2017 Women Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness NY Luncheon

A Conversation Between Ellen Levine, Dr. Dolores Malaspina & Dr. Myrna Weissman

Ellen Levine, a longtime Hearst editor and innovator, led a wide-ranging conversation with pioneering mental health researchers Dolores Malaspina, M.D. (schizophrenia) and Myrna Weissman, Ph.D. (mood and anxiety disorders) before a sold-out audience of 300 at the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s third “Women Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness” luncheon at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan.

The event, co-chaired by board members Suzanne Golden, Carole Mallement and Barbara Streicker raised more than $250,000 to help the Foundation—the top non-governmental funder of mental health research grants—to support its Young Investigator Research program and accomplish its mission to alleviate the suffering caused by mental illness by funding research that will lead to better diagnosis and treatments.

“Our luncheon, which featured a conversation between Ellen Levine, who has done so much to help the public understand mental illness, and Drs. Malaspina and Weissman, pioneering researchers in mental health, showcases the vital collaboration between generous donors and scientists that has enabled the Foundation to fund the most innovative research in neuroscience and psychiatry,” says Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO of the Foundation, who notes that 100 percent of every dollar raised for research—all from private donations—goes to support research grants.

Event Details

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Reception: 11:00 a.m.

Luncheon: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

METROPOLITAN CLUB NEW YORK

One East 60th Street

New York, NY 10022

Business attire: Jackets and ties required for gentlemen

Presented by

Dolores Malaspina, M.D., M.S., MSPH

Director, Psychosis Program

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

2007 Distinguished Investigator Grant

2001 Independent Investigator Grant

1995, 1993 Young Investigator Grant

Dr. Dolores Malaspina is Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology in the Mount Sinai Medical Schools Institute for translational medicine.

She trained in psychiatry and launched her career at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, becoming the director of Clinical Neurobiology and launching the “Schizophrenia Research Unit” (SRU) and high-risk program with Cheryl Corcoran (COPE) before becoming chairman of Psychiatry at New York University and the Bellevue Hospital Center. She founded and directed the multidisciplinary “Institute for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives” (InSPIRES) to study the heterogeneous underpinnings of psychosis and train beginning investigators before joining Mount Sinai as the Director of Psychosis Research and treatment.

Her education in environmental biology (Boston U), zoology (Rutgers U) and epidemiology ( Columbia U), along with medical, psychiatry and research training established the framework for her research approach which spans persons, populations, animal models.

She has made novel contributions to psychiatry. She first proposed and demonstrated large effects of advancing paternal age on the risk for schizophrenia, now recognized as the source of rare gene variants in genetic architecture.

Her work on the gut-brain-axis and hippocampal inflammation was the first NIMH grant funded for microbiome research in mental illness and will be discussed.

In addition her group is examining the underpinnings of late onset schizophrenia and worsening depression in menopausal women in another NIMH grant to Julie Spicer, her prior mentee. She has had continuous NIMH funding for 35 years, published 500 papers and received awards for research, clinical care and mentoring.

Myrna M. Weissman, Ph.D.

Diane Goldman Kemper Family Professor of Epidemiology (in Psychiatry)

Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University

Scientific Council Member (Joined 2013)

2005, 2000, 1991 Distinguished Investigator Grant

1994 Selo Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Depression Research (Colvin Prize)

Dr. Weissman’s research is focused on understanding the rates and risks of mood and anxiety disorders using methods of epidemiology, genetics, neuroimaging, and the application of these findings to develop and test observation-based treatments and preventive interventions. She directs a three-generation study of families at high and low risk for depression who have been clinically studied for over 30 years. Dr. Weissman is a member of the Foundation’s Scientific Council, a three-time Distinguished Investigator Grantee, and member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Meet the Scientist Webinar: Depression in Families

Moderated by

Read Full Bio

Ellen Levine

Hearst

Ellen Levine is responsible for strengthening and developing current titles, both domestically and internationally, and evaluating opportunities for brand extensions, digital media and books. Levine made publishing history in October 1994 as the first woman to be named editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping. She was instrumental in launching O, The Oprah Magazine, Food Network Magazine, HGTV Magazine, and Dr. Oz The Good Life. All four of these rank in the top ten monthly magazines in the US. In 2017, she launched The Pioneer Woman Magazine which profiles Ree Drummond, an award-winning American blogger and TV personality. Levine also served as editor-in-chief of Redbook and Woman’s Day. She is the author of numerous books and articles, and her work has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times.