishing brain stimulation therapies for treatment-resistant depression and led research uncovering the role of mu opioid receptor activity in mediating the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine.
National Academy of Medicine President Victor J. Dzau commended Dr. Schatzberg's impact on clinical medicine:
"Few researchers have contributed as broadly to the field of mental health as Alan Schatzberg, from developing new clinical treatments that improve patients' lives to advancing our fundamental understanding of depressive disorders."
Mentorship and Professional Leadership
In addition to his empirical clinical research, Dr. Schatzberg is a prominent author and educator in psychiatric medicine. He authored the Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology, a textbook currently in its tenth edition and translated into more than 10 languages for medical training programs worldwide.
For over three decades, Dr. Schatzberg directed a fellowship training program funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and co-directed an NIMH career development institute that together have trained more than 300 clinical fellows and early-career translational researchers.
Dr. Schatzberg previously served as president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the American Psychiatric Association, and the Society of Biological Psychiatry. He was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine in 2003.