BALTIMORE—November 29, 2016—The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD), an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, announced today that Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein has joined the Institute’s Board of Directors.
A pioneer in the mental health community with 25 years’ as Sheppard Pratt Health System (SPH) president and CEO, Dr. Sharfstein will bring experience and strategic guidance to the LIBD leadership team as a member of the board.
“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Sharfstein to our Board of Directors,” said LIBD Director and CEO Daniel R. Weinberger, M.D. “Dr. Sharfstein brings extensive knowledge and expertise in the area of mental health and will be an invaluable resource to the Institute and our mission to translate genetic insights into next generation treatments for schizophrenia and related brain disorders.”
After 30 years at Sheppard Pratt Health System, including 25 as president and CEO, Dr. Sharfstein announced his retirement earlier this year. Throughout his leadership Sheppard Pratt Health System transformed from a psychiatric hospital to an inclusive health system with more than 38 locations throughout Maryland. Under Dr. Sharfstein, SPH has consistently ranked among the nation’s top psychiatric hospitals for 24 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report.
In an unprecedented partnership, Sheppard Pratt Health System and the Lieber Institute for Brain Development announced a joint venture in 2014 to translate scientific advances in genetics and brain research into clinical practice. Dr. Sharfstein’s vision to accelerate the process from drug discovery to patients was instrumental in the development of the Sheppard Pratt-Lieber Research Institute (SPL), which is located at the Sheppard Pratt Hospital Campus.
In addition to his career at SPH, Dr. Sharfstein has served as a lecturer in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and as Vice Chair and a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland. He also served as Director of Mental Health Service Programs at the NIMH and held several positions with the American Psychiatric Association including President.
Dr. Sharfstein earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
About the Lieber Institute for Brain Development
The mission of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development and the Maltz Research Laboratories is to translate the understanding of basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and related developmental brain disorders into clinical advances that change the lives of affected individuals. LIBD is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a Maryland tax-exempt medical research institute affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. For more information please visit: www.libd.org.