Mount Sinai Scientist Recognized for Outstanding Basic Research Contributions to Neuropsychopharmacology
Scott Russo, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Center for Affective Neuroscience within the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and The Friedman Brain Institute at Mount Sinai, has been awarded the 2019 Daniel H. Efron Research Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). The award is given in recognition of outstanding basic research contributions to neuropsychopharmacology, the study of the neural mechanisms by which drugs affect behavior. Dr. Russo was presented the award at the 58th Annual Meeting of the ACNP in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Russo is recognized internationally for his contributions to the understanding of neural and immunological mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. His translational studies of depression-like behaviors in rodent models have identified novel disease mechanisms in depressed humans. The Russo Lab at Mount Sinai uses a broad array of tools to gain insight into how the brain and body adapt to stress and how a failure in adaptation may result in pathological behaviors associated with depression and anxiety.
Over the past decade, Dr. Russo has made outstanding contributions to psychopharmacology and the molecular understanding of neuropsychiatric disease. He has received numerous honors and awards, which include the Johnson & Johnson/IMHRO Rising Star in Translational Research and being named a Kavil National Academy of Science Frontiers Fellow.
Dr. Russo is the latest in a long line of Mount Sinai winners of ACNP’s prestigious Efron Award, including:
- Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System
- Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System
- Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs and Director of The Friedman Brain Institute
- Joseph D. Buxbaum, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, and Neuroscience, and Director of The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment
- Paul J. Kenny, PhD, Ward-Coleman Professor and Chair of the Nash Family Department of Neuroscience
“This is testimony to the dominant role Mount Sinai has played in psychiatric neuroscience over a generation,” said Dr. Nestler. “Dr. Russo’s highly innovative and transformative research program is revealing fundamentally novel mechanisms of stress, depression, and resilience, and promises new treatments for several stress-related illnesses.”
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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