Dr. Bruno Lima, a Brazilian-born psychiatrist and member of the APA’s original Task Force on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster, was an expert on the mental health of survivors of natural disasters. He was widely recognized for his research on the survivors of natural disasters conducted while consulting, through the Pan American Health Organization, with national mental health agencies in Latin America. Dr. Lima completed his psychiatric training at New York University and his residency at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, later completing a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health before going on to conduct research on psychiatric disorders with the World Health Organization. After working tirelessly at Johns Hopkins as a Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Community Psychiatry Program, Dr. Lima succumbed to a rare form of leukemia at age 41. Dr. Lima’s short, but impactful, career helped to establish the lasting endeavor of the APA to support the education and training of psychiatrists in the care and understanding of the victims of disaster.

The Bruno Lima Award in Disaster Psychiatry recognizes outstanding contributions of APA members in the care and understanding of the victims of disaster.

Program Benefits

Certificate of Recognition

Criteria / Eligibility

Nominees must be members of APA District Branches and State Associations and must be nominated by the District Branch.

Selection Criteria

The Bruno Lima Award in Disaster Psychiatry recognizes outstanding contributions of APA members in the care and understanding of the victims of disaster. This includes members of APA District Branches and State Associations who epitomize the APA’s highest ethical, clinical, and professional standards, while engaged in one or more of the following activities:

• Providing consultation, education, training and awareness on mental health and disaster issues
• Providing direct service delivery as part of a disaster response team
• Designing disaster response plans
• Contributions include designing disaster response plans, providing direct service delivery in time of disaster, or in disaster consultation, education, and/or research

The selection committee is comprised of the membership of the Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster (CPDD). The committee reviews the nominations and votes on which nominee(s) should be recommended to the Council on Research using the above selection criteria. The final selection will be forwarded to the Joint Reference Committee and the APA Board of Trustees for final approval.

Nomination / Application Details

• An open call for nominations will be published in APA communications.
• Self-nominations and nominations by a colleague are accepted with support from the District Branch President.
• Nominations must include the following information:
  • Cover sheet to include:
    • Nominee Name, Email, Preferred contact number.
    • Nominator Name, Email, Preferred contact number (if not a self-nomination).
  • Abbreviated CV (maximum five pages inclusive of notable contributions to disaster psychiatry.
  • Maximum two-page narrative, demonstrating how the nominee exemplifies the selection criteria.
  • Nomination letter signed by DB president, including a description of the DB selection process, a one-page description of the activities for which the individual is nominated, and a description of the disaster event(s).
  • Any other supporting documentation.

Deadline

July 31 of each year. Submissions will not be considered if they are incomplete or submitted after the deadline.

Notification

Awardee will be notified no later than January 31.

Award Presentation

The award is presented during the Early Research Career Breakfast on Tuesday morning at the APA Annual Meeting.

Contact

Sejal Patