Dennis S. Charney


Dennis S. Charney is an American biological psychiatrist and researcher, one of the world's leading experts in the neurobiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. He is the author of Neurobiology of Mental Illness, The Physician's Guide to Depression and Bipolar Disorders and Molecular Biology for the Clinician, as well as the author of over 500 original papers and chapters.
He is a Professor of Psychiatry, Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and currently Dean of the school.

Biography

Charney graduated from medical school at Penn State in 1977 and completed his residency in Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. A fellowship in Biological Psychiatry was completed at the Connecticut Medical Health Center.
Charney became the Dean of Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2004, later becoming the Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, finally succeeding Kenneth L. Davis as Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2007.
He has been named among the top 3 most highly cited authors of psychiatric research in the decade ending in 2000 by the Institute for Scientific Information, and listed in every edition of the “Best Doctors in America” since 1992.
He owns patents in dopamine and noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors in treatment of schizophrenia and in intranasal administration of ketamine to treat depression.
He was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2000.
On the morning August 29, 2016, Charney was shot and wounded by Hengjun Chao, as Charney left Lange’s Deli in Charney's hometown of Chappaqua, New York. Chao was a former Mount Sinai medical researcher who had been fired by Charney in 2010 for research fraud. Chao's trial began on June 5, 2017, and eight days later Chao was convicted of attempted second degree murder and two other charges in Westchester County Court in White Plains. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison.
In April 2019, Charney and the Icahn School were named in a lawsuit filed against Mount Sinai Health System and several employees of the hospital and the Icahn School's . The suit was filed by eight current and former employees for age and sex discrimination as well as improper reporting to funding agencies, misallocation of funds, failing to obtain Institutional Review Board approval prior to conducting research in violation of Mount Sinai and federal guidelines, and failing properly to adhere to the guidelines of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA." The school denies the claims. In May 2019, more than 150 students at the Icahn School signed a letter, addressed to the Board of Trustees, calling on Mount Sinai Health System "to further investigate allegations of gender and age discrimination" as a result of the legal filing. As of May 2019, more than 400 Icahn and Mount Sinai Health System faculty have signed a similar letter to the Board of Trustees, calling for an investigation by an external consultant and a commitment to hold all parties accountable.

Personal life

Charney is a grandfather and the father of several children. In 2014, his son Alex Charney became a practicing psychiatric resident at Mt Sinai hospital.

2019 lawsuit

In April 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Dr. Charney, several other defendants, and the Mount Sinai Health System for sex and age discrimination at the at the Icahn School of Medicine. The suit was filed by eight current and former employees, all but one women. In August 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint alleging further allegations.

Affiliations and positions

Books

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