Dr. Kafui Dzirasa named National Academy of Medicine member

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 10:59:28 -0400
alumni, award, fall-2021, research

[Excerpt from UMBC alumnus Kafui Dzirasa is named an HHMI Investigator, elected to the National Academy of Medicine]

Dr. Kafui Dzirasa ‘01, M8, chemical engineering, recently earned two highly prestigious honors distinctive even among leaders in the medical and life sciences: an HHMI Investigator award and election to the National Academy of Medicine.

Dzirasa is the K. Ragna Rama Krishnan Associate Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University. He earned both his MD and his PhD in neurobiology and neurosciences at Duke. Today, he examines the role of the brain’s electrical activity in psychiatric illness, including depression, bipolar disorder, and addiction, with the goal of creating mechanisms to disrupt these disorders.

Achievement and service

Dzirasa is one of 100 new members elected to the National Academy of Medicine this year. The announcement recognizes his “seminal contributions to the neuroscience of emotion and mental illness” as well as his pioneering research methods. It also honors his “contributions to society through science policy and advocacy, a commitment to mentoring, and support for efforts to build a diverse and inclusive scientific workforce,” carrying forward the values of UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program.

Election to the National Academy of Medicine recognizes leaders in health and medicine who have demonstrated both outstanding professional achievement and a commitment to service. The National Academy of Medicine has more than 2,200 elected members worldwide, with new members limited to 100 per year.

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