The University of Wisconsin received another honor last Thursday when psychiatry researcher Ned Kalin was awarded with the Edward A. Strecker Award for his significant contributions in the field.

Pennsylvania Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania Health System present the award to leaders in the psychiatry community for their outstanding achievement.

The award is named after Strecker, a pioneer in psychiatry at the turn of the century, and recognizes leaders that can pass on qualities that were important to what he did, according to Kalin.

"I feel very honored," Kalin said. "Dr. Strecker was a tremendous role model for all of us. But secondly, when you look at the people who have received this award over the years it's just an outstanding cast of leaders in the field of psychiatry."

Kalin said receiving the award was an honor because it helps disseminate his research among his peers.

"It makes me feel very good to be part of that and to be recognized for the work that I've done," he said. "[It's] helpful for me to be able to pass on what I've learned through my work to others."

Burr Eichelman, professor and director of the Adult Psychiatry Consultation/Liaison Service for UW Hospitals and Meriter Hospital, agreed that Kalin was a worthy recipient for the award. In the past, Eichelman served as chairman of the group at Temple University that accepts applicants for the award.

"It's a prestigious award for young or middle-career psychiatrists that has national visibility and credibility and is well-deserved," Eichelman said.

Among other things, Kalin is the Hedberg Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, the chair of the department of psychiatry at the UW Medical School and director of HealthEmotions Research Institute. He is renowned for his research on stress and depression.

The HealthEmotions Research Institute focuses on effects that positive emotions have on health.

"We're interested in how emotions affect mental health as well as physical health," Kalin said. "And it's related to focusing in on when we have emotions, where they occur in the brain and how that affects the way we live and the struggles that we have."

Developments in this research have implications in discovering strategies for better treatment and prevention of mental disease.

"We're looking to better understand mental illnesses, what causes them and why some people are vulnerable and others aren't," Kalin said. "We're also trying to discover new treatment approaches that will be more effective and also trying to understand how we can begin to help children early on before they develop problems."

Eichelman, who hired Kalin at UW, said he was one of the very best hires he has made and emphasized the importance of Kalin's research.

"It is valuable research, in relation to the Emotion Institute he helped develop, in dealing with the biology of stress and wellness and what we need to do to keep ourselves healthy," Eichelman said.

The passion and devotion for psychiatry that drives Kalin comes from wanting to help people the best he can, he said.

"I think that the brain is unbelievably fascinating and it really is the center of who we are as human beings," Kalin said. "More importantly … there are lots of people — many, many people — who are suffering from depression and anxiety and schizophrenia and other illnesses. I work with them as a doctor treating them, but also I know that by doing research we can hopefully come up with a much better understanding of what causes the illnesses and better ways to help more people."

— John Potratz contributed to this article