Richard Keefe, PhD, professor emeritus in psychiatry and behavioral sciences, received the 2024 Andrew C. Leon Distinguished Career Award from the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM).
The award is named after the late Andrew C. Leon, PhD, a professor in psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and founding member of ISCTM, whose work heavily influenced the finding and acceptability of new drugs and treatments for mental illness.
Keefe began his Duke Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences faculty career in 1995 as an assistant professor and retired in 2022. His research was primarily devoted to understanding cognitive dysfunction and its treatment in patients with schizophrenia and other psychiatric and neurological conditions. He has held leadership roles for cognitive methods in several large National Institute of Mental Health studies and more than 100 industry trials.
Keefe has published more than 300 scientific papers and two books and was listed on the Web of Science’s “Highly Cited Researchers” list from 2014 to 2019. He’s on the editorial boards of Psychological Medicine and Schizophrenia Research and the Scientific Board of the Brain and Behavioral Research Foundation. Keefe is also the co-founder and former CEO of VeraSci (2004 to 2022).
Keefe was a founding member of ISCTM and has been an active participant and leader in the Society since its inception in 2005, including serving as president from 2012 to 2014.
Keefe was a founding member of ISCTM and has been an active participant and leader in the Society since its inception in 2005, including serving as president from 2012 to 2014. He’s also chair of the Innovative Technologies for CNS Clinical Trials Working Group, a consistent contributor to Society congresses and meetings, and a former member of the executive and scientific committees.