Dennis S. Charney

Last updated
Dennis S. Charney
Dennis Charney.jpg
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Penn State, Yale School of Medicine
Known forKetamine treatment for depression
SpouseAndrea Charney
Children5
AwardsElection to National Academy of Medicine
Scientific career
Fields Biological psychiatry, research, author
InstitutionsDean (former), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Website https://icahn.mssm.edu/profiles/dennis-s-charney

Dennis S. Charney is an American biological psychiatrist and researcher, with expertise in the neurobiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. [1] He is the author of Neurobiology of Mental Illness, The Physician's Guide to Depression and Bipolar Disorders and Molecular Biology for the Clinician, as well as the author of over 600 original papers and chapters. In 2022, he was listed #49 on Research.com's "Top Medicine Scientists in the United States," with an h-index of 218 with 173,960 citations across 887 publications. [2] [3] Charney is known for demonstrating that ketamine is effective for treating depression. Ketamine's use as a rapidly-acting anti-depressant is recognized as a breakthrough treatment in mental illness. [4] [5]

Contents

Until July 2025 he was a professor of psychiatry, professor of neuroscience and professor of pharmacology and systems therapeutics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

In 2007, he became the Dean of the School and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of what was then known as the Mount Sinai Medical Center. In 2013, he was named President of Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System. [6] He retired as Dean in 2025. [7]

Biography

Education and career

Charney graduated from medical school at Penn State in 1977 and completed his residency in Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. A fellowship in Biological Psychiatry was completed at the Connecticut Medical Health Center.

Charney became the dean of research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2004, later becoming the dean for academic and scientific affairs, then succeeding Kenneth L. Davis as dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2007, retiring in 2025. [8] He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2000. [9]

Charney led the Mood and Anxiety Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health and earlier was on the faculty in the department of psychiatry at Yale Medical School. [4]

Research

According to published works, Charney's research is centered around various fields such as psychiatry, anesthesia, clinical psychology, and major depressive disorder. In recognition of his significant contributions to new treatments for mood and anxiety disorders, including the use of ketamine for resistant depression, Charney received the Donald Klein Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Psychopharmacology in 2023. [10]

Ketamine treatment development

Neuron published that Charney's neurobiological insights into ketamine are a novel approach to the underlying operation of mechanism-of-action for rapid-acting antidepressant efficacy and mood disorders [11] and is the first model of a rapid-acting antidepressant with efficacy for treatment-resistant symptoms of mood disorders. His intranasal ketamine treatment was approved by the FDA in 2019 and now produced under the brand name Spravato. [12] Scientific American published in 2018 that the development is the first new form of antidepressant since the 1950s. [13]

General

General psychiatry research includes work on anxiety, mood and psychopathology linked to work in injury prevention, [14] thereby connecting myriad disciplines of study. Research into depression shows elements of internal medicine and management. Clinical psychology includes psychological intervention and resilience. Research shows themes of randomized controlled trials and Esketamine. [15] Traumatic stress, anxiety and neuroscience [16] is part of his psychology study and is frequently connected to suicide prevention, bridging the gap between various science disciplines and establishing new relationships. Other areas of study are bipolar disorder, endocrinology and oncology.

Charney's research on digital mental health research contributed to the development of Rejoyn, the first FDA-approved prescription digital therapeutic for major depressive disorder (MDD). The treatment is designed to be used alongside standard care and medication to help reduce MDD symptoms. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Patents

Charney owns patents in dopamine and noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of schizophrenia [21] and in intranasal administration of ketamine to treat depression. [22] In total, as of 2022, he holds nine issued patents and five pending. [23] [24]

Affiliations and positions

Awards and honors

Partial list:

