Who Leads Psychiatry? Demographics, Educations, and Scientific Contributions of US Academic Chairs

This study aims to quantify the demographics, educational backgrounds, and scientific contributions of chairs of all university-based psychiatry departments in the USA.

Using the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Access Database, we identified chairs of all university-based psychiatry departments offering residencies (N = 120, female = 33.3%). We collected data on demographic, educational, and scientific variables through web search, departmental outreach, and secondary databases.

The median age of psychiatry chairs was 60.5 (54-68) years, with a median age at appointment of 52 (47-59) years, a median of 34 (27-40) years after graduation from medical school. Forty (33.3%) chairs were female and 17 (14.2%) chairs were international medical graduates. 41.7% of chairs (n = 50) held additional higher education degrees. Chair education was highly concentrated among select institutions. Chairs exhibited strong academic productivity, with high median h-indices (median (interquartile range) 36 (11-59)), many publications (median (interquartile range) 102 (30.5-225.5)), and highly cited most-cited publications (median (interquartile range) 491 (130.5-1070.5)). Sixty-eight (56.7%) chairs had been or were currently the principal investigator of an R01 award, and 16 (13.3%) of the chairs were the current editor-in-chief of at least one peer-reviewed journal.

This study provides a quantitative profile of university-based psychiatry department chairs, offering insights into the demographics, educational trajectories, and scientific contributions of the field's most influential leaders. These findings can both provide guidance for aspiring leaders in the field and encourage broader participation in leadership from those who are objectively qualified for these roles.