Pamela Sklar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pamela Sklar
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| Born | July 20, 1959 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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| Died | November 20, 2017 (aged 58) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | St. John's College Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience Genomics Psychiatry |
| Institutions | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Pamela Sklar (born July 20, 1959 – died November 20, 2017) was an American doctor and scientist. She studied the brain and how our genes affect our minds. Dr. Sklar was a leader at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She was known for her important work on mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She helped find some of the first genes linked to these conditions.
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Pamela Sklar's Education
Pamela Sklar loved learning. She earned her first degree in classics and philosophy in 1981. This means she studied old languages, history, and how people think.
Later, she became a medical doctor (MD). She also earned a PhD in neuroscience. Neuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system. She did all this at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
After medical school, she trained to be a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is a doctor who helps people with mental health challenges. She did this training at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
What Did Pamela Sklar Research?
Dr. Sklar's main goal was to understand mental illnesses better. She focused on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She wanted to find out what causes these conditions in the brain.
Studying Our Genes
Dr. Sklar looked closely at our DNA. DNA is like a blueprint for our bodies. She found small changes in DNA that were linked to these illnesses. She studied thousands of people with these conditions. She also compared them to thousands of healthy people.
Important Discoveries
While working at the Broad Institute, she helped start a research center. It was called the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research. Here are some of her big discoveries:
- She found that large missing pieces of DNA could be linked to schizophrenia.
- She found the first genes that were clearly linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
- She showed that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are connected. They share some of the same DNA changes.
Leading Research Teams
In 2011, Dr. Sklar joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She started a new group there. This group studied how genes affect mental health. They used many different ways to learn about the brain.
Dr. Sklar also led big international research groups. These groups worked together to study mental illnesses. One was the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. It is the largest group of its kind. She helped lead the team studying bipolar disorder.
After she passed away, Mount Sinai honored her. They renamed their Division of Psychiatric Genomics after her. This was to remember her important work.
Dr. Sklar also wrote a textbook about the brain and mental illness. She published over 140 scientific papers. In 2013, she was chosen to be part of the National Academy of Medicine. This is a very high honor for scientists.
