Irving Gottesman wins Grawemeyer psychology award

Irving I. Gottesman is the winner of the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Psychology. Gottesman is best known for studies of the genetic bases of schizophrenia, including work that introduced such concepts as endophenotype and epigenetics into research on mental disorders. His findings and approach have been highly influential in behavioral and psychiatric genetics as well as in psychology.

Gottesman received his PhD in psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1960 and has held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota, University of Virginia and Washington University in St. Louis, among other institutions. Early in his career, he worked at Maudsley Hospital in London, where he conducted seminal twin studies on risk for schizophrenia (with the late James Shields). 

Among many other honors, Gottesman has received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the American Psychological Foundation’s Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement, the Behavioral Genetics Association’s Dobzhansky Award and the Lieber Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Schizophrenia Research. 

The Grawemeyer Awards were established by H. Charles Grawemeyer at the University of Louisville in 1984. Currently, five awards are given each year, in psychology, education, music composition, religion and ideas for improving world order. Each award includes a $100,000 prize. More information about the awards and winners can be found on the Grawemeyer website.

See also: 

• Grawemeyer award announcement

• Gottesman faculty webpage