Professor Gabrielle Carlson, MD received the American Psychiatric Association’s prestigious Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for Prevention. The award was announced at the Convocation of Distinguished Fellows on May 18, 2013. The McGavin Award honors those who have made significant contributions to the prevention of mental disorders in children and adolescents and influenced the general well-being of young people. The selection committee cited Dr. Carlson’s leadership and outstanding achievements in the field of psychiatry.
Dr. Robert Hendren, Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and a member of the selection committee, commented that “Dr. Carlson is internationally renowned as an astute clinician, gifted teacher, insightful researcher and inspired and inspiring leader in child and adolescent psychiatry,” adding that “she has done the world a lot of good in fully achieving the goals of the McGavin Award for Prevention.” Dr. Louis Kraus, Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center, said that “Gabrielle Carlson is one of the preeminent child and adolescent psychiatrists of the 21st century. Her devotion to research and education is perhaps only matched by her vibrant personality and incredible intellect.”
Dr. Carlson is Head Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Stony Brook University. She specializes in childhood psychopathology and psychopharmacology, with specific interests in childhood and adolescent depression and bipolar disorder. She has written over 200 papers and chapters and has co-authored two books. Dr. Carlson is listed in Best Doctors in America, Best Doctors in the New York Metropolitan area and Newsday's Best Doctors. She was awarded the American Psychiatric Association's Blanche F. Ittleson Award for research in child and adolescent psychiatry, the New York Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's Hulse Award, and most recently the American Psychopathology Association’s Joseph Zubin Award. She has served as President of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology and chaired the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's (AACAP) Program Committee. For the past 5 years she has topped the AACAP’s list of most requested speakers.
Dr. Carlson is the founder of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Stony Brook University. She established a 10-bed inpatient child psychiatry unit on 12 North, an outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry service in Putnam Hall and initiated a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. A tireless advocate on behalf of mental health services for young people and a leader in local mental health services, she works closely with Eastern and Western Suffolk BOCES, school districts and mental health agencies.