Lewis Judd

Lewis Judd earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Utah in 1955. He subsequently obtained his medical degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1958 and completed residency training in adult and child psychiatry at UCLA. Following a stint as a base psychiatrist at Griffiss Air Force Base during military service, Judd joined the faculty at UCLA, where he remained until 1970.

In 1970, Judd was recruited to the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry, the nation's first biologically oriented psychiatry program. He succeeded Arnold J. Mandell as chair in 1977 and served in that capacity for 36 years until 2013, elevating the department to one of the top-ranked programs nationally with a focus on biological psychiatry, evidence-based medicine, functional neuroimaging, molecular biology, and psychopharmacology. His research centered on the course, recovery, and outcomes of mood and anxiety disorders, as well as basic and clinical investigations into severe brain and behavior disorders throughout the life cycle, including late-onset psychoses, neurobehavioral aspects of HIV infection, and child and adolescent services. Judd authored more than 200 scientific publications and edited nine books and monographs.

From 1987 to 1990, as the first active research scientist to direct the National Institute of Mental Health, Judd developed national research plans for schizophrenia, child and adolescent mental disorders, and improved services for severe mental illness. He spearheaded the Decade of the Brain initiative, which dramatically increased federal investment in neuroscience, influencing mental health policy and the evolution of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Judd's advocacy positioned psychiatry as a data-driven biomedical science, emphasizing neurobiological treatments for conditions like depression over psychosocial interpretations alone. His profound impact is reflected in numerous honors, including membership in the Institute of Medicine, an Honorary Doctor of Science from the Medical College of Ohio, the William C. Menninger Memorial Award from the American College of Physicians, the Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Psychiatry, the C. Charles Burlingame Award from the Hartford Institute of Living, the Distinguished Service Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the Award of Distinction from the National Mental Health Association, and the 2009 Falcone Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Affective Disorders Research.