With the new year comes a significant change at the Mary A. Rackham Institute (MARI). We will say goodbye to Director Cheryl King, Ph.D. at the end of the year after eight years of leadership. Dr. King is moving on to pursue further research opportunities in her specialty area of youth and young adult depression and suicide prevention. Her research focuses on the development and improvement of evidence-based screening tools, risk-assessment strategies and interventions for youth at risk of suicide. She holds a joint appointment with the departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at U-M.
Bruno Giordani, Ph.D., will take the helm as senior director of the Institute beginning Jan. 1, 2018. Dr. Giordani is Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Psychology at the University of Michigan and Adjunct Professor of Nursing. He is currently Faculty Ombuds in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs as well as Chief Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry. Professor Giordani’s research includes neurodevelopmental approaches to assessment in cross-cultural settings, cognitive and behavioral change in medical illness across the life span, and approaches to improving behavioral and cognitive declines in aging and illness.
Dr. Giordani’s commitment to training the next generation of practitioners is also aligned well with the MARI mission. He has mentored many graduate students, medical students, and residents across the university and been a long-term faculty sponsor of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). He is well recognized in his field. For example, he is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association Society of Clinical Psychology, has received the Distinguished Faculty Governance Award from the University of Michigan and has been been recognized with a Ruth Michelbaugh Lifetime Achievement Award from the Great Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Dr. Giordani is uniquely positioned to build upon MARI’s current strengths and to lead the Institute into the next phase of its development,” said Michael Solomon, interim dean of the Rackham School of Graduate Studies and interim vice provost for academic affairs in graduate studies in an email announcing Dr. Giordani’s appointment.