Daniel German Blazer (born February 23, 1944 in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

) is the J.P. Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at

Duke University School of Medicine The Duke University School of Medicine, commonly known as Duke Med, is the medical school of Duke University. It is located in the Collegiate Gothic-style West Campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The School of Medicine, along wit ...

Education

After graduating from Cohn High School in 1962, Blazer received his bachelor's degree from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1965. He later received his MD from the

University of Tennessee College of Medicine The University of Tennessee College of Medicine is one of six graduate schools of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in downtown Memphis. The oldest public medical school in Tennessee, the UT College of Medicine is a LCME ...

in 1969 and his MPH and PhD in

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1979 and 1980, respectively.

Career

Blazer joined Duke in 1976 as an assistant professor of psychiatry, where he became an associate professor in 1980 and a full professor in 1985. He became an adjunct professor of epidemiology at the

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is the public health school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and is accre ...

in 1986, and a professor of community and family medicine there in 1988. He became the J.P. Gibbons Professor of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine in 1990. He has served on three

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

boards, and was the chair of two of them. He has also been a member and the chair of the Institute of Medicine's Membership Committee.

Research

Blazer is known for researching the epidemiology of depression,

substance use disorder Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs (including alcohol) despite substantial harm and adverse consequences as a result of their use. Substance use disorders are characterized by an array of mental/emotional, physical, and ...

s, and the occurrence of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

among the elderly. He has also researched the differences in the rate of substance use disorders among races.

Honors and awards

Blazer was elected into the Institute of Medicine in 1995, and received their Distinguished Service Medal in 2014. He has also received the Distinguished Alumni Award at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health in 1989, the Rema LaPouse Award from the American Public Health Association in 2001, the First Annual Geriatric Psychiatry Research Award from the American College of Psychiatrists in 2004, the Kleemeier Award from the Gerontological Society of America, the Distinguished Faculty Award from Duke Medical School in 2005, and the

Oskar Pfister Award The Oskar Pfister Award was established by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), with the Association of Mental Health Clergy (now the Association of Professional Chaplains), in 1983 to honor those who have made significant contributions to ...

for the integration of religion and psychiatry from the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...

in 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blazer, Daniel German 1944 births Living people American psychiatrists Duke University School of Medicine faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine Vanderbilt University alumni University of Tennessee alumni UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health alumni People from Nashville, Tennessee