May 21, 2009

Robert E. Hales, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UC Davis School of Medicine, will assume the role of acting director of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute while a search is conducted for a permanent director. His appointment is effective on July 1.

Hales is an internationally renowned psychiatrist who specializes in neuropsychiatry, clinical psychiatry and community mental health. He replaces M.I.N.D. Institute Executive Director Robert Hendren, who has accepted the position of director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and vice chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. As acting director, Hales will oversee a staff of more than 250 employees, 40 research labs and a budget of more than $30 million.

"Robert Hales is a highly skilled clinician, academician and administrator who is perfectly suited to guide M.I.N.D. Institute programs," said Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine. "He has served on the Board of Directors of the M.I.N.D. Institute since its founding and understands well the needs of the patients and the families it serves, as well as those of the researchers who are striving to find treatments and, ultimately, cures for neurodevelopmental disorders. Under his guidance, the M.I.N.D will continue on the path to reaching new heights of excellence."

The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute was founded in 1998 as a unique interdisciplinary research center where parents, community leaders, researchers, clinicians and volunteers collaborate to study and treat autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

During Hales’ tenure as chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, the number of faculty has tripled, and research and training programs have excelled. The department has 80 active grants, which generates approximately $14.7 million in annual direct costs, and 15 percent of medical students who graduated in 2009 are pursuing careers in psychiatry, a rate three times the 4.5 percent national average.

Hales is the author or editor of 42 books, including two of the leading textbooks of psychiatry and neuropsychiatry, both now in their fifth editions. He is the author of over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and is co-founder and deputy editor of the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. He is also editor-in-chief of the books division at American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., the world’s leading publisher of psychiatric books, which publishes 30-35 books annually and which has over 800 books in print.

Hales has received several professional honors from the UC Davis School of Medicine, such as the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Mentoring and the Hibbard E. Williams Award for lifetime achievement. He has also received awards from various national psychiatric organizations, such as the Outstanding Educator Award from the Association for Academic Psychiatry.

Hales is serving as interim director of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute without additional compensation.

The UC Davis School of Medicine is among the nation's leading medical schools, recognized for its specialty- and primary-care programs. The school offers combined medical and master's degree programs in public health, business administration, and rural health, as well as a combined medical and doctoral degree for physician scientists interested in addressing specific scientific, social, ethical and political challenges of health care. Along with being a leader in health-care research, the school is known for its commitment to people from underserved communities and a passion for clinical care. For more information, visit UC Davis School of Medicine.