Deanna Barch Wins 2024 Sarnat Prize in Mental Health

Image above: Deanna Barch receiving the 2024 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the National Academy of Medicine. Photo taken by Amy Hart.

APS Fellow Deanna Barch, a professor of psychology and radiology and Vice Dean of Research at Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded the 2024 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health.  

Barch’s research focuses on understanding the typical patterns of cognitive function and brain connectivity in illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. She studies these factors and the mechanisms that lead to challenges in behavior and cognition with psychological, neuroimaging, and computational approaches.  

One component of Barch’s research focuses on mood disorders across the lifespan, finding that preschool-aged children who experience depression confront some of the same challenges as adults with depression, such as increased reactivity of the brain regions involved in processing emotions and disrupted connectivity between brain systems that manage emotion reactivity and regulation. Her team has also identified important biomarkers that predict risk for depression in young children, including the volume of the insula and the reactivity of the amygdala.  

“This award is such an honor and a testament to the wonderful team of collaborators and trainees who have worked with me to help address the pressing problem of mental health challenges across the lifespan,” Barch said. “I hope our continued efforts help to alleviate the burden of mental illness, allowing people to enhance their quality of life and reach their full potential.” 

The Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health is presented annually by the National Academy of Medicine. The award was established by Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat in 1992 to improve the science base and delivery of mental health services. This international award recognizes individuals, groups, or organizations for outstanding achievement in improving mental health. Recipients are honored with a medal and $20,000.  

Barch has previously served APS as a board member and chair of the APS Publications Committee, as well as holding many other roles within the organization. Other APS members have also been recognized for this award previously, such as APS James McKeen Cattell Fellows Stephen P. Hinshaw, current APS board treasurer and a distinguished professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Aaron T. Beck, who led the Beck Institute of Cognitive Behavior Therapy.  

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