Adrienne C. Lahti, M.D., the F. Cleveland Kinney Endowed Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, has agreed to accept the role of interim chair for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology. Her interim position became on effective March 1.
Lahti is a graduate of the Université de Liège, Faculté de Médecine, in Liège, Belgium. She completed her residency training in Psychiatry at the University of Michigan and started her academic career at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland in Baltimore, as a research assistant professor. In 2006, she moved to the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology as an associate professor.
Lahti, a physician scientist, is pursuing research dedicated to the study of schizophrenia and psychosis spectrum disorders using multimodal brain imaging techniques. She has won several honors and awards for her research, including the Kempf Fund Award for Research Development in Psychobiological Psychiatry and the McNulty Civitan Scientist Award. Additionally, Lahti has authored or co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters.
At UAB, she has pioneered growth in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology through her numerous leadership endeavors. Currently, she serves as vice chair for Research Training and Faculty Development, director of the division of Behavioral Neurobiology, and on several departmental committees. Lahti also is the director of the Comprehensive Neuroscience Center (CNC), and the co-director of the Alabama Advanced Imaging Consortium.
After 14 years as chair, Dr. Jim Meador-Woodruff is stepping down from chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology to accept a new role as the senior vice president of Mental Health Services in the Health System.
Lahti will serve with the department’s senior leadership team for continuity and continued growth for approximately 8-18 months, with a national search for the permanent chair starting this spring.