Dr. Hyman’s research interest lies at the intersection of molecular neuroscience, molecular biology and psychiatry. He served as director of the NIMH from 1996 to 2001, where his efforts were aimed at bringing molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience and behavioral science to bear in integrated ways on the understanding of mental illness and mental health. He has received awards for public service from the federal government and from patient advocacy groups, and has lectured widely on genetics, brain and behavior and the stigma of mental illness.

Among his earlier posts at Harvard, Dr. Hyman was Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Psychiatry Research at Massachusetts General Hospital and Director of Harvard’s Interfaculty Initiative in Mind, Brain and Behavior. His laboratory focused on mechanisms by which the neurotransmitter dopamine produces long-term changes in brain function by regulating the expression of genes, research relevant to understanding addiction and how therapeutic psychotropic drugs produce their beneficial effects.