Siegfried Kasper: The importance of back-translation of clinical findings to basic science

Professor Siegfried Kasper, a transformative pioneer in modern psychiatry, serves as Professor Emeritus at the Medical University of Vienna's prestigious Center for Brain Research, where his groundbreaking research continues to revolutionize the understanding of treatment-resistant depression's molecular basis. Following his distinguished tenure as Chair of the Department of General Psychiatry and later Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Medical University of Vienna from 1993 to 2019, Professor Kasper has authored over 800 peer-reviewed publications with an exceptional H-index of 131, establishing him as Austria's most frequently cited psychiatrist. His pioneering contributions have focused on demonstrating that psychiatric disorders have a biological basis alongside psychosocial determinants, exploring neuroendocrinological pathways as windows to the brain, and utilizing advanced imaging technologies, including CT, MRT, and PET, to study structural and functional changes in schizophrenia and depression. Professor Kasper was instrumental in introducing revolutionary psychopharmacological treatments, including SSRIs, atypical antipsychotics, and, most recently, intranasal esketamine, demonstrating their effectiveness in specific disease subgroups with improved side effect profiles. As founding president of the Austrian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry and former President of both the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry and the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology, he has shaped global psychiatric practice through his leadership of the European Group for the Study of Resistant Depression. His extraordinary achievements have earned him the Grand Decoration of Honor in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria, the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art First Class, the 2019 City of Vienna Award for Medical Science, the 2024 WFSBP Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2025 CINP Pioneer Award. In this exclusive Genomic Press Interview, Professor Kasper shares profound insights from his remarkable career dedicated to transforming psychiatric treatment and improving countless lives worldwide.