Professor, Yale University, Director, Yale Depression Research Program, New Haven, Connecticut

Gerard Sanacora, MD, PhD, completed an National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored Medical Scientist Training Program at the State University New York at Stony Brook, earning his Doctorate of Philosophy  in physiology and biophysics in 1992 and his Doctorate of Medicine in 1994. Dr. Sanacora then moved to Yale University, where he completed the Clinical Neuroscientist Training Program Residency in the Department of Psychiatry and an NIH-funded Neuroimaging Scientist Training Program Fellowship. He is currently a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale and the Director of the Yale Depression Research Program.

Dr. Sanacora’s work is concentrated largely on elucidating the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with mood and other neuropsychiatric disorders. His basic science laboratory explores the effects of chronic stress on cellular biology and behavior and examines the molecular, cellular, and behavioral effects of newly developed treatment strategies. His clinical laboratory employs novel imaging methodologies and biomarker assays to investigate the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition, he has served as Principle Investigator on several early phase clinical trials designed to test the efficacy and mechanisms of action of newly developed therapeutic agents.

Reflecting his contributions to the field, Dr. Sanacora was elected a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in 2012. He has also received the Anna-Monkia Stiftung international award for the investigation of the biological substrate and functional disturbances of depression in 2009 and the Joel Elkes Research Award for Outstanding Contributions to Psychopharmacology from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in 2011.