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information
on The Joseph Zubin Awards
Joseph
Zubin, founder of the Biometrics
Research programs at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in 1954, and the
VA Medical Center/University of Pittsburgh in 1977, was born on October 9, 1900,
in Raseiniai, Lithuania, which was then a small village in the vicinity of
Kaunas. In 1908, Joe and his family emigrated to Baltimore, Maryland, where he
spent the remainder of his childhood and adolescence. His lifelong identity as
an educator took root early, beginning at the age of 13 as a teacher of Hebrew.
In 1921, Joe received a baccalaureate in chemistry from Johns Hopkins
University. He became increasingly interested in psychology while taking
graduate courses in chemistry and physics at the University of Pennsylvania, and
in 1927, he entered the psychology program at Columbia University, where he was
influenced by pioneers E. L. Thorndike, R. S. Woodworth, John Dewey, William
Kilpatrick, and Charles Spearman. His doctorate in educational psychology was
awarded by Columbia in 1932. Joe's dissertation (1931) involved an experimental
study of the effects of incentives on rivalry in children, the data from which
he submitted to factor analysis. The approach taken in this early work presaged
his later focus on experimental methods, psychometrics, and statistical
techniques, which were topics of primary concern in his published work during
the period from 1930 through 1960.
The
contributions resulting from Joe's lengthy and prolific career span the domains
of research, teaching, and administration. His research career began in 1932
when he volunteered at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where he spent
the greater part of his professional life. Also, during this time he met his
wife, Winifred, and in 1934, they established a home in Leonia, New Jersey,
where they began raising their three children. From 1936 to 1938, Joe served as
Psychologist Statistician for the National Committee for Mental Hygiene. His
first official appointment at the New York State Psychiatric Institute came in
1938, as Associate Research psychologist in the Department of Research
Psychology, then headed by Carney Landis. In 1956, he was appointed Chief of
Psychiatric Research in Biometrics, a position that included responsibility for
creating a Biometrics Research Unit for the New York State Department of Mental
Hygiene. Joe occupied this office for the next 20 years, and under his
directorship the program increased from one section of two scientists and
support staff in 1956, to a full research program with nine separate divisions
and 109 staff members in 1975. The program was multidisciplinary, including the
diverse orientations of anthropology, behavioral analysis and modification,
biostatistics, developmental psychology, gerontology, psychiatric diagnosis and
evaluation, psychophysiology, and sociology.
Joe's
most significant contributions were in the area of experimental psychopathology
and in the theoretical understanding of the etiology of schizophrenia. The
development of a biometric approach as a standard for research in
psychopathology was heavily influenced by Joe's emphasis on objective
measurement and sound experimental methodology. Also influential was his belief
that the most powerful approach for addressing the etiology of psychiatric
disorders lies in the use of integrative frameworks, which use multiple levels
of analysis simultaneously. This integrative perspective is seen in his
progressive formulations of vulnerability theory, an interactive model that
posited psychiatric disorder to be the outcome of a confluence of genetic,
biological, and psychosocial factors. Such an interactive approach is quite
common today, but was unusual when he developed the initial framework during the
early 1960s, a period during which strong behavioristic and
mental-illness-as-myth orientations were popular.
No
less important was Joe's gift for fostering productive collaborations. Science
was a highly social process for Joe. He would often become interested in a
problem as a result of a stimulating conversation, which would be followed by
further conversations about ways in which to tackle the problem. He would
finally bring together people with the requisite expertise and enthusiasm for a
multidisciplinary collaboration. These collaborations frequently resulted in
important contributions, such as the Columbia-Greystone Topectomy Project with
Carney Landis, H. E. King, and Fred Mettler, which evaluated the effects of
topectomy on psychiatric and cognitive functioning ( 1947 -1949); the United
States-United Kingdom Psychiatric Diagnosis Project with Mort Kramer and Barry
Gurland (from the U.S.), and John Cooper (from the U.K.), which compared
diagnostic practices in New York and London, thereby laying the groundwork for
addressing the issue of diagnostic reliability ( 1972); and the
"discovery" of the P300 component of the event-related potential with
Samuel Sutton, M. Braren, and E. Roy John, which was influential in establishing
the area of cognitive psychophysiology ( 1965).
Joe's
impact was international in scope, as seen in the influence of his thought on
the direction of American and European research in psychopathology, particularly
schizophrenia. Recognition for his leadership ability is reflected in his
presidencies of the American Psychopathological Association (1951-1952) and the
Armerican College of Neuropsychopharmacology ( 1971-1972), as well as in his
serving as member of the Board of Professional Affairs of the American
Psychological Association (APA; 1967-1970) and as representative of Division 12
(1953-1955) on APA's Council of Representatives.
Awards and honors were numerous, including recipient of the Award in the
Behavioral Sciences by the New Academy of Sciences for distinguished
contributions to psychopathology (1981); twice recipient of the Paul Hoch Award
of the American Psychopathological Association ( 1968 and 1984); Doktor Honoris
Causa, University of Lund, Sweden (1972); Stanley R. Dean Award by the American
College of Psychiatrists (1974 ); ScD, University of Rochester ( 1976); Honorary
Fellow and recipient of Presidential Commendation, American Psychiatric
Association ( 1979); Distinguished Scientist Award, Section III of Division 12,
American Psychological Association (1975); Van Gieson Award by New York State
Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University ( 1990); and American
Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the
Applications of Psychology (1990).
Joe's
professional accomplishments bear the mark of his inimitable personal style. His
social network was vast, and he was well-known for his warmth and humor His
colleagues were his family and friends, as there was no clear distinction
between the professional and the personal for him. Joe was mentor to countless
students and young colleagues; his primary requirement was that one approach
ideas in interesting ways and with experimental rigor. His presence at
professional meetings was invariably marked by his insightful questions, which
he raised during discussion periods. These provocative interjections reflected
both his insatiable curiosity and his delight in being at the center of the
action.
Most
remarkable among Joe's character strengths were his tenacity and unrelenting
optimism. After his forced retirement from the New York Psychiatric Institute at
the age of75, he moved to Pittsburgh where he created a second Biometrics
Research Program, in collaboration with Stuart Steinhauer. This continuing
program is directed at determining the cognitive indicants of psychopathology in
psychiatric patients and their family members. From 1977 until his death in
1990, he held the positions of Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Columbia
University; Distinguished Research Professor of Psychiatry, University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Research Career Scientist, Department of Veterans
Affairs, Pittsburgh; and more recently, Distinguished Research Professor of
Psychology, University of Pittsburgh. Reliably undaunted, on the eve of his 90th
birthday he submitted a letter of intent to a national funding agency proposing
a prospective study of relapse in schizophrenia, in collaboration with Daniel P.
van Kammen. Joe died on Decemher 18, 1990, at the age of 90.
(from
Ruth Condray, American
Psychologist, 47: 810-811, 1992)
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