Rickels Chair in Psychiatry: Raquel Gur

Dr. Raquel Gur, professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine, has been appointed the Karl and Linda Rickels Professor in Psychiatry.

"I'm delighted to be honored in this way," Dr. Gur said. "This appointment recognizes the significance of biological studies in the field of psychiatry, emphasizing the importance of this field of research at a crucial time in our exploration of how the brain works."

Dr. Gur is Director of the Neuropsychiatry Program and Principal Investigator for Penn's Conte Center for Neuroscience and Mental Disorders, which is funded by the National Institutes for Mental Health. In addition, she heads the clinical Schizophrenia Unit of the Penn Health System.

An established expert in schizophrenia and gender differences in the brain, Dr. Gur will hold the Karl and Linda Rickels Chair for 10 years.

The chair Dr. Gur assumes is named for Dr. Karl Rickels, who is also a Penn psychiatrist, and his wife, Linda. Dr. Rickels holds the Stuart and Emily Mudd Professor of Human Behavior and Reproduction Chair (Almanac January 25, 1977). He has endowed two academic chairs in psychiatry at Penn (Almanac October 5, 1999). The first chair, named for his father, is held by Dr. Wade Berrettini (Almanac October 5, 1999).

"I have known Dr. Gur since she came to Penn as a resident (physician), and I've always been impressed by her clinical acumen, the warmth of her personality, and the thoroughness of her research," Dr. Rickels said. "Dr. Gur has earned international recognition for her work, and she is truly a person that I would like to see younger scientists emulate."

Dr. Gur attended Hebrew University of Jerusalem in her native Israel prior to moving to Michigan State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in science and went on to obtain her doctorate in psychology. She also spent a year working on a predoctoral fellowship at Stanford University. She came to Penn as a postdoctoral fellow in psychology in 1974, and stayed to earn her medical degree in 1980 from the School of Medicine.

Dr. Gur is a member of many societies including the Institute of Medicine, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and serves on committees including the International Congress of Schizophrenia Research, and the Research Planning Neuroscience Work Group of the American Psychiatric Association/National Institutes of Mental Health.

She is also an editor and member of the editorial boards of 10 prestigious scientific journals. Her editorial positions include: associate editor of the Schizophrenia Bulletin, field editor for Neuropsychopharmacology, and Editorial Board member of The American Journal of Psychiatry. In addition, Dr. Gur has been on academic committees at Penn, including the Committee on Appointments and Promotion, the Academic Review Committee and the Research Coordinating Council, which are all part of the School of Medicine.