  • 2023 Donald Klein Lifetime Achievement Award, American Society for Psychopharmacology [10] [28]
  • 2023 Rhoda & Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health [29]
  • 2019 Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research [30]
  • 2017 Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression – Named One of Top 10 on 2017 Health Care Innovations List [31]
  • 2017 American Heart Association Heart of Gold Award [32] [33]
  • 2017 - Fellow, National Academy of Inventors [2]
  • 2015 The World's Most Influential Minds [34]
  • 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine [35]
  • 2014 The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds [36]
  • 2009 ACNP Julius Axelrod Mentorship Award [37]
  • 2006 The Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry [38]
  • 2004 Research and Mood Disorders – American College of Psychiatrists
  • 2004 CINP-Lilly Neuroscience Clinical Research Award
  • 2004 The American Psychiatric Association Award for Research [39]
  • 2000 Election, National Academy of Medicine
  • 1999 The American College of Psychiatrists Award for Depression Research
  • 1999 The Edward J. Sacher Award from Columbia University
  • 1999 The Gerald L. Klerman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) [40]
  • 1994–1995 Anna Monika Foundation Award for Research in Affective Disorders [41]
  • 1992 Daniel H. Efron Research Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology [42]
  • 2014–2015 Distinguished Alumni Award, Pennsylvania State University [4]

Personal life

Charney is the father of five children and grandfather of eight. On the morning of August 29, 2016, Charney was shot and wounded by Hengjun Chao, as Charney left Lange's Deli in Charney's hometown of Chappaqua, [43] New York. Chao was a former Mount Sinai medical researcher who had been fired by Charney in 2010 for research fraud. [44] [45] [46] Chao's trial began on June 5, 2017, and eight days later Chao was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and two other charges in Westchester County Court in White Plains. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison. [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] These personal events contributed first-hand to his study of resilience and are discussed in this his book "Resilience". [52] [53]

Litigation

In April 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Dr. Charney, several other defendants, and the Mount Sinai Health System for sex and age discrimination at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine. The suit was filed by eight current and former employees, all but one women. [54]

Books and publications

He has been named among the top 3 most highly cited authors of psychiatric research in the decade ending in 2000 by the Institute for Scientific Information. [55] He has been on the editorial board of 15 journals, including Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Anxiety Disorders , Journal of Affective Disorders , Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, Journal of Psychopharmacology , Human Psychopharmacology, and Psychopharmacology Bulletin.

Books

Publications

Charney's most cited publications are: [56]

Other notable articles:

