Daniel R. Weinberger (born 1947) is a professor of psychiatry, neurology and neuroscience at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

and Director and CEO of the

Lieber Institute for Brain Development The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) is a nonprofit research center located in Baltimore, Maryland, that studies brain development issues such as schizophrenia and autism. The cause of most neuropsychiatric disorders remains unknown ...

, which opened in 2011.

Life

He is an alumnus of the

University of Pennsylvania Medical School The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

and completed two residencies, one in psychiatry at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

and another in neurology at George Washington University. In 1987, he transitioned from an NIMH research fellow under Richard Wyatt to Chief of the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch. In 1995, Weinberger became a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at George Washington University. In 2011, Weinberger became the CEO of the

in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2012, Weinberger became a professor of psychiatry, neurology and neuroscience at the McKusick- Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, and the

Work

Weinberger is most known for his work on identifying genetic factors and biochemical mechanisms in mental illness, and promoting research in these areas to further explain causes behind disorders such as

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. He is the original author of the landmark neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia (first published in The Neurology of Schizophrenia, Elsevier, 1986) and in the more cited reference, Arch Gen Psychiatry 1987, (the most cited publication 4100 citationsabout the biology of schizophrenia in Google Scholar). He is an expert in the neurobiological mechanisms of genetic risk for developmental brain disorders, such as the gene that codes for catecho-O-methyltransferase (

COMT Catechol-''O''-methyltransferase (COMT; ) is one of several enzymes that degrade catecholamines (neurotransmitters such as dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine), catecholestrogens, and various drugs and substances having a catechol structu ...

), the enzyme that breaks down the chemical messenger dopamine. Weinberger discovered that a tiny variation in this gene slightly increases risk for schizophrenia, a discovery which ''

Science Magazine ''Science'', also widely referred to as ''Science Magazine'', is the peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world's top academic journals. It was first published in 1880, ...

'' ranked as the second most important scientific breakthrough of 2003. In a later paper, he analyzed the activity of the gene

Neuregulin-1 Neuregulin 1, or NRG1, is a gene of the epidermal growth factor family that in humans is encoded by the ''NRG1'' gene. NRG1 is one of four proteins in the neuregulin family that act on the EGFR family of receptors. Neuregulin 1 is produced in num ...

in a large collection of brain samples from schizophrenic patients and found that the regulation of the gene contributes to schizophrenia. In a review in ''Neuron'', Weinberger wrote that individuals of African ancestry must be included in research for brain illnesses. In studies of brain disorders, individuals of African descent make up, on average, less than 5% of research cohorts. He has published over 800 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has written for ''The Hill'' and ''The New York Times''. He maintains columns on mental health at the ''Huffington Post'', Medium, and The Conversation.

Honors and awards

2019: Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the

National Academy 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, En ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weinberger, Daniel 1947 births Living people American neuroscientists Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni American psychiatrists Johns Hopkins University faculty George Washington University faculty Schizophrenia researchers Members of the National Academy of Medicine