
Erin Michalak
Erin Michalak, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry has been selected as the 2015 Mogens Schou Award for Public Service and Advocacy. Dr. Michalak is the team leader of CREST.BD a team that encompasses researchers, clinicians and community members with a special interest in developing knowledge on biopolar disorders. The international team includes representatives from a variety of health disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry, occupational therapy, nursing, genetic counseling, and mental health advocacy.
The Mogens Schou Awards have been a hallmark and highlight of the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder (ICBD) since 2001 and ISBD continues to honor the legacy of Professor Schou with this Award in the annual ISBD meetings, now the successor of the ICBD meeting. Under the auspices of the ISBD Awards Committee, this Award was opened to nomination by the ISBD Board of Councilors for the first time, and after careful consideration of the candidates, their advocacy profile, and the spirit of the Schou Award for Public Service and Advocacy, Dr. Michalak was chosen as this year’s recipient. Dr. Michalak’s contribution with CREST.BD, Community Based Participatory Research and several other novel and pioneering advocacy programs in the past several years is exemplary and will contribute substantially to the lineage of this distinguish group of past award winners.
The 2015 Mogens Schou Award was presented at the International Society for Biopolar Disorders (ISBD) Awards Ceremony on June 3 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto as part of the 17th Annual Conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders.