Perfil

Jorge Alberto Costa e Silva was born on March 26, 1942, in Vassouras (RJ). He graduated from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) in 1966 and specialized in Scientific Methodology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Professor Emeritus at PUC-Rio. Professor and Vice-President for International Affairs at the University of Miami, Professor and Director of the International Center for Mental Health at NYU School of Medicine (USA) and Senior Scientist at the International Mental Health Center (NY). Professor and Director of the Faculty of Medicine at UERJ.

He was part of the group that identified panic disorder and its treatment at Harvard (USA) and discovered the action of lithium carbonate in unipolar depression. He was part of the group that identified lithium in bipolar disorder in Denmark. He has developed various drugs and medical teaching techniques. He has published more than 300 scientific articles in national and international journals and 30 books as author and co-author. He is a member of the Editorial Board of national and international medical journals.

Honorary and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Emeritus Fellow of the American College of Psychiatry. Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) and the Pan-American Psychiatric Association. Executive Director (1983-1988) and President (1988) of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). International Director of the WHO – Geneva (1993-1999), where he created a mental health program for disadvantaged populations and led the “Tobacco and Health” group to reduce the impact of smoking on health.

“Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite” and ‘Legion d’Honneur’ by the French Government, ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ by the University of Paraguay, the University of Uruguay, the Brazilian Academy of Philosophy, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the University of Lisbon in Portugal. Honorary Citizen of New Orleans (USA) and Hamburg (Germany). “Medal of Medical Merit” by the Brazilian Government and ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ in Humanities by the International Writers and Artists Association. ‘Grand Cross of Justice’ by the International Organization of Judges. Decorated “World Leader in Psychiatry” by the WPA. As a thinker, member of the Brazilian Academy of Philosophy.