The American Psychological Foundation has awarded its Alexander Gralnick Research Investigator Prize to Deanna Barch, chair of psychological and brain sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Barch is also vice dean of research in Arts & Sciences, as well as the Gregory B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry and a professor of radiology at the School of Medicine.
The prize includes a $20,000 grant to support "exceptional individuals working in the area of serious mental illness," according to the APF website.
Using functional MRI, structural MRI and cognitive neuroscience methods, Barch researches the interplay among cognition, emotion and brain function to better understand the deficits in behavior and cognition found in illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. She also focuses on how early adversity, such as poverty and disparities in health-care access, shapes early brain development and risk for mental health challenges.
The American Psychological Foundation is a grant-making philanthropic organization affiliated with the American Psychological Association. The prize honors the late Gralnick, MD, and reflects the breadth of his accomplishments and contributions in the field of serious mental illness.
