Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey receives 2010 UIC Researcher of the Year Award for Clinical Sciences

Chicago, IL: Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey received UIC Researcher of the Year Award in a special ceremony and reception held on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Chicago Rooms, Student Center West, 228 S.Wolcott, Chicago, IL

Ghanshyam Pandey, professor of pharmacology and psychiatry, has combined basic and clinical research throughout his career. “It is difficult to think of anyone who has produced such a broad array of pioneering studies,” one colleague says.

The UIC Researcher of the Year Award, now in its third year, is given in four categories: social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, clinical sciences and basic life sciences. Selected by the Campus Research Board and the vice chancellor for research, each winner receives a $3,500 cash prize.

For Ghanshyam Pandey, his studies of the neurobiology of the brain have always been closely connected to his concern for the clinical issues facing patients and physicians. Pandey’s research has direct impact on the understanding and treatment of mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and depression.

“It is difficult to think of anyone who has produced such a broad array of pioneering studies in the field of biological psychiatry that have had such an impact over such an extended period,” writes J. John Mann, the Paul Jansson professor of translational neuroscience in psychiatry and radiology at Columbia University, in supporting Pandey’s nomination for Researcher of the Year. Pandey, professor of pharmacology and psychiatry, first came to Chicago to work at the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute.

In his earliest research, Pandey showed how the transport of lithium in the blood of people with bipolar disorder is altered, so that some patients respond better to treatment with that medication. Pandey found that the receptors for the neurotransmitter norepinephrine were altered in individuals with depression.

He was one of the first researchers to note that the neurotransmitter serotonin is altered in patients who attempted suicide. The worst consequence of mood disorders is suicide, says Pandey, who set out to learn more about the neurobiology of these individuals. This concern led him to study post-mortem brain tissue through collaboration with a colleague in Maryland, where the governor and medical examiner recognized the importance of this research and made the tissue available. Using this resource, Pandey has expanded his research into what he calls some of the most tragic suicides, those of teens. Probably the only researcher in the world studying the neurobiology of teen suicide, he is an active member of the American Society for Suicide Prevention.

“I feel very honored and humbled to receive this award from my own university. Although I received several outside awards this year, nothing gives me more satisfaction and happiness than getting this awards from my university, the place where I spent most of my adult life in carrying out research in an important health area, which is not only precious to me but it is like a mission.

I am thankful to Dr. Kumar for nominating me for this prestigious award and other friends and supporters who encouraged me to continue my work, especially Dr. Garcia Dr. Joe Flaherty, Dr. John Davis, Dr. Yogesh Dwivedi, Dr. Subhash Pandey, Barbara Brown, Miljana Petkovic, Drs. Ren arid Wei, and Khan, Hooriyah Rizavi and Dr. Hui (Hannah) Zhailg, to name but a few. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Leela, my-daughters Meena, Medha and Deepa for their unfailing love and support.”

The University of Illinois at Chicago is a leading research university located in the heart of one of the world’s great cities. One of only ninety-six Carnegie classified “Research Universities with very high research activity” (RUNH) in the nation, and one of only four universities in the state to receive this distinction, there is a long-standing tradition of excellence in research here at UIC. The UIC Researcher of the Year Award recognizes the efforts and commitment of those researchers who are advancing the knowledge in their area of expertise and is designed to inspire and promote continued excellence in research at UIC. The awardees are researchers who have demonstrated outstanding research achievements in their field of expertise.

Media Partners present were Suresh Bodiwala from Asian Media USA, Vandana Jhingan from TV Asia and Jatinder Bedi from India Reporter. Suresh Bodiwala, chairman of Asian Media USA had an opportunity to talk to Dr. Ghanshyam N. Pandey about perspective of receiving Researcher and Inventor Awards, He said, “No matter how famous you are outside your home or how much you are recognized abroad, it is more important to be recognized at home. Although I received several outside awards this year, nothing gives me more satisfaction and happiness than getting this awards from my university, the place where I spent most of my adult life in carrying out research in an important health area, which is not only precious to me but it is like a mission”.

Photographs and Press release by: Asian Media USA

Suresh Bodiwala
Chairman
Asian Media USA
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