October 2, 2018

SVSU to host mental health expert for annual O'Neill Lecture

Saginaw Valley State University is hosting a lecture by a renowned psychiatrist and researcher who specializes in depression and bipolar illness. Nassir Ghaemi will present “Psychiatric Profiles in Leadership” for SVSU’s annual James E. O'Neill Memorial Lecture Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall Banquet Rooms.

Originally born in Tehran, Iran, Dr. Ghaemi immigrated to the U.S. when he was five. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in history from George Mason University, a master's degree in philosophy from Tufts University, a master's degree in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health and a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ghaemi is the author of “A First-Rate Madness,” among other books, and he is the editor of the monthly newsletter “The Psychiatry Letter.” His research on depression and manic-depressive illness has been published in  200 scientific articles and over 50 scientific book chapters.

Ghaemi currently serves as a professor of psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, a clinical lecturer at Harvard Medical School and he teaches at the Cambridge Health Alliance. He also works for the Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he leads clinical psychiatry research on discovery and early development of new drugs.

The James E. O’Neill Jr. Memorial Lecture Series was established in 2003 to honor the late Saginaw educator, legislator and community servant. Co-sponsored by SVSU and the Field Neurosciences Institute of Saginaw, the series is intended to dynamically reflect O’Neill’s passion for excellence in government, education and the neurosciences, and to provide opportunities for people to learn about public service from individuals who have unselfishly contributed to the betterment of the human condition.

Ghaemi’s visit to SVSU is part of the 2018-19 Dow Visiting Scholars and Artists Series, a program at SVSU established through an endowment from The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to enrich our region’s cultural and intellectual opportunities.