David Brent, MD, Receives the 2022 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award
David Brent, MD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Epidemiology, and Clinical and Translational Science and Endowed Chair in Suicide Studies), has received the 2022 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, Senior Scholar category. This award honors a University of Pittsburgh faculty member with an outstanding record of research and academic activity.
Dr. Brent is widely recognized as a global expert on depression and suicidal behavior in adolescents. He has provided the empirical framework for the assessment and treatment of adolescent depression and suicidal behavior, which has served as the foundation for evidence-based care for at-risk youth.
Dr. Brent has made numerous valuable contributions to the Department, the University, and the field of child and adolescent psychiatry through research, teaching, and academic leadership. His research has been supported by continuous funding from more than 60 grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the United States-Israel Binational Foundation, among others. He has directed three National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded research centers, and is the founder and director of the Services for Teens at Risk program (STAR-Center), an innovative adolescent suicide prevention program that has provided assessment and treatment for more than 7,000 suicidal youth. The STAR-Center also serves as a laboratory for the development and testing of new and effective treatments.
Dr. Brent was among the first to identify factors other than depression that contribute to suicide risk, including impulsive aggression, behavior and substance abuse disorders, insomnia, and high suicidal intent. These domains are now widely recognized as important treatment targets for suicidal adolescents. In addition, Dr. Brent showed that access to firearms is a risk factor for completed suicide. In addition, Dr. Brent and his collaborators were among the first to conduct clinical trials using cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for depressed adolescents, leading to a multi-site study of treatment-resistant depression in adolescents, which established CBT as an effective means for preventing the onset of depression in high-risk adolescents. His latest work uses innovative technology to develop and test a mobile sensing device to help determine when youth are at high suicidal risk, and a mobile safety planning app that provides teens with instant access to coping strategies.
At the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Brent has made exceptional educational contributions. For more than three decades, he led or co-led the NIMH-funded T32 training program for clinical research training in child psychiatry. He has trained and mentored numerous academic leaders in child and adolescent psychiatry, as well as leading researchers in adolescent suicide and bereavement, adolescent alcohol and substance abuse, pediatric bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“Dr. Brent has conducted pioneering work in adolescent depression and suicide, with numerous seminal research accomplishments and contributions to the University and scientific community. In addition, he has an exceptional record as a teacher and mentor for the next generation of child and adolescent psychiatrists. The Chancellor’s Award is a very well-deserved recognition of Dr. Brent’s tremendous career,” said David Lewis, MD (Chair, Department of Psychiatry).
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Brent!