FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 15, 2001

UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER NAMES NEW CHIEF OF CHILD PSYCHIATRY

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Robert Hendren, an expert in neuroimaging of children with autism and impulse control disorders, and in psychotropic medications used for these disorders, has joined the faculty at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center as chief of the Division of Child Psychiatry.

A native of Boise, Idaho, Hendren was professor and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey before coming to UC Davis.

"Dr. Hendren will significantly expand our department's child psychiatry research programs in both brain imaging and psychopharmacology, said Robert Hales, chair of the Department of Psychiatry. "He also will be key in helping to further our clinical, research and training collaborations with the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute."

As chief of child psychiatry, Hendren will oversee the division's clinical programs in the outpatient clinic and pediatric consultation service at the medical center, as well as affiliated sites at Sacramento County, Shriner's Hospital, and the River Oak Center for Children. Hendren will lead a growing division with more than 10 faculty members and established programs in research and residency training in child psychiatry. In addition, he will be working closely with the M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, which studies and treats autism, fragile X syndrome, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, Asperger's syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Hendren's current research is aimed at demonstrating the diagnostic utility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in distinguishing psychiatric disorders first evident in children and adolescents that are known to have a biologically based brain component, such as autism, Asperger's syndrome and bipolar disorder. He also has pending two major National Institute of Mental Health grants related to autism and emotional disorders.

Hendren has written more than 60 original papers and three books in the field of psychiatry. His most recent book is "Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Children and Adolescents," published in 1999 by American Psychiatric Press Inc. Hendren is a Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association and serves on many national committees. He is board certified in general as well as child and adolescent psychiatry.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Utah, Hendren received his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Mo. He completed his residency in general psychiatry at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and his child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center. He was director of medical student education at the George Washington University School of Medicine until 1986 and was the Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Medical Director of the Children's Psychiatric Hospital at the University of New Mexico before moving to New Jersey in January 1996.

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