UofM researcher appointed Anderson Chair in

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

A complex psychiatric syndrome that develops in response to trauma exposure. Individuals with PTSD experience intrusive recollections or reexperiencing of the traumatic event, avoidance of trauma reminders, emotional numbing, and hyperarousal. In addition, PTSD is associated with high rates of concomitant physical and mental health problems, increased health care use, and impairment in social and occupational functioning. Almost 7% of the general population and up to 30% of veterans meet lifetime criteria for PTSD. Indeed, PTSD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, representing a significant and costly public health concern.

Research

Brian Engdahl, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology at the at the University of Minnesota and psychologist and clinician investigator at the Minneapolis , has been appointed the Anderson Chair in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder () Research at the University of Minnesota Medical School.The Anderson Chair helps understand and heal the psychological scars that often haunt veterans as they return home from service. The $2 million gift honors the late William Lewis Anderson, a combat medic who died trying to save a wounded soldier on the battlefield in World War II.Engdahl has served veterans for more than 30 years at the and Minneapolis and is working on numerous research initiatives to assess and treat veterans with serious disabilities, including ."It's an honor to be named the Anderson Chair in Research," said Engdahl. "We hope to continue the great work done at the University of Minnesota and to help those who served our country but now are afflicted with and other life altering disabilities."With Apostolos Georgopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at the , Engdahl has recently helped discover that a special kind of brain scan can identify, with 95 percent accuracy, veterans with . Because this appears to be the first objective marker of a mental disorder, the findings should help develop better kinds of treatment, encourage more people who suffer from it to seek help, and reduce the stigma associated with and other mental disorders."The University of Minnesota has strong programs in brain science and on the provision of care for those with brain injury," said Aaron Friedman, M.D., vice president for health sciences and dean of the Medical School. "The awarding of this Chair to Professor Engdahl reflects his enormous contribution in understanding and treating brain injury."