Dr. Daniel Geschwind Receives 2012 Ruane Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Autism Research
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation celebrated 25 years of Empowering Research for Productive Lives and honored eight extraordinary scientists at its Annual National Awards Dinner in New York City on October 26.
Daniel Geschwind, M.D., Ph.D., was one of two winners of the Ruane Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Child and Adolescent Research this year. Dr. Geschwind is the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Chair in Human Genetics and is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine. He is director of the Neurogenetics Program and the Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART) and co-director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics at UCLA. In addition to his fundamental quest to understand the genetic basis of human higher cognition, Dr. Geschwind is working to develop effective, targeted therapeutics for brain and behavior disorders such as autism. He and his team integrate basic neuroscience investigations with advanced technologies, such as computational and bioinformatics methods and systems biology to analyze gene expression data in the brain. Dr. Geschwind also provided the leadership that led to the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, a national resource for the study of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Dr. Geschwind, was selected through a peer-review process of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Scientific Council, a volunteer group of 138 pre-eminent mental health researchers. These annual prizes are amongst the most prestigious recognitions possible in psychiatric research.
