November, 2008
Sixth Annual Todd Ouida Lecture on Childhood Anxiety and Depression; Psychiatry Researcher Receives Ouida Scholars Award
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| Julie Kaplow, Herb, and Andrea Ouida |
The Sixth Annual Todd Ouida Lecture on Childhood Anxiety and Depression took place in September 2008 in the U-M Depression Center and Ambulatory Psychiatry Auditorium, and was attended by faculty, staff, community members and the founders of the lectureship, Andrea and Herb Ouida. The Ouidas created the annual lecture series and Ouida Scholars Award to honor their son Todd Ouida who suffered from childhood anxiety but was successfully treated and went on to graduate from the University of Michigan. Sadly, Todd’s life was cut short by the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center where he was a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald. This lectureship and award help to keep Todd’s spirit of hope and kindness alive while helping to draw attention to childhood anxiety and depression.
Special thanks to Andrea and Herb Ouida for supporting the U-M Depression Center and Department of Psychiatry.
The 2008 Ouida Scholars Award was announced at the event and was given to Dr. Julie Kaplow. Dr. Kaplow is a licensed clinical psychologist, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Kaplow’s primary research and clinical interests focus on the psychological consequences of childhood trauma and loss, with an emphasis on effective coping strategies that can help inform interventions for children. Dr. Kaplow is currently the Principal Investigator of an NIMH-funded Career Development Award examining children’s psychological and physiological functioning following the loss of a parent. She is particularly interested in the causes and consequences of childhood traumatic grief – the overlap between post-traumatic stress symptoms and grief – in bereaved children.
The Todd Ouida Clinical Scholar Award will support her continuing research on this issue. Specifically, Dr. Kaplow will be collaborating with the Gilda’s Club of Grand Rapids, MI to identify and assess children who have recently experienced the loss of a parent, in an effort to gain a better understanding of risk and protective factors associated with traumatic grief reactions. It is her hope that the findings from this study will provide the foundation for the development of early intervention programs for children who have experienced the loss of a parent.
To learn more about Dr. Kaplow’s most recent research project with Gilda’s Club of Grand Rapids, please visit the following news story:
