Stephen Deutsch

Dr. Deutsch received his medical and graduate degrees in biochemical pharmacology from the New York University School of Medicine. He conducted his graduate research in the laboratory of Dr. Rody P. Cox, working on the molecular mechanisms of nonketotic hyperglycemia, which provided early insights into glycine’s neurotransmitter and metabolic roles in the CNS, and effects of sodium butyrate on changes in morphology, rates of cell division and gene expression in HeLa cells. The latter studies have assumed increased importance in view of butyrate’s role as the prototypic inhibitor of histone deacetylase activity and the important epigenetic regulatory role of the acetylation status of histones on gene expression. Dr. Deutsch completed training in Psychiatry at the NYU-Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, where he worked with Drs. Samuel Gershon and Magda Campbell on clinical trials and development of rational pharmacotherapies for major psychiatric disorders. Specifically, with Dr. Campbell as a mentor, Dr. Deutsch conducted neuroendocrine studies showing that regulation of growth hormone release was abnormal in severely affected autistic children, participated in the seminal trials of haloperidol, and developed a rational for exploring the therapeutic value of opiate antagonists in these children. Subsequently, Dr. Deutsch completed a Pharmacology Research fellowship at the NIMH, working in the laboratory of Dr. Steven M. Paul on the in vivo characterization of the central benzodiazepine binding site. Currently, Dr. Deutsch is the Ann Robinson Endowed Chair and Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. He and his colleagues have shown that the Balb/c mouse is a genetic mouse model of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and they have shown that targeted NMDA receptor agonists can improve the impaired sociability of this mouse model. Collaboratively with Dr. Maria Urbano, Drs. Deutsch, Urbano and their colleagues are translating these preclinical and other genetic findings into clinical trials of new therapeutic strategies for ASDs. Dr. Deutsch has published over 240 original articles, reviews and book chapters. Dr. Deutsch was a Distinguished NARSAD Investigator and is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.