Myrna Weissman Receives 2020 Pardes Prize

Today, it is well-known that major depression often emerges during adolescence, people can have multiple depressive episodes throughout their lifetimes, and they can transmit depressive risk to their children. But when Myrna Weissman, Ph.D., was a graduate student in epidemiology at Yale University in the 1970s, these ideas were decidedly not so familiar.

“Back then, many mental health professionals … dismissed depression as a disorder of middle-aged or menopausal women,” she said. But as a young mother navigating family and academia, she knew this disorder had a greater reach.

After completing her Ph.D., Weissman, currently The Diane Goldman Kemper Family Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry at Columbia University and Chief of the Division of Epidemiology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, began studying the familial transmission of depression. Her goal was to enroll individuals considered to be at high or low risk of depression based on family history and follow them across generations. “Some similar multigenerational work was being done related to cardiovascular disease, so I knew it was feasible. Fortunately, I was able to secure the funding.”

Nearly 40 years later, Weissman’s cohort, which began as the Yale Family Study of Major Depression, continues strong. During this time, she also created a new psychotherapy tool known as interpersonal therapy (IPT). Her work to improve the mental health of families across the world was recognized with the 2020 Pardes Humanitarian Prize in Mental Health.

Given annually since 2015 by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF), the Pardes Humanitarian Prize recognizes individuals or organizations whose contributions have made a profound and lasting impact in raising awareness of mental health and improving the lives of people living with mental illness.

Weissman’s research has revealed that children whose parents have a history of depression are much more likely to develop such problems as depression, anxiety, and/or substance misuse compared with children whose parents are not depressed. The risks are even higher in children who have both a parent and grandparent with depression. However, children who have only a grandparent with depression do not appear to be at elevated risk of depression.

“This suggests that things can get better for families if we intervene and stop the cycle,” Weissman said. Her group has been conducting intervention studies with mothers with depression for many years and found that treatment does make a difference across generations. If depressed mothers’ symptoms improved following three months of either medication or psychotherapy, then their children with depression, anxiety, or a conduct disorder also improved and stayed well for at least one year.

Recognizing the importance of early interventions in disrupting the transmission of depression across generations, Weissman began exploring ways to support families at risk of depression around the world. She adapted protocols for IPT (an attachment-based therapy that focuses on strengthening interpersonal or social connections) so they can be used by health workers around the world. (Weissman co-developed IPT with her husband Gerald Klerman, M.D., who is now deceased.) She recently donated her manuals for group IPT and IPT for primary care doctors (the latter developed with Columbia University colleague Lena Verdeli, Ph.D.) to the World Health Organization; the organization has since translated these manuals into numerous languages and distributed them freely across the world.

Weissman said she sees IPT as humanitarian aid since depression often occurs as a consequence of disrupted connections arising from war, disease, or natural disasters.

Weissman also serves on the Advisory Board of StrongMinds, a humanitarian effort that provides IPT to over 70,000 depressed and impoverished women in Uganda and Zambia. She is also involved in a National Institutes of Health study led by Columbia University colleague Milton Wainberg, M.D., to implement mental health services in Mozambique.

Weissman shared the Pardes prize with Sir Michael Rutter, M.D., a professor of developmental psychopathology at Kings College London and a consulting psychiatrist at Maudsley Hospital. Rutter, who has been referred to as the “father of child psychology and psychiatry,” has conducted pioneering research on children with developmental disorders and those who have experienced neglect.

Noted researcher E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., also received an honorary Pardes prize for his investigations into the relationship between infection, inflammation, and schizophrenia, as well as his tireless advocacy to educate the public about the biology of mental illness.

“It was wonderful to receive this prize on so many different levels,” Weissman told Psychiatric News. “The first is that the prize comes from BBRF, which has provided countless mental health researchers the seed money—and self-esteem—to start their careers. Second is being recognized along with Michael, who is a hero of mine. I read his book Maternal Depression Revisted in graduate school and it really shaped my agenda to help mothers with depression get better. I was overjoyed when I had an opportunity to collaborate with him in later years.

“Finally, receiving a prize with [Herb] Pardes’ name is especially meaningful, as Herb was critical in bringing me to Columbia many years back and I am a great admirer of his leadership and humanity,” she continued. “I wish we all could be together in person to share in this award.”

“Recipients of this year’s Pardes prize have used their scientific knowledge, understanding of human behavior, and compassion to improve the lives of millions of people with mental illness, including children and people living in poverty,” said Herbert Pardes, M.D., president of BBRF’s Scientific Council, executive vice chair of the Board of Trustees at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and former APA president. “Through their work, we broaden the scope of mental illness treatment around the world and the use of knowledge for the betterment of our diverse global family.” ■