References

  1. National Institutes of Health Archived 2009-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 "World's Top Medicine Scientists: H-Index Medicine Science Ranking in United States". Research.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  3. "Dennis S. Charney". Research Gate. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Distinguished Alumni Awards" (PDF). Penn State University. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  5. "Google Patents". patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
  6. "Dean's Office - ISMMS Leadership". Icahn School of Medicine. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  7. "Mount Sinai Health System to Honor Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, for 18 Years of Leadership and Service at Annual Crystal Party". globenewswire.com (Press release). 2025-05-13. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  8. Newswise.com
  9. "Trauma, Culture & the Brain". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  10. 1 2 "Recipient of the Donald Klein Lifetime Achievement Award" (PDF). American Society for Clinical Pathology. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  11. Krystal, John H.; Abdallah, Chadi G.; Sanacora, Gerard; Charney, Dennis S.; Duman, Ronald S. (2019-03-06). "Ketamine: A Paradigm Shift for Depression Research and Treatment". Neuron. 101 (5): 774–778. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2019.02.005. ISSN   0896-6273. PMC   6560624 . PMID   30844397.
  12. "Dennis Charney, MD: The Hope of Ketamine for Depression". HCPLive. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  13. "In an Old Drug, New Hope for Depression". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  14. Insel, Thomas R.; Charney, Dennis S. (2003-06-18). "Research on Major DepressionStrategies and Priorities". JAMA. 289 (23): 3167–3168. doi:10.1001/jama.289.23.3167. ISSN   0098-7484. PMID   12813123.
  15. "A New Rapid-Acting Antidepressant" (PDF). Cell.com. 2020.
  16. "Dennis S. Charney, MD". Forensic Resources. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  17. "FDA Approves First Prescription Digital Therapy for Major Depression, Rejoyn - Drugs.com MedNews". Drugs.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  18. "FDA clears Rejoyn™, the first prescription digital therapeutic authorized for the adjunctive treatment of MDD symptoms – Pharmaceutical Business Review". 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  19. Iacoviello, Brian M.; Wu, Gang; Alvarez, Evan; Huryk, Kathryn; Collins, Katherine A.; Murrough, James W.; Iosifescu, Dan V.; Charney, Dennis S. (August 2014). "Cognitive-emotional training as an intervention for major depressive disorder". Depression and Anxiety. 31 (8): 699–706. doi:10.1002/da.22266. ISSN   1520-6394. PMID   24753225.
  20. Iacoviello, Brian M.; Murrough, James W.; Hoch, Megan M.; Huryk, Kathryn M.; Collins, Katherine A.; Cutter, Gary R.; Iosifescu, Dan V.; Charney, Dennis S. (2018-06-06). "A randomized, controlled pilot trial of the Emotional Faces Memory Task: a digital therapeutic for depression". npj Digital Medicine. 1 (1): 21. doi:10.1038/s41746-018-0025-5. ISSN   2398-6352. PMC   6404739 . PMID   30854473.
  21. "Patent Abstract at Patent Storm". Archived from the original on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  22. "Patent Abstract at Fresh Patents". Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  23. US 10478405,Charney, Dennis S.&Feder, Adriana,"Method for treating post-traumatic stress disorder",published 2019-11-19, assigned to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  24. "Biographical Data". EspaceNet Patent Search. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  25. ELSEVIER
  26. American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
  27. Charney, Dennis S; Babich, Karen S (2002). "Foundation for the NIMH strategic plan for mood disorders research". Biological Psychiatry. 52 (6): 455–456. doi:10.1016/S0006-3223(02)01543-3. PMID   12361663. S2CID   34214821.
  28. "The Donald Klein Lifetime Achievement Award - ASCP - American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology". 2022-05-11. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  29. "The Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health". National Academy of Medicine. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  30. "Past Outstanding Achievement Prizewinners". Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  31. Healthcare IT News
  32. American Heart Association of New York
  33. American Heart Association of New York Facebook Page
  34. "Thomson Reuters Science" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  35. Penn State Alumni Association
  36. Thomson Reuters Science
  37. "American College of Neuropsychopharmacology". Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  38. Society of Biological Psychiatry
  39. The American College of Psychiatrists
  40. "DBSA Gerald L. Klerman Awards". Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  41. Anna Monika Foundation
  42. "American College of Neuropsychopharmacology". Archived from the original on 2015-03-08. Retrieved 2015-03-06.
  43. Bandler, Jonathan Bandler and Jonathan. "Med school dean recalls morning he was shot by researcher he'd fired". The Journal News. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  44. Researcher fired by Mount Sinai Medical Center sues for targeting, reputation
  45. Fired Professor Shot 2 Men Outside Chappaqua Deli, Police Say
  46. After losing suit against former boss at top med school, a scientist shoots him, police say
  47. Chao guilty of attempted murder in shooting of ex-boss in Chappaqua
  48. Bromwich, Jonah Engel (August 29, 2016). "Fired Professor Shot 2 Men Outside Chappaqua Deli, Police Say". The New York Times.
