In memoriam: Dr. Lissy Jarvik, 97, pioneer in the field of psychogeriatics

This study, still the only one of its kind, would evolve into her life ’s work, which focused on the mental changes that occur in both healthy and physically impaired people as they age, eventually helping guide the field of Alzheimer research.  “What Lissy Jarvik accomplished in her lifetime is truly remarkable,” said Dr. Alex Young, interim chair of the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and interim director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience& Human Behavior at the medical school. “Her seminal contributions to the field of psychogeriatrics and Alzheimer’s research forged new territory in what we know about aging.”Born in the Netherlands in 1924, Jarvik attended Hunter College in New York City, graduating cum laude in 1946. She earned both her master ’s and doctoral degrees in psychology at Columbia University in 1947 and 1950.Ironically, Jarvik was initially unsuccessful when she applied to medical school. She attributed this to being a woman and a Jewish refugee. Eventually she enrolled at Western Reserve University School of Medicine (now Case Western) in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from medical school in 1954 and then returned to New York to continue her research at Columbia ’s psychiatry department and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.In the early 1970s, Jarvik and her family headed west, where Jarvik became professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA. Here, she established the first inpatient psychoge...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news