Professor Afzal Javed, President of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), is delighted to announce Professor Robin Murray as the winner of the 2023 Jean Delay prize.
Professor Robin Murray is a renowned and deserving winner. Robin has been a pioneer in the field of psychosis research, seeking out new ideas and hypotheses. The “landscape” of psychosis research would be very different without his influence, and he has been responsible for many paradigm shifts in his search for the causes of schizophrenia. He was one of the earliest proponents of the highly influential “neurodevelopmental hypothesis” of schizophrenia, and has subsequently focussed on the environmental risk factors for psychosis such as child abuse, migration, and cannabis use. He is one of the most highly cited and influential psychiatric researchers (according to the Thomson Reuters Rankings).
Prof. Murray has won numerous International Prizes and International University Medals, has been awarded many honorary degrees; 50 of his students have gone on to become professors themselves.
Throughout his professional life, Robin has been an enthusiastic clinician working at the Maudsley Hospital. He developed and continues to work at the Maudsley Psychosis Unit treating patients referred from across the UK.
Professor Robin Murray’s full CV can be reviewed here.
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 first president of the WPA and commemorates his own significant contributions to the practice of 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 at the WPA World Congress of Psychiatry. From the beginning, a generous unrestricted grant from SERVIER has made this award possible.
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
We would like to offer our warm congratulations to Professor Murray and thank him for his contribution to psychiatry. Professor Robin Murray’s Jean Delay Prize plenary lecture will be recorded at the 23rd WCP Annual Congress in Austria and will be available to view online (please note, you will need your Congress login details to view the lecture).
Author: WPA