CWRU School of Medicine alumna’s gift advances brain research

Federal funding for medical research often requires significant proof of viability before investment is made in a project, leaving visionary ideas lacking the initial financial backing when it is needed most. To bridge this gap, in 2021, Rebecca E. Barchas, MD (MED ’75), established the Rebecca E. Barchas, MD University Professorship in Translational Psychiatry and an accompanying professorship support fund at her alma mater, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Recently, Barchas enhanced her initial $3.5 million commitment with an additional estate gift—giving researchers like Andrew A. Pieper, MD, PhD, the security of future support that will be needed to bring promising ideas to fruition.

Pieper, the inaugural Barchas Professor, and researchers in his lab recently made headlines for their groundbreaking study in which they reversed advanced Alzheimer’s disease in mouse models. 

“The key takeaway is a message of hope—the effects of Alzheimer's disease may not be inevitably permanent,” Pieper said in a news release about their breakthrough. “The damaged brain can, under some conditions, repair itself and regain function.”​

It’s precisely this early-stage, "high-risk, high-reward" exploration that Barchas aims to support, helping to ensure bold ideas have resources to flourish.

“Medical research requires funding, and I thought it would be a wonderful thing for me to put my money into something far bigger than myself—something with an impact that could make the world a better place,” Barchas said. “Hopefully, the result of what they learn in the lab will have a positive effect when it’s ultimately applied to people.”​

A Lasting Impact

Receiving the inaugural professorship and additional support through Barchas’ most recent gift is “the honor of a lifetime,” Pieper said. “Dr. Barchas’ extraordinary generosity, her commitment to improving the world, and her dedication to lifelong learning inspire us all.”

Barchas hopes the fund will help researchers discover new ways to treat head trauma, Alzheimer’s disease and other neuropsychiatric challenges.

“Rebecca’s commitment to expanding psychiatry research into the fundamental pathways affecting the brain that yield psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders will have exceptional impact across disciplines at Case Western Reserve, and improve health for society as a whole,” said Stan Gerson, MD, dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Though retired after three and a half decades as a clinical psychiatrist, Barchas remains engaged with her field, participating in virtual University Hospitals (UH) Psychiatry Grand Rounds weekly and traveling from Virginia Beach to Cleveland annually for the translational psychiatry lecture named in her honor.

“Rebecca readily speaks about the thrill of seeing her gift facilitate discovery,” said Jeanne Lackamp, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at CWRU and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at UH Cleveland Medical Center. “Her passion for the field, and contributions to its growth, are inspiring.”

In retirement, Barchas has set her sights on dismantling medical stigma and giving back to the causes closest to her heart: social justice, the environment and medical research. She has taken her mission public through frequent speeches and scholarly articles. Most recently, her article “Electroconvulsive therapy highlights the urgency of addressing medical stigma” was published in The Lancet Regional Health - Americas, where she describes how subconscious bias and stigma among society, patients and clinicians create a self-reinforcing cycle that harms care, as well as offering clear, practical steps to break that cycle and improve patient outcomes.

“Any of us can have more impact than we might ever have imagined,” she said. “We should always follow our passions and not be afraid to speak out and support causes that matter to us.”