Penn Medicine News: Edna Foa Receives Inaugural Career Achievement Award From International OCD Foundation

On July 29, 2011, Edna Foa, PhD, received the inaugural International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation Outstanding Career Achievement Award. Dr. Foa, professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry and Director of Penn's Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, was given the award for her pioneering work on the treatment and understanding of OCD.

Dr. Foa devoted her academic career to study the psychopathology and treatment of anxiety disorders - primarily obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social phobia - and is currently one of the world leading experts in these areas.

"This award has special meaning for me because my first professional life has been OCD," said Dr. Foa in her acceptance speech. "In the past 15 years I have become very involved in studying PTSD but I have not stopped my interest or research in OCD."

Dr. Foa has published several books and over 350 articles and book chapters and has lectured extensively around the world. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors including TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.