The mission of therapeutics

Gerald Klerman's career as a researcher was marked by a strong interest in mood disorders. He was particularly interested in pathways to depressive episodes and their treatment. In this lecture entitled "The Mission of Therapeutics," the emphasis is placed on the integration of two developmental pathways representing biologic/genetic factors and psychosocial/environmental factors. Recent work on the role of childhood adversity and current stressors is reviewed, as well as biologic pathways and correlates. Finally, using treatment outcome as a window on pathogenesis is suggested as a strategy for understanding the interaction of biologic and psychosocial parameters in the onset of and recovery from episodes of depressive illness.