William T. Carpenter
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William T. Carpenter is an American
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, a pioneer in the fields of psychiatry and
pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
who served as an expert witness in the
John W. Hinckley John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinc ...
trial for the attempted
assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of U.S. President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
.''APA DSM-V Task Force Member Disclosure Report, William T Carpenter, MD'', 5/2/2011, http://www.dsm5.org/MeetUs/Documents/Task%20Force%202011/Carpenter%204-28-11.pdf, accessed March 4, 2012.Schizophrenia: Seeking Solutions (Dr. William T. Carpenter, Jr. focusing on study of schizophrenia), ''Bulletin of the Medical Alumni Association of the University of Maryland, Inc.'', Spring, 2001, http://www.medicalalumni.org/bulletin/spring_2001/lead1.html, accessed March 4, 2012."Doctor Says Hinckley Sought Post-Life Union With Foster" in ''The'' alm Beach, Fla.''Post'', Saturday, May 15, 1982, p. A6, https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19820515&id=lQItAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iM0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1239,2218102, accessed March 4, 2012.The History Channel: ''The Plot to Kill Reagan'', aired Thursday, March 30th, 2012, at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-plot-to-kill-reagan-on-the-history-channelr-55457887.html, accessed March 4, 2012. His primary professional interest is in severe
mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, especially schizophrenia, to the prevention and treatment of which he has made significant contributions in
psychopathology Psychopathology is the study of abnormal cognition, behaviour, and experiences which differs according to social norms and rests upon a number of constructs that are deemed to be the social norm at any particular era. Biological psychopatholo ...
, assessment methodology, testing of new treatments, and
research ethics Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
.University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Profiles: ''William T Carpenter M.D.'', http://medschool.umaryland.edu/facultyresearchprofile/viewprofile.aspx?id=2266, accessed March 4, 2012.


Early life

Carpenter was raised in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, a farming community between Asheville and Charlotte, North Carolina. A standout athlete at Wofford College in South Carolina, Carpenter's abilities on the football field attracted the attention of the
Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
during his
senior year Senior Year may refer to: * Senior (education), the final year in high school or college * ''Senior Year'' (2010 film), the 2010 film by Filipino director Jerrold Tarog * ''Senior Year'' (2022 film), a film starring Rebel Wilson * The Lockheed U-2 ...
in 1957, and the team offered him an opportunity to play professional football on the same team as legendary quarterback
Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 ...
. After talking to his family and his
minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
, Carpenter turned them down. The next year, the Colts won the Western Conference championship and went on to defeat the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
in the first overtime game in National Football League history, often referred to as the " greatest game ever played". Carpenter went on to a career in medicine, devoting a 50-plus-year career to the understanding and treatment of severe mental illness.


Medical career

Carpenter obtained his M.D. degree from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. After an internship at the
North Carolina Baptist Hospital Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is an academic medical center and health system located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and part of Charlotte-based Atrium Health. It is the largest employer in Forsyth County, with more than 19,220 employee ...
, he took postgraduate training at the
University of Rochester Medical Center The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), now known as UR Medicine, is located in Rochester, New York, is one of the main campuses of the University of Rochester and comprises the university's primary medical education, research and pat ...
. He began his research career with the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program in 1966, using neuroendocrine strategies to study the psychobiology of
affective disorder Affect, in psychology, refers to the underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood. History The modern conception of affect developed in the 19th century with Wilhelm Wundt. The word comes from the German ''Gefühl'', meaning "feeling." ...
s. In 1966, Carpenter took a psychiatric researcher position at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Maryland, where he studied the psychobiology of
affective disorder Affect, in psychology, refers to the underlying experience of feeling, emotion or mood. History The modern conception of affect developed in the 19th century with Wilhelm Wundt. The word comes from the German ''Gefühl'', meaning "feeling." ...
s. Following that, he became a collaborating investigator in the World Health Organization's International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia. At the WHO study, Carpenter developed his interest in schizophrenia research, studying prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment outcomes. He continued his work at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Columbia University in New York City before joining the faculty of the
University of Maryland School of Medicine The University of Maryland School of Medicine (abbreviated UMSOM), located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S., is the medical school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Me ...
in 1977 as professor of psychiatry and director of the
Maryland Psychiatric Research Center The University of Maryland School of Medicine (abbreviated UMSOM), located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S., is the medical school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Univ ...
. Carpenter has served as Editor-in-Chief for '' Schizophrenia Bulletin'' and on the editorial boards of the ''
Archives of General Psychiatry ''JAMA Psychiatry'' (until 2013: ''Archives of General Psychiatry'') is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. It covers research in psychiatry, mental health, behavioral sciences, and related fields. ...
'', ''
Biological Psychiatry Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several uni ...
'', the '' Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease'', '' Neuropsychopharmacology'', ''
Psychiatry Research ''Psychiatry Research'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering psychiatry. It was established in 1979 and is published 21 times per year by Elsevier. A section of the journal, '' Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging'', covers the discipline of ...
'', '' Schizophrenia Bulletin'', ''
Schizophrenia Research ''Schizophrenia Research'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering research on the cause, clinical diagnostics, and treatment of schizophrenia. It is an official journal of the Schizophrenia International Research Society and was establishe ...
'', ''Current Psychiatry Reports'', and the CD-ROM version of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology publication ''Neuropsychopharmacology: Fourth Generation of Progress''. His special professional assignments include service on the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Intramural Research Program Board of Scientific Counselors and as a consultant and reviewer for NIMH and National Institutes of Health (NIH) on many topics. He has chaired the NIMH Research Scientist Career Development Committee and the NIMH National Plan Committee on Treatment Research and has been funded as principal investigator for NIMH center grants from 1986 to 2013. He is the only scientist to direct both an NIMH-funded Clinical Research Center (now Intervention Research Center) and an NIMH-funded Center for Neuroscience and Schizophrenia. He is a past-president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and participated in the founding of the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, for which he has chaired its scientific program committee.


Hinckley trial testimony

The trial of
John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...
for attempting to assassinate President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in 1981 and wounding the President, Press Secretary
James Brady James Scott Brady (August 29, 1940 – August 4, 2014) was an American public official who served as assistant to the U.S. president and the seventeenth White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. In 1981, Brady b ...
, a
U.S. Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
agent and a police officer brought Carpenter into the national spotlight. As the defense psychiatrist, Carpenter interviewed Hinckley for a total of 45 hours and took the stand at the trial to provide a compelling three days of testimony. Hinkley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Carpenter's testimony is credited with giving the field of psychiatry new credibility and increasing public awareness about severe mental illness.


Honors and awards

Carpenter has been the recipient of 23 national and international research awards, was elected in 1998 to the
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 ...
of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. and in 2019 received the SIRS Lifetime Achievement Award (Schizophrenia International Research Society) and the Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health (Brain and Behavior Research Foundation). In addition to the U.S. Government v. John Hinckley case, Carpenter has provided expert testimony in the 1997 murder trial of John E. DuPont, and in 1989 was a member of the
U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
delegation to inspect the political use of psychiatry in the Soviet Union. He has authored over 400 clinical and scientific articles, books, and book chapters, a select list of which can be viewed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Profiles website, and is in the top 0.5% of authors cited in his field.Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Research, formerly Thomson ISI, Institute for Scientific Information: ''The People Behind the World's Most Influential Research'', http://highlycited.com/names/C.html, accessed 4 Jul 2013.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, William T. American psychiatrists People from Rutherfordton, North Carolina Wofford College alumni Wake Forest University alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the National Academy of Medicine