  49. Guarino, Ben (August 31, 2016). "After losing suit against former boss at top med school, a scientist shoots him, police say". The Washington Post.
  50. "Ex-researcher who shot dean found guilty of attempted murder". Retraction Watch. June 14, 2017.
  51. "Man Sentenced In Shooting Of Mount Sinai Medical School Dean," CBS New York.
  52. "Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life's Greatest Challenges". YaleNews. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  53. Southwick, Steven M.; Charney, Dennis S. (2012). Resilience. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139013857. ISBN   978-1-139-01385-7.
  54. "Global health institute sued for age and sex discrimination," Science, 2 May 2019; https://www.science.org/content/article/global-health-institute-sued-age-and-sex-discrimination
  55. "Wisconsin Symposium on Human Biology". Archived from the original on 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  56. "Dennis S. Charney: H-index & Awards - Academic Profile". Research.com. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  57. Goodman, Wayne K.; Price, Lawrence H.; Rasmussen, Steven A.; Mazure, Carolyn; Fleischmann, Roberta L.; Hill, Candy L.; Heninger, George R.; Charney, Dennis S. (1989-11-01). "The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: I. Development, Use, and Reliability". Archives of General Psychiatry. 46 (11): 1006–1011. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1989.01810110048007. ISSN   0003-990X. PMID   2684084.
  58. Blake, Dudley David; Weathers, Frank W.; Nagy, Linda M.; Kaloupek, Danny G.; Gusman, Fred D.; Charney, Dennis S.; Keane, Terence M. (1995). "The development of a clinician-administered PTSD scale" . Journal of Traumatic Stress. 8 (1): 75–90. doi:10.1002/jts.2490080106. PMID   7712061.
  59. Krystal, John H.; Karper, Laurence P.; Seibyl, John P.; Freeman, Glenna K.; Delaney, Richard; Bremner, J. Douglas; Heninger, George R.; Bowers, Malcolm B. Jr; Charney, Dennis S. (1994-03-01). "Subanesthetic Effects of the Noncompetitive NMDA Antagonist, Ketamine, in Humans: Psychotomimetic, Perceptual, Cognitive, and Neuroendocrine Responses". Archives of General Psychiatry. 51 (3): 199–214. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1994.03950030035004. ISSN   0003-990X. PMID   8122957.
  60. Berman, R. M.; Cappiello, A.; Anand, A.; Oren, D. A.; Heninger, G. R.; Charney, D. S.; Krystal, J. H. (2000-02-15). "Antidepressant effects of ketamine in depressed patients". Biological Psychiatry. 47 (4): 351–354. doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(99)00230-9. ISSN   0006-3223. PMID   10686270. S2CID   43438286.
  61. Charney, Dennis S. (2004). "Psychobiological mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability: implications for successful adaptation to extreme stress". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 161 (2): 195–216. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.161.2.195. ISSN   0002-953X. PMID   14754765. S2CID   337765.
  62. Murrough, James W.; Iosifescu, Dan V.; Chang, Lee C.; Al Jurdi, Rayan K.; Green, Charles E.; Perez, Andrew M.; Iqbal, Syed; Pillemer, Sarah; Foulkes, Alexandra; Shah, Asim; Charney, Dennis S. (2013). "Antidepressant efficacy of ketamine in treatment-resistant major depression: a two-site randomized controlled trial". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 170 (10): 1134–1142. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13030392. ISSN   1535-7228. PMC   3992936 . PMID   23982301.
  63. Feder, Adriana; Parides, Michael K.; Murrough, James W.; Perez, Andrew M.; Morgan, Julia E.; Saxena, Shireen; Kirkwood, Katherine; Aan Het Rot, Marije; Lapidus, Kyle A. B.; Wan, Le-Ben; Iosifescu, Dan (2014). "Efficacy of intravenous ketamine for treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized clinical trial". JAMA Psychiatry. 71 (6): 681–688. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.62. ISSN   2168-6238. PMID   24740528.
  64. Iacoviello, Brian M.; Wu, Gang; Alvarez, Evan; Huryk, Kathryn; Collins, Katherine A.; Murrough, James W.; Iosifescu, Dan V.; Charney, Dennis S. (2014). "Cognitive-emotional training as an intervention for major depressive disorder". Depression and Anxiety. 31 (8): 699–706. doi:10.1002/da.22266. ISSN   1520-6394. PMID   24753225. S2CID   205736356.
  65. Feder, Adriana; Fred-Torres, Sharely; Southwick, Steven M.; Charney, Dennis S. (2019-09-15). "The Biology of Human Resilience: Opportunities for Enhancing Resilience Across the Life Span". Biological Psychiatry. 86 (6): 443–453. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.07.012. ISSN   1873-2402. PMID   31466561. S2CID   199544779.
  66. Krystal, John H.; Charney, Dennis S.; Duman, Ronald S. (2020-04-02). "A New Rapid-Acting Antidepressant". Cell. 181 (1): 7. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.033 . ISSN   1097-4172. PMID   32243798. S2CID   214754831.
  67. Charney, Alexander W.; Katz, Craig; Southwick, Steven M.; Charney, Dennis S. (2020-10-01). "A Call to Protect the Health Care Workers Fighting COVID-19 in the United States". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 177 (10): 900–901. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20040535. ISSN   1535-7228. PMID   32731814. S2CID   220893056.
  68. Feder, Adriana; Costi, Sara; Rutter, Sarah B.; Collins, Abigail B.; Govindarajulu, Usha; Jha, Manish K.; Horn, Sarah R.; Kautz, Marin; Corniquel, Morgan; Collins, Katherine A.; Bevilacqua, Laura (2021-02-01). "A Randomized Controlled Trial of Repeated Ketamine Administration for Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 178 (2): 193–202. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20050596. ISSN   1535-7228. PMID   33397139. S2CID   230658032.