René Sylvain Kahn (born 1954) is a

neuropsychiatrist Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...

and the Esther and Joseph Klingenstein Professor and System Chair of Psychiatry at the

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, a position he has held since 2017. He previously served as Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus at the

University Medical Center Utrecht The University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU; Dutch: ''Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht'') is the University hospital of the city of Utrecht, Netherlands. It is affiliated with the Utrecht University. Since the foundation of the university in 16 ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Kahn is recognized for his research on the

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. He served as a former president of the Schizophrenia International Research Society and was elected to the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

in 2009. He received the

Neuropsychopharmacology Neuropsychopharmacology, an interdisciplinary science related to psychopharmacology (study of effects of drugs on the mind) and fundamental neuroscience, is the study of the neural mechanisms that drugs act upon to influence behavior. It entails ...

Award from the

European College of Neuropsychopharmacology The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) is a pan-European, non-profit scientific association that serves as a platform to exchange and promote research in the field of neuropsychopharmacology. The ECNP “is committed to ensuring t ...

in 2014. He was awarded a knighthood in the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2018. As of 2020, he was principal or co-principal investigator of more than 40 grants, written 39 books and book chapters and published more than 1000 peer-reviewed articles.

Biography

Kahn studied medicine from 1972 to 1979 at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...

, and then specialized in psychiatry and

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

and the

Academic Medical Center The Academic Medical Center (Dutch: ''Academisch Medisch Centrum''), or AMC, was the university hospital affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. After merging with the VU University Medical Center, it now operates as the Amsterdam Universi ...

, respectively. He is a registered neuropsychiatrist since 1986. In 1990 he obtained his Ph.D. with professors Herman van Praag and

David de Wied David de Wied (12 January 1925 – 21 February 2004, aged 79) was a Dutch professor of pharmacology at the University of Utrecht. Due to the necessity of hiding as a Jew during the Second World War, De Wied only started in 1947 studying medicine ...

as mentors at the University of Utrecht on the thesis ''

Serotonin Serotonin (), also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), is a monoamine neurotransmitter with a wide range of functions in both the central nervous system (CNS) and also peripheral tissues. It is involved in mood, cognition, reward, learning, ...

Receptor Hypersensitivity in

Panic Disorder Panic disorder is a mental disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder, characterized by reoccurring unexpected panic attacks. Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that may include palpitations, sweating, shaking, shortness of breath ...

: an Hypothesis''. Kahn served in the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

as a first lieutenant in 1980 and 1981. Following residencies in the Netherlands, he attended the

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

in New York City for a research fellowship in biological psychiatry. From there he completed psychiatry residencies at Mount Sinai Hospital and then acted as the chief of the psychiatry research unit at the Bronx VA Hospital. In 1993 he returned to the Netherlands be the chair of psychiatry at the University Medical Center. He led the Brain Center Rudolf Magnus—a multi-discipline center for research in fundamental neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery and rehabilitation medicine—for over 10 years, until 2017.

Honors and awards

Fulbright Scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

(1985) * Chairman of the Dutch Association for Psychiatry (2003–2006) * Treasurer and Vice-President of the

(2002–2007) * Honorary Lifetime Professor at

Jilin University Jilin University (JLU) is a public university in the city of Changchun, Jilin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. History Founded ...

Changchun Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, on the Songliao Plain. Changchun is administered as a , comprising seven districts, one county and three county-level cities. At the 2020 census of China, Changchun ha ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(2010) * ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award (2014) * Honorary doctorate at

Semmelweis University Semmelweis University (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Semmelweis Egyetem'', ) is a research-led medical school in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 1769. With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences. ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(2014) * Lifetime achievement award of the Netherlands Psychiatric Association (2016) * President of The Schizophrenia International Research Society (2014–2016) * Fellow,

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Founded in 1961, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) is a professional organization of leading brain and behavior scientists. The principal functions of the College are research and education. Their goals in research are to offer ...

* Member of the

(2009) * Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion (2018)

Research

Kahn studies biological causes of

psychiatric disorders A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

such as schizophrenia and has led numerous consortia examining the brain changes that play a role in

. He has coordinated several international trials to optimize the treatment of schizophrenia. He is known for helping establish proof that schizophrenia debuts with

cognitive dysfunction Neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), also known as cognitive disorders (CDs), are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive abilities including learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving. Neurocognitive disorders in ...

, preceding the onset of the first incidence of

psychosis In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

by more than a decade. He and associates further showed that

brain volume The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special senses s ...

is one of the most

heritable Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of Phenotypic trait, traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cell (biology), cells or orga ...

characteristics, paving the way to link brain volumes in health and disease to

genetic variation Genetic variation is the difference in DNA among individuals or the differences between populations among the same species. The multiple sources of genetic variation include mutation and genetic recombination. Mutations are the ultimate sources ...

Grants and trials

As of 2020, Kahn is the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 13 active grants related to child development and drug augmentation for onset schizophrenia to prevent psychosis and cognitive therapy symptoms. Active grant in 2020:

Publications

Editorial

As of 2020, Kahn is on the editorial board of

Schizophrenia Research ''Schizophrenia Research'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering research on the cause, clinical diagnostics, and treatment of schizophrenia. It is an official journal of the Schizophrenia International Research Society and was established ...

European Neuropsychopharmacology ''European Neuropsychopharmacology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. It is the official journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. It was established in November 1990 and covers clinical and ...

Schizophrenia Bulletin ''Schizophrenia Bulletin'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal which covers research relating to the etiology and treatment of schizophrenia. The journal is published bimonthly by Oxford University Press in association with the Maryland Psychiatri ...

and

Early Intervention in Psychosis Early intervention in psychosis is a clinical approach to those experiencing symptoms of psychosis for the first time. It forms part of a new prevention paradigm for psychiatry and is leading to reform of mental health services, especially in the ...

Peer reviewed articles

Kahn authored or co-authored over 1000 scientific papers with an H index,

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational content-driven technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and maintains its headquarters at 1 ...

: 128; cites: > 73,500 and an H index,

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

: 195; cites: > 165,000. Partial list: * Sher L, Kahn RS. Suicide in Schizophrenia: An Educational Overview. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Jul 10;55(7):361. doi: 10.3390/medicina55070361. ; PMCID: PMC6681260. * Böttcher C, Schlickeiser S, Sneeboer MAM, Kunkel D, Knop A, Paza E, Fidzinski P, Kraus L, Snijders GJL, Kahn RS, Schulz AR, Mei HE; NBB-Psy, Hol EM, Siegmund B, Glauben R, Spruth EJ, de Witte LD, Priller J. Human microglia regional heterogeneity and phenotypes determined by multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry. Nat Neurosci. 2019 Jan;22(1):78-90. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0290-2. Epub 2018 Dec 17. . * Turk E, van den Heuvel MI, Benders MJ, de Heus R, Franx A, Manning JH, Hect JL, Hernandez-Andrade E, Hassan SS, Romero R, Kahn RS, Thomason ME, van den Heuvel MP. Functional Connectome of the Fetal Brain. J Neurosci. 2019 Dec 4;39(49):9716-9724. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2891-18.2019. Epub 2019 Nov 4. ; PMCID: PMC6891066. * Hess JL, Tylee DS, Mattheisen M; Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Børglum AD, Als TD, Grove J, Werge T, Mortensen PB, Mors O, Nordentoft M, Hougaard DM, Byberg-Grauholm J, Bækvad-Hansen M, Greenwood TA, Tsuang MT, Curtis D, Steinberg S, Sigurdsson E, Stefánsson H, Stefánsson K, Edenberg HJ, Holmans P, Faraone SV, Glatt SJ. A polygenic resilience score moderates the genetic risk for schizophrenia. Mol Psychiatry. 2019 Sep 6:10.1038/s41380-019-0463-8. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0463-8. Epub ahead of print. ; PMCID: PMC7058518. * Kahn RS. On the Origins of Schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Apr 1;177(4):291-297. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20020147. . * Ormel PR, Vieira de Sá R, van Bodegraven EJ, Karst H, Harschnitz O, Sneeboer MAM, Johansen LE, van Dijk RE, Scheefhals N, Berdenis van Berlekom A, Ribes Martínez E, Kling S, MacGillavry HD, van den Berg LH, Kahn RS, Hol EM, de Witte LD, Pasterkamp RJ. Microglia innately develop within cerebral organoids. Nat Commun. 2018 Oct 9;9(1):4167. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06684-2. ; PMCID: PMC6177485. * Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Electronic address: douglas.ruderfer@vanderbilt.edu; Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Genomic Dissection of Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia, Including 28 Subphenotypes. Cell. 2018 Jun 14;173(7):1705-1715.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.05.046. ; PMCID: PMC6432650. * Böttcher C, Schlickeiser S, Sneeboer MAM, Kunkel D, Knop A, Paza E, Fidzinski P, Kraus L, Snijders GJL, Kahn RS, Schulz AR, Mei HE; NBB-Psy, Hol EM, Siegmund B, Glauben R, Spruth EJ, de Witte LD, Priller J. Human microglia regional heterogeneity and phenotypes determined by multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry. Nat Neurosci. 2019 Jan;22(1):78-90. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0290-2. Epub 2018 Dec 17. . * Böttcher C, Schlickeiser S, Sneeboer MAM, Kunkel D, Knop A, Paza E, Fidzinski P, Kraus L, Snijders GJL, Kahn RS, Schulz AR, Mei HE; NBB-Psy, Hol EM, Siegmund B, Glauben R, Spruth EJ, de Witte LD, Priller J. Human microglia regional heterogeneity and phenotypes determined by multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry. Nat Neurosci. 2019 Jan;22(1):78-90. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0290-2. Epub 2018 Dec 17. . * Schür RR, van Leeuwen JMC, Houtepen LC, Joëls M, Kahn RS, Boks MP, Vinkers CH. Glucocorticoid receptor exon 1Fmethylation and the cortisol stress response in health and disease. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2018 Nov;97:182-189. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.018. Epub 2018 Jul 11. .

Books and chapters

Partial list: * Kahn RS. De appel en de Boom. Uitgeverij Balans, Amsterdam 2011. (3 editions) * Kahn RS. In de spreekkamer van de psychiater. Uitgeverij Balans, Amsterdam 2008. , NUR 875 (6 printings) * Kahn RS. Onze Hersenen., Over de smalle grens tussen normaal en abnormaal. Uitgeverij Balans, Amsterdam 2006, 2007, 2008. , NUR 875 (12 printings) * De Haan L, Kahn RS. Psychotische stoornissen. In: Leerboek Psychiatrie (Hengeveld, van Balkom eds). De Tijdstroom uitgeverij, 2005. / 5898 094 4, NUR 875

References

External links

Faculty page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, René Sylvain Dutch psychiatrists Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty Living people 1954 births Dutch emigrants to the United States Schizophrenia researchers Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Academic staff of Utrecht University