Peter Falkai named winner of the 2026 Jean Delay Prize

Professor Peter Falkai is a highly deserving recipient and one of the world’s leading researchers in psychiatry. Over more than 30 years, he has made major contributions to the understanding and treatment of psychotic disorders, particularly schizophrenia. His work has advanced knowledge of cognitive dysfunction, including influential research on myelin-related mechanisms and the biological basis of cognitive impairment.

He has also led important studies demonstrating the positive effects of physical exercise on cognitive function in schizophrenia, helping to bridge biological research with clinical practice. Professor Falkai has published more than 1,400 scientific papers, contributed to international treatment guidelines, and is widely recognised as one of the most highly cited researchers in the field.

A committed clinician-scientist, Professor Falkai is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Chairman of the clinic at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry. He has held numerous international leadership roles, including serving as President of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry and former President of the European Psychiatric Association.

The WPA Jean Delay Prize is psychiatry’s most prestigious award. Conferred triennially by the World Psychiatric Association at its World Congress of Psychiatry, the Prize bears the name of the WPA’s first president and commemorates his significant contributions to psychiatry in the 20th century.

The Prize was established in 1999 to honour distinguished colleagues who have “1) made a noteworthy contribution to the biological, psychological or social aspects of psychiatry, or 2) built useful bridges between them”.

The award winner is selected by an international jury of experts and is invited to deliver a plenary lecture during the closing session at the WPA World Congress of Psychiatry on the 26th of September (16:00-17:00).

The past awardees include:

1. Professor David Goldberg in 1999
2. Professor Hagop Akiskal in 2002
3. Professor Otto Steenfeldt-Foss in 2005
4. Professor Hans-Jürgen Möller in 2008
5. Professor Kenneth S Kendler in 2011
6. Professor Mitsumoto Sato in 2014
7. Professor Jules Angst in 2017
8. Professor Hannelore Ehrenreich in 2020
9. Professor Robin Murray in 2023

We would like to offer our warm congratulations to Professor Falkai and thank him for his outstanding contribution to psychiatry. His Jean Delay Prize plenary lecture will be delivered at the upcoming WPA 26th World Congress of Psychiatry in Sweden, and will be available to view online (please note, you will need your Congress login details to access the lecture).