Release date: Jan. 30, 2008
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Adolescents, Mental Illness Focus of Distinguished Faculty Lecture Feb. 5

Breakthroughs in adolescent psychology will be the focus of Emory University's annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 5, in the Winship Ballroom of Dobbs Center. Emory's Elaine Walker, Samuel Candler Dobbs of Psychology and Neuroscience, will discuss "Adolescent Brain Development, Risk-taking and Mental Health." The lecture is free and open to the public.

Walker will focus on the dramatic progress she and her colleagues around the world have made in identifying adolescents at greatest risk for serious mental illness. She also will discuss upcoming research that will attempt to shed light on the brain changes that precede the onset of schizophrenia as well as strategies for preventive intervention.

Walker, who joined Emory in 1986, was recently appointed editor of the Association of Psychological Science's journal "Psychological Science in the Public Interest," and is co-editor of "Adolescent Psycho-pathology and the Developing Brain," published in 2007.

Emory's Faculty Council sponsors the lecture series, which is part of the university's Founders Week, a midwinter academic festival of academic, social and cultural events that commemorates the founding of Emory College in 1836. For details on the lecture, call 404-727-7438 or email Nadine Kaslow, nkaslow@emory.edu.

Emory University (www.emory.edu) is one of the nation’s leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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