A powerhouse scientist-Nancy Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D., the chair of psychiatry at the University of Iowa School of Medicine in Iowa City and editor-in-chief of the APA's American Journal of Psychiatry-has received a National Medal of Science from the President of the United States.

The award was given at a White House ceremony on December 1. A National Medal was also bestowed on 11 other scientists in addition to Andreasen.

"These exceptional scientists and engineers," President Bill Clinton said, "have transformed our world and enhanced our daily lives. Their imagination and ingenuity will continue to inspire future generations of American scientists to remain at the cutting edge of scientific discovery and technological innovation."

"We congratulate Dr. Andreasen for her award and salute her for her continuing contributions to the science behind psychiatry and increased public understanding of mental illnesses and brain diseases," said APA President Daniel Borenstein, M.D.

"This is one of the highest honors any physician scientist can achieve," said University of Iowa President Mary Sue Coleman, who nominated Andreasen for the National Medal. "Not only is this a momentous achievement for Dr. Andreasen personally, but it is also a great honor for the University of Iowa. It certainly reinforces our belief that we have a faculty that is of the highest caliber."

"This award is truly well deserved," said Robert Kelch, M.D., dean of the University of Iowa College of Medicine. "Dr. Andreasen has a long track record of leadership and innovation in the study of mental illness and has made numerous contributions to our understanding of these disorders."

"Another impressive aspect about Dr. Andreasen is her compassion," added R. Edward Howell, CEO and director of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. "She cares deeply about her patients and is widely known for the outstanding health care she provides to people diagnosed with mental disorders."

As Andreasen told Psychiatric News, "It is especially wonderful to receive the National Medal of Science this year, which makes 2000 a great year for psychiatry, because it is also the year when Arvid Carlsson, Paul Greengard, and Eric Kandel have received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. All three have made major contributions to psychiatry, which demonstrates the solid scientific foundations upon which modern psychiatry stands."

Andreasen garnered the National Medal of Science for research contributions where she joined behavioral science with neuroscience and neuroimaging technologies, a press release from the National Science Foundation stated. Specifically, Bill Noxon, a spokesperson for the National Science Foundation, told Psychiatric News that she was one of the earliest researchers to demonstrate brain abnormalities in people with schizophrenia and mood disorders; she was the first to show a relationship between bipolar illness and creativity; she was one of the pioneers in the use of neuroimaging techniques to study mental illness; she was the first to use magnetic resonance imaging to show that patients with schizophrenia have frontal lobe abnormalities that are decreased in cerebral size, which she said were due to a failure in brain development rather than to a loss of tissue; she was one of the first to realize the importance of the cerebellum in normal cognition, based on both magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography; she was responsible for the first large-scale application of MRIs to schizophrenia.

The National Medal is not the only recognition that Andreasen has received for her research achievements. Other honors include the Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Adolf Meyer Award, the APA Prize for Research, the Sigmund Freud Award from the American College of Psychoanalysis, the Robert Sommer Award, the Board of Regents State of Iowa Award for Faculty Excellence, the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine, and the Lieber Prize for Outstanding Research in Schizophrenia from the Essel Foundation.

Congress established the National Medal of Science in 1959 as a Presidential award for individuals "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences." In 1980 Congress expanded this recognition to include the social and behavioral sciences.