Lasting Legacies – Psychiatry and behavioral health

Women have made significant contributions to research in psychiatry and behavioral health at the College of Medicine.

Janice Egeland, PhD

Janice Egeland, PhD

Egeland studied genetic conditions among the Amish and the genetics of major affective disorders. She went on to identify a potential molecular pathway underlying bipolar 1 disorder.

Joyce Kales, MD

Joyce Kales, MD

Kales and her husband founded the Penn State Sleep Research and Treatment Center, which was originally located at the University of California Los Angeles and relocated in 1971 to Hershey Medical Center.

Erika Saunders, MD

Erika Saunders, MD

Today, women like Saunders continue to innovate in psychiatric and behavioral health research. Her lab focuses on understanding the biological underpinnings of mood regulation in order to improve detection and treatment of depression and bipolar disorder.

Patricia “Sue” Grigson, PhD and Sarah Kawasaki, MD

Grigson leads the College of Medicine’s fight against addiction as director of the Addiction Center for Translation. Kawasaki is investigating better medications, delivery and access of existing medications for opioid use disorders.

Patricia “Sue” Grigson, PhD

Sarah Kawasaki, MD

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