amuel Gershon, M.D., whose groundbreaking work on lithium helped pave the way for the understanding of mood stabilizers, has joined the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine as the vice chair for academic affairs.
“ Much of my career has been coincidence,” says Gershon humbly. “It just happened that in 1949, when I was a young medical student, I became very interested in the new approach that was being explored for bipolar disorders. It was a time when they were moving away from previously established psychological methods and reintroducing biological treatments, and that interested me.”

Now a leading authority on the therapeutic use of lithium in treating affective disorders and an internationally recognized psychiatry expert, his research has influenced the way bipolar disorder is treated throughout the world.

“ Dr. Gershon has an incredible research background and considerable experience in academic enterprise building, and we are thrilled to have him as part of our team,” says Julio Licinio, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

Gershon earned his medical degree from the University of Sydney, Australia in 1950. In 1963 he moved permanently to the United States, where he became the principal research scientist in pharmacology at the Missouri Institute of Psychiatry. In 1988 he moved to the University of Pittsburgh and retired from that institution in 2003.

“ I tried retirement—but I wasn’t any good at golf, and I didn’t like the clothes they [golfers] wore,” says Gershon. “I knew Dr. Licinio as a colleague, and I was delighted and enthusiastic when we began discussing the possibility of working together here at the Miller School of Medicine.”

Gershon moved to Miami a year ago, saying, “I ran away from the cold weather.”

“ I am very happy to be able to join the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as it enters this new era,” says Gershon. “We are currently focusing on recruiting new faculty to improve the clinical and research goals of the department, which will significantly benefit our educational mission and tie it to the overall goals of the Miller School of Medicine.”