Paul Summergrad, MD, Takes Office as APA President

ARLINGTON, Va., May 9 -- The American Psychiatric Association issued the following news release:

Paul Summergrad, MD, began his one-year term as President of the APA at the conclusion of the APA Annual Meeting on May 8, and Renee Binder, MD, began her term as President-elect of the APA.

Paul Summergrad, MD, is the Dr. Frances S. Arkin Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, and Professor of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center and the Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Summergrad, an APA distinguished fellow, has served as President-elect of the APA and Chair of the APA Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup on the Role of Psychiatry in Healthcare Reform and worked extensively on integrated care issues.

At the APA Annual Meeting Opening Ceremony, Summergrad noted, "We are in a unique period in the history of psychiatry" and we are seeing unprecedented scientific opportunities. "We have never before had the capacity to image the brain, to see the impact of genetic abnormalities on neurodevelopment, or begin to understand the complex ways our brains shape our perceptions of the world and in turn are shaped by them. We also live in a world where health care reform is finally being realized and providing opportunities to fully integrate the care of so many of our patients. . . . These developments are truly once-in-a-lifetime moments that we dare not waste," said Summergrad.

Looking to his year and president, Summergrad outlined four tasks ahead for APA and the field of psychiatry:

* Speak from the best available science.

* Advocate for patients, families and the profession.

* Find straightforward and direct language to communicate about mental health with our patients, their families, and the American public.

* Embrace our role as international leaders in psychiatry.

Other APA leaders who took office after the Annual Meeting include:

Treasurer Frank W. Brown, MD

Trustee-At-Large Anita S. Everett, MD

Area 2 Trustee Vivian B. Pender, MD

Area 5 Trustee R. Scott Benson, MD

Area 6 Trustee Melinda Young, MD

Resident-Fellow Member Trustee-Elect Ravi N. Shah, MD

[Category: Psychiatry/Psychology]

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