The University of Minnesota announced the next leader of the psychiatry department on Friday.
Sophia Vinogradov, a schizophrenia researcher who previously served as vice chair of the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine’s psychiatry department, will lead the University of Minnesota’s Department of Psychiatry starting in August.
She will take the helm of a department that has been heavily criticized for its human research methods after several investigations revealed a “culture of fear and retaliation,” unethical behavior and lapses in oversight in the department, among other concerns. The department’s former head, Dr. Charles Schulz, resigned amid the backlash.
“The hiring of Dr. Vinogradov is important for the Medical School and also on a broader scale as we move ahead with University-wide reforms to our human research protections,” said University Medical School Dean Brooks Jackson in a blog post on Friday.
In response to the raised issues, the department announced a number of plans to better protect human research participants.
“The team is fully committed to the reform efforts that are already underway and is looking forward to continued improvement in all of our practices, not just in research, but in clinical care and teaching as well,” Vinogradov said in Jackson’s post.
