May 4, 2004, ST. LOUIS -- Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation board of directors approved Alison M. Goate, D. Phil., as the new holder of the Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Chair in Psychiatry.

Dr. Goate is a professor of Psychiatry and Genetics at the Washington University School of Medicine. She is a key member of the Department of Psychiatry''s genetics research program and a major contributor to the Washington University Alzheimer''s Disease Research Center in the Department of Neurology. Goate is known internationally for her work on the genetics of Alzheimer''s disease. She has received several prestigious awards for this work, including the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award for Medical Research and the Potamkin Award from the American Academy of Neurology.

"I am delighted to be named the Ludwig Chair in Psychiatry," says Dr. Goate. "It is a great honor to follow in the footsteps of the previous holder of this chair, my friend and colleague, the late Professor Theodore Reich. I plan to use these funds to support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working on the genetics and cell biology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer''s disease and alcoholism."

A graduate of both Bristol and Oxford Universities in the United Kingdom, Goate has served on scientific review committees of several organizations. She also serves on the editorial boards of several publications, including Psychiatric Genetics. She is a member of the American Society of Human Genetics, the Society for Neuroscience and the Research Society for Alcoholism. Goate has been a Washington University School of Medicine professor since 1992.

The Ludwig Chair in Psychiatry was established in 1989 by a generous gift from the late Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig. It is one of 16 endowed chairs at Barnes-Jewish Hospital that support clinical research and patient care.