Message From the Chair

Message From the Chair

The year 2022 was a productive and prolific one for our department. We launched the Center for Disease Neurogenomics—one of the few in the world with access to brain tissue and population-level datasets. Our Women’s Mental Health Center has expanded, investigating how infection and medication affect mental health during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as long-term behavioral outcomes.

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In addition, the Blau Center, established in 2021, hit the ground running with a study looking at 10 very rare genetic mutations associated with schizophrenia. We found 61 patients with these mutations through Mount Sinai’s BioMe™ biobank, and we have high hopes for subsequent insights into new treatment approaches.

These undertakings reflect the fundamental focus and strength of our department: We are in the people business. Our people are the patients who look to us for our diagnostic and treatment expertise. Our people are also the clinicians who deliver exceptional care to our patients, and the researchers who continually advance knowledge in our field. And our people are the new generation of psychiatrists and psychologists whom we train to set new standards of excellence in care and research.

We devoted our energies to delivering the best care possible, developing enhanced interventions, and conducting research that has the potential to be truly transformative.

René S. Kahn, MD, PhD

Finally, we devoted our energies to delivering the best care possible, developing enhanced interventions, and conducting research that has the potential to be truly transformative. We believe genetics holds the key to achieving successful interventions among patients. And we will continue to lead the effort to identify genes that are associated with an increased risk for psychiatric illnesses for the benefit of our patients.

As proud as we are of our achievements, we are even more excited about what we can accomplish next for the people we serve—with the support of the people who make our progress possible.

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René S. Kahn, MD, PhD

René S. Kahn, MD, PhD

Esther and Joseph Klingenstein Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health