It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our colleague and friend Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey on Saturday, October 15, 2022.

Dr. Pandey was a Fellow Emeritus and was accepted into ACNP membership in 1981.

Dr. Pandey completed his early education and his PhD in India followed by a post doc at the University of Pennsylvania. He entered the United States on July 20, 1969 – the day Neil Armstrong and his team landed the Apollo Lunar Module on the moon. He joined the department of psychiatry at the University of Illinois in 1974 and helped build an internationally recognized program in translational neuroscience focused on mood, suicide, and other major mental disorders. He was a key member of the research team at the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute (ISPI) and the initial focus of his research was biomarkers in psychiatric disorders using peripheral approaches including endocrine challenge tests. These included studies on platelet monoamine oxidase activity, the dexamethasone suppression test and platelet serotonin reuptake mechanisms. These assays were among the initial studies on the relevance of the cAMP to mood disorders. This research reflected cutting-edge science in clinical neuroendocrinology and pharmacology, and the early years of what we now characterize as ‘clinical neuroscience’.

Over the last several years, Dr. Pandey focused his research on the neurobiological correlates of suicide. This primarily involved postmortem studies of brain tissue from patients who died of suicide obtained from brain banks around the world. His laboratory was best known for his work on the pharmacological and molecular aspects of monoamine neurotransmitter systems like serotonin and norepinephrine. The Pandey lab was among finest in the country with respect to preclinical studies into serotonergic and related signaling mechanisms and its role in the neurobiological underpinnings of depression and suicide.

His research was consistently funded by the NIH, and he served as a member and chairman of several NIH Review Committees over the years.

‘Shyam’, as he was popularly known to his colleagues, received numerous awards from national and international organizations and scientific societies. They include the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Indian Academy of Neurosciences. In 2011, he was awarded the President’s Gold Medal from the Indian Science Congress for helping develop neuroscience research in India. The award was presented to him by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India. Within UIC, he received numerous awards including the UIC Distinguished Faculty Award from our College of Medicine, and the prestigious University Scholar Award for his scientific and academic accomplishments.

In the Chicagoland area, Shyam was very engaged with the Indian – American community and developed and led many grass roots initiatives that provided charitable resources to those in need and promoted the interests of the community to local lawmakers and philanthropic organizations.

In addition to his scientific achievements, Shyam was soft spoken, kind and always willing to support junior colleagues and trainees in their scientific endeavors. He represented leadership in the traditional way with a strong but quiet presence and powerful insights into the future of science and academic medicine. He will be missed by everyone who had the good fortune to know him, and his impact will be felt for years to come.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters, and three grandchildren.

Kudos to a life well lived.