BALTIMORE—July 21, 2016— The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD), an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, announced today a new prize in the field of developmental neuroscience in memory of Constance Lieber, one of the Institute’s founders.
The Constance Lieber Prize for Innovation in Developmental Neuroscience will be awarded in June of 2017 to an investigator under 55 years of age who has made a transformative contribution in developmental neuroscience with clinical implications. The award will be recognized every two years, consisting of a $100,000 cash prize.
Connie Lieber was a transformative figure in private funding for brain research, establishing and supporting research about developmental behavioral disorders and demonstrating a deep personal investment in the careers of young scientists. Connie intuitively believed in the developmental origins of psychiatric illnesses and worked tirelessly for over 40 years to fund research, raise awareness of mental disorders, and reduce the stigma often felt by sufferers and their families. For over 25 years, she was the inspirational leader of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD). It was this dedication to research and the search for cures for mental disorders that ultimately led Connie and her husband Steve Lieber to found the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, along with Milton and Tamar Maltz.
“Connie’s dream was to see science unravel the neurodevelopmental origins of mental illness. This prize is a lasting statement of her commitment and her vision,” said Steve Lieber.
With the establishment of this prize, the Lieber Institute will honor Connie’s leadership in the area of mental health research and her prescient insights about the central role of brain development, while inspiring the next generation of scientists in the developmental neurosciences.
“Connie’s advocacy for mental health research is legendary,” said LIBD Director and CEO Daniel R. Weinberger, M.D. “She was determined to fund research in search of new treatments, and she inspired the careers and work of many young scientists in the field of developmental neuroscience. We are proud to honor and continue her legacy through the Constance Lieber Prize for Innovation in Developmental Neuroscience.”
For more information or to nominate an investigator, visit the official prize homepage: clprize.libd.org. The winner will be notified prior to an official public announcement and award symposium in June of 2017 at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD.
The Constance Lieber Prize Committee:
Dr. Daniel Weinberger, Lieber Institute for Brain Development
Dr. Fred Gage, Salk Institute for Biological Sciences
Dr. Huda Zoghbi, Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. John Rubenstein, University of California San Francisco
Dr. Rick Huganir, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Amy Arnsten, Yale University
Dr. Matthew State, University of California San Francisco
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.