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2017 SESSION

17105149D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 386
Offered February 9, 2017
Commending Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler.
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Patrons-- Dance, Ebbin, Howell, McClellan, Ruff and Spruill
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WHEREAS, in 1996, the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University was created for the purpose of promoting excellence in psychiatric genetics research through the creation of closely interrelated research groups within the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, the mission of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics (VIPBG) is to study the etiology of major biopsychosocial disorders affecting people throughout the Commonwealth and the world; and

WHEREAS, the VIPBG’s investigators aim to understand the interplay of genetics with environmental and other factors in mental health, to educate the next generation of researchers, and to share findings with the scientific community via publications and conference presentations; and

WHEREAS, for 21 years, the VIPBG has evolved into an exciting, highly collaborative research environment with a strong record of funding, research, and training, including more than 140 predoctoral and postdoctoral students over the past decade; and

WHEREAS, the VIPBG has an internationally known Ph.D. program in psychiatric, behavioral, and statistical genetics with eight current students, and the VIPBG holds two training grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, supporting six predoctoral and six postdoctoral researchers; and

WHEREAS, the VIPBG is a world-renowned center for training in statistical methods for the analysis of genetic data, and its graduates now occupy positions at prestigious institutions; and

WHEREAS, in 2016, the Journal of the American Medical Association recognized the director of VIPBG, Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler, as the number one high value author in the world in psychiatry and psychology from 2011 to 2016; and

WHEREAS, in 2015, Dr. Kendler was awarded The Rhonda and Bernard Sarnat Internal Prize in Mental Health for his “pioneering research at the intersection of genetic factors and mental disorders,” and he has accordingly “dedicated his career to unraveling the genetic pathways that make certain people vulnerable to devastating psychiatric and drug abuse disorders,” working with an international research team to discover two genetic locations that may be linked to major depression; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Kendler is the author of more than 900 peer-reviewed journal articles, the editor of the international journal Psychological Medicine, and has been a major contributor to multiple editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association; his honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics and the Jean Delay Prize from the World Psychiatric Association; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler for his work at Virginia Commonwealth University on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler, to Michael Rao, president of Virginia Commonwealth University, and to Marsha Rappley, vice president of health sciences and chief executive officer of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration for cultivating an enthusiasm for medical training and research throughout the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world.