Daniel Pine, M.D.

Considerable work in Dr. Pine’s team at the NIMH Intramural Research Program investigates relationships between psychopathology and brain function. This work focuses on using this understanding to generate ideas about three fundamental relationships. First, children present with various symptoms that involve problems with stress and anxiety. It remains unclear the degree to which these problems represent alternative clinical manifestations of related underlying dysfunctions in the brain. Dr. Pine’s work is attempting to identify commonalities and differences among the various clinical presentations of stress and anxiety in children and adolescents. Second, some problems with stress and anxiety in children resolve with limited long-lasting complications for the child. Another set of problems remain chronic, appearing quite similar in children, adolescents, and adults. A final set change from childhood through later stages in life to cause different problems at different ages. Dr. Pine’s work on brain function is also trying to better predict the long term outcome in children. Finally, considerable work is needed on therapeutics. Dr. Pine’s group is actively using information on brain function to develop novel treatments for pediatric emotional problems.

Daniel S. Pine, MD is Chief, Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Intramural Research Program. After graduating from medical school at the University of Chicago, Dr. Pine spent 10 years in training and research on child psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. Since medical school, he has been engaged continuously in research focusing on the epidemiology, biology, and treatment of pediatric mental illnesses. His areas of expertise include biological and pharmacological aspects of mood, anxiety, and behavioral disorders in children, as well as classification of psychopathology across the lifespan. This expertise is reflected in more than 300 peer-reviewed papers. Currently, his research group is examining the degree to which mood and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are associated with underlying abnormalities in the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and associated brain regions. Dr. Pine has served as the Chair of the Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee for the Food and Drug Administration and Chair of the Child and Adolescent Diagnosis Group for the DSM-5 Task Force. He has received many awards, including the Joel Elkes Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Blanche Ittelson Award from the American Psychiatric Association, and the Ruane Prize from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.