Dennis S. Charney, M.D.

Dean, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs

Dr. Charney's arrival at Mount Sinai signaled a new era of innovation in research, education, and clinical care. Since joining the faculty five years ago, Dr. Charney has established a culture of excellence that has elevated Mount Sinai School of Medicine — an institution founded in 1968 — to the distinction of being among one of the top medical schools in the nation. He has also accelerated the pace of change at Mount Sinai by emphasizing translational research, intensifying collaboration across disciplines, and further integrating research, clinical, and educational initiatives. These efforts have produced remarkable results. Mount Sinai School of Medicine now ranks 18th in National Institutes of Health funding — an increase from 25th in 2004 — and is ranked 22nd according to the most recent US News & World Report rankings, a 10-point increase from four years ago. No other medical school in America has achieved this degree of improvement in such a brief period. Dr. Charney has also spearheaded the School of Medicine’s Strategic Plan, which includes the creation of 12 interdisciplinary clinical and basic science translational research institutes.

A leading investigator on neurobiology and the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, Dr. Charney continues to maintain an active research program and has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of neural circuits and neurochemistry related to human anxiety, fear, and mood. He has pioneered research related to the psychobiological mechanisms of human resilience to stress. In addition, his research group has made major contributions to the discovery of novel and more effective treatments for mood and anxiety disorders.

Dr. Charney's distinguished careers in academia and research span more than three decades. Dr. Charney's academic career began at Yale University School of Medicine in 1981, where, within nine years, he rose from Assistant Professor to Professor of Psychiatry, a position he held from 1990 to 2000. While at Yale, Dr. Charney chaired the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Board of Scientific Counselors, which advises the Director about the Institute’s intramural research programs. After nearly two decades at Yale, Dr. Charney was recruited to the NIMH in Bethesda, Maryland, where he led both the Mood and Anxiety Disorder Research Program — one of the largest programs of its kind in the world — and the Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch.

The year Dr. Charney joined NIMH was also the year he was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Charney remained at NIMH until he was recruited to Mount Sinai in 2004 as Dean of Research. Two years later, Dr. Charney was appointed Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs for Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences of The Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2006. In 2007, Dr. Charney became the Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of the Medical Center. The following year, he was named the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

A prolific author, Dr. Charney has written more than 700 publications, including groundbreaking scientific papers, chapters, and books. He has authored a dozen books, including Neurobiology of Mental Illness (Oxford University Press, USA, Second Edition, 2004); The Peace of Mind Prescription: An Authoritative Guide to Finding the Most Effective Treatment for Anxiety and Depression (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004); and The Physicians Guide to Depression and Bipolar Disorders (McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006). In 2009, Dr. Charney will publish his thirteenth book, which addresses emotional resilience. An award-winning scientist, Dr. Charney's research has been honored by every major award in his field.