Steven J Siegel, MD, PhD-Director, Translational Neuroscience, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of PennsylvaniaSteven Siegel received his MD and PhD in Neurobiology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1996 after completing an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Colgate University in 1986.  He later completed residency in Psychiatry and a Fellowship in Neuropsychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania before joining the faculty in 2001.  He is currently an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Translational Neuroscience Program and Stanley Center for Experimental Therapeutics.  He also has several educational roles at the University, including Director of the Clinical Neurosciences Track for the School of Medicine and Associate Director for the Masters on Translational Research.  He is also a practicing Psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of Schizophrenia and volunteers on the Board of Directors for his local chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Work in his laboratory includes the establishment and development news method for the treatment of Schizophrenia using biodegradable long-term delivery systems.  The methods and technologies developed in his group are also being extended to the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease.  Additionally, his laboratory investigates the neurobiology of schizophrenia, drug abuse and nicotine dependence using animal models to evaluate electrophysiological brain activity in mice.  He has published more than 85 scientific manuscripts, reviews, editorials and book chapters addressing the clinical management of schizophrenia, the use of animal models in psychiatric disorders and the use of biodegradable polymers in pharmaceutical delivery systems.  His research and clinical programs have trained more than 50 undergraduate, graduate and post doctoral students in the Pharmacology and Neurobiology of Psychiatric illness and Biomedical Engineering.  Work in his group has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Stanley Medical Research Institute, The National Association for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) and multiple pharmaceutical companies.LaRiena Ralph-Clinical Coordinator, Neuropsychiatry Program, University of PennsylvaniaLaRiena Ralph obtained her Bachelors in Neuroscience at Pennsylvania State University.  She has worked in a variety of clinical care and research settings dedicated to the treatment of with people with schizophrenia.  She works closely with Steve Siegel and others in the Schizophrenia Center at the University of Pennsylvania.  Her interests include the use of psychotherapy for schizophrenia, as well as mechanisms to help patients and families cope with and manage the devastating aspects of schizophrenia. 

Schizophrenia is devastating psychiatric disorder that is often misunderstood. Demystifying Schizophrenia for the General Practitioner is an essential manual for clinicians illustrating how schizophrenia affects patients, their families and society using poignant real world examples to explain its onset, progression and prognosis. This book includes criteria for diagnosing schizophrenia based on the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM). Special emphasis is placed on differential diagnosis, co-morbidities, medications, and additional treatment options.  The authors provide expert guidance on helping patients to cope with family and cultural issues for this highly complex disorder.

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