Pamela Sklar

Pamela Sklar 2015

Pamela Sklar (1959 – November 20, 2017) was an American psychiatrist and neuroscientist known for her pioneering work in the genetics of psychiatric disorders. She made significant contributions to the understanding of the genetic basis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Early Life and Education

Pamela Sklar was born in 1959. She earned her undergraduate degree from St. John's College and later received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in psychiatry at Columbia University and her postdoctoral training in neuroscience at Harvard University.

Career

Sklar's career was marked by her dedication to understanding the genetic underpinnings of psychiatric disorders. She held various academic and research positions, including a faculty position at Harvard Medical School and later at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Contributions to Psychiatry and Neuroscience

Pamela Sklar was a leader in the field of psychiatric genetics. She was instrumental in large-scale genomic studies that identified numerous genetic variants associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Her work helped to establish the role of common genetic variants in these complex disorders.

Sklar was a founding member of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, an international collaboration aimed at uncovering the genetic architecture of psychiatric illnesses. She also served as the Chief of the Division of Psychiatric Genomics at Mount Sinai and was the Director of the Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology.

Awards and Honors

Throughout her career, Sklar received numerous awards and honors for her contributions to psychiatry and neuroscience. These included recognition from the National Institute of Mental Health and other prestigious organizations.

Personal Life

Pamela Sklar was known for her dedication to her work and her passion for advancing the field of psychiatric genetics. She passed away on November 20, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking research and a profound impact on the field of psychiatry.

See Also

• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Psychiatric Genomics Consortium
• Genetic epidemiology