Diego Pizzagalli, PhD, receives the 2025 Brain Health Clinical Research Award

Approximately 280 million people around the world suffer from depression, a statistic that Diego A. Pizzagalli, PhD, has worked for two decades to better understand and address. As the founding director of the newly established Noel Drury, M.D. Institute for Translational Depression Discoveries at UC Irvine, he leads pioneering research into the origins of depression and the development of breakthrough prevention and treatment options.

On April 8, 2025, in recognition of his outstanding contributions in neuroscience, he received the 2025 Brain Health Clinical Research Award from the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

“I feel deeply humbled and honored by this award from a scientific organization that has fostered research on causes and treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders across continents,” says Pizzagalli, whose work has focused on investigating psychological, biological and environmental factors implicated in depression.

“Our work has identified markers in the brain that predict future depression — for example, among youth at increased risk for depression — as well as antidepressant response. I strongly hope that our findings will contribute to better prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the substantial impairments associated with depression,” he says. “We have also made good strides in developing personalized treatments, which might allow us to guide treatment selection and thereby speed up recovery.”

In June, Pizzagalli will travel to Melbourne, Australia to receive his award at the 36th World Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology, centered on “Advancing Intelligent Horizons Towards Brain Health.”