Award for research on mental disorders for Leonhard Schilbach

Physician and scientist of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry awarded

PD Dr. Leonhard Schilbach, physician and scientist at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, was awarded the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN) prize for research on mental disorders on November 25. The jury appreciates Schilbach´s work at the interface between "social" neuroscience and psychiatry and emphasizes its high innovation value and its excellent methodological quality. Furthermore, it mentions the laureate’s high-ranking publications.

Schilbach receives the award for his scientific work that, based on an integrative approach, investigates the function of healthy and ill brains within the scope of social interaction. This objective results from the insight that mental disorders are above all characterized by impairment of the capacity of interaction. The approach therefore promises to contribute to the elucidation of neuronal pathomechanisms and interventions on the level of neuronal networks and could thus help to bridge the gap between the so-called social neurosciences and clinical application that is so urgently needed.  

By this prize, the DGPPN promotes young scientists who, by doing outstanding research work and developing pioneering models, contribute to significant developments in the field of mental disorders and their treatment. „Congratulations! We are very pleased about this award for our colleague Leonhard Schilbach,“ delights Dr. Dr. Elisabeth Binder, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry.

AS/EF