Geriatric Psychiatry Section Editor of Psychiatric Times to Receive National Award

NEWS BRIEF

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the APA Foundation have selected Rajesh R. Tampi, MD, MS, DFAPA, as the recipient of the 2021 Jack Weinberg Memorial Award in Geriatric Psychiatry. The award, instituted in 1983, recognizes a psychiatrist who has devoted their career to geriatric psychiatry. The awardee exemplifies leadership and goes above and beyond in the areas of clinical practice, educational training and mentorship, and important research.¹

Tampi’s passion—to promote the care of older adults with mental health disorders and to train the next generation of leaders in psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry—certainly fall within these parameters. His clinical interests focus not only on psychiatric disorders in late life but also on legal matters and ethics, neurodegenerative disorders, and integrated geriatric-psychiatric care. He has been a proponent for undergraduate and postgraduate education in psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry.

Rajesh R. Tampi, MD, MS, DFAPA

“I am honored and humbled to receive the award,” Tampi told Psychiatric Times^TM. “It was the support of Cleveland Clinic, the Yale School of Medicine, the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP), and the APA that has allowed me the opportunity to pursue my passion for clinical excellence, teaching, mentorship, research, writing, and advocacy,” he added.

When asked what drew Tampi to geriatric psychiatry as a specialty, he said, “It provides compassionate care for vulnerable, older adults with mental health disorders who face so many hardships in their life. In addition, the field of geriatric psychiatry offers the perfect interface between psychiatry, medicine, and neuroscience to practice the science and art of healing.”

Tampi is the chairman, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, Ohio. He is professor of medicine, Cleveland Clinic Learner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, as well as professor of psychiatry at North East Ohio Medical University. He is adjunct professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

In addition to his appointment as Geriatric Psychiatric Section Editor for Psychiatric Times^TM, Tampi is editor-in-chief of the World Journal of Psychiatry and associate editor for Drugs in Context (Psychiatry). He is copresident of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. A prolific writer, his published works include nearly 200 publications and 46 book chapters; he also is editor of 9 books in psychiatry. His most recent book is Absolute Geriatric Psychiatry Review. Essential Questions and Answers (Springer International Publishing, 2021).

In addition to these works, some of Tampi’s articles for Psychiatric Times^TM include:

Benzodiazepine Use and the Risk of Dementia

Adult Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (aADHD)

Easy To Miss, Hard to Treat: Notes on Frontotemporal Dementia

5 Steps to Improve Outcomes in Substance Abuse in Older Patients

The Most Prevalent Psychiatric Disorder in Older Adults

His author page can be found here.

Dr Tampi lives in Ohio, with his wife Deena a frequent collaborator with him on articles and book projects, and their children Alexa, Vaishnav, Julia, Olivia, Poki, Smoki, and Oreo Cookie.

All award recipients will be recognized in the online 2021 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting Convocation.

Reference

1. Gardner C. Tampi Selected to Receive APA's Jack Weinberg Award for Geriatric Psychiatry. Yale School of Medicine. February 4, 2021. Accessed February 11, 2021. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/30150/