Creighton Psychiatrist Receives Young Investigator Award

Sriram Ramaswamy, M.D., has been awarded a Young Investigator Award by the Scientific council of the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). Dr. Ramaswamy’s award comes with $30,000 to support research examining the metabolic aspects of mental illness. Dr. Ramaswamy is the chief resident in the Department of Psychiatry. Upon his graduation in June 2005, he will be joining the academic faculty at Creighton Psychiatry along with a staff appointment at the Omaha VA Medical Center.

Studies in individuals with schizophrenia have demonstrated osteoporosis and a decrease in bone mineral density. Antipsychotic medications have been linked to the loss of bone mineral density, but the exact cause is unclear. Dr. Ramaswamy and his co-investigators, Robert P. Heaney, M.D., holder of the John A. Creighton University Professor chair and Frederick Petty M.D., Ph.D., vice chairman for research in the Department of Psychiatry, are conducting research that may provide a causative link between the medications and bone loss.

NARSAD is the largest donor-supported organization in the world devoted exclusively to supporting scientific research on brain and behavior disorders. NARSAD Awards are noteworthy for identifying the most promising early career researchers in psychiatry. Since 1987, NARSAD has awarded $162 million in research grants to 1,902 scientists at 323 leading universities, institutions and teaching hospitals in the U.S. and 22 other countries. By raising funds for research on psychiatric brain disorders, NARSAD has greatly increased knowledge of brain functioning, neurochemistry, new or improved treatments and genetic origins.