(New York, NY – March 25, 2009) Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, neuroscientist, molecular biologist, and psychiatrist, has been elected President of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). Dr. Nestler will serve a one-year term as President-elect beginning in December 2009, and will serve as President beginning in December 2010.

Dr. Nestler is the Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience, Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience, and Director of the Brain Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of addiction and depression. Dr. Nestler uses animal models of these disorders to identify the ways in which drugs or stress structurally alter the brain, leading to molecular scarring and an increased risk for addiction and depression. Once these mechanisms are mapped out, treatments can be developed to block certain molecular pathways or interfere with particular molecular processes in order to reduce the risk of addiction and depression.

At the Mount Sinai Brain Institute, a multidisciplinary hub that integrates basic and clinical research, addiction and depression are part of the three major areas of investigation that are currently being pursued: Neural Injury and Repair, Cognition, and Neuropsychiatry. The Brain Institute’s work spans basic molecular and genetic research of nervous system disorders, from animal models to investigations of human populations in the clinic. New knowledge from animal studies drives clinical investigations, while new insight from clinical studies helps guide more basic exploration into the underlying mechanisms involved. This uniquely broad-based approach requires coordination across numerous departments at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, including neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, pharmacology, rehabilitative medicine, among others.

"Dr. Nestler has been elected by his peers to lead this prestigious, professional society that is dedicated to the work he conducts at Mount Sinai every day. We are proud that Dr. Nestler will lead the ACNP and will continue their mission of expanding and advancing treatments in the Neuropsychopharmacology field," said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at The Mount Sinai Medical Center.

"The ACNP is the premier professional society in brain, behavior, and psychopharmacology research in the United States. With Dr. Nestler leading the way, the ACNP will continue to achieve its goals of advancing research and education in this complex field," said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. Both Dr. Davis and Dr. Charney have served as past Presidents of the ACNP.

Dr. Nestler has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, on the National Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institute of Mental Health, and as Council member of the ACNP and of the Society for Neuroscience. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression and of the Dana Foundation Brain Alliance. Dr. Nestler was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1998 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005.

Dr. Nestler received his B.A., Ph.D., and M.D. degrees from Yale University, and completed his residency training in psychiatry at McLean Hospital and Yale in 1987. He then served on the Yale faculty from 1987-2000 where he was the Director of the Division of Molecular Psychiatry, and was Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas from 2000 to 2008, before joining Mount Sinai in 2008.

About The Mount Sinai Medical Center
The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical Center.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic-science research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants.

About The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
ACNP, founded in 1961, is a professional organization of more than 800 leading scientists, including three Nobel Laureates. The mission of ACNP is to further research and education in neuropsychopharmacology and related fields in the following ways: promoting the interaction of a broad range of scientific disciplines of brain and behavior in order to advance the understanding of prevention and treatment of disease of the nervous system including psychiatric, neurological, behavioral and addictive disorders; encouraging scientists to enter research careers in fields related to these disorders and their treatment; and ensuring the dissemination of relevant scientific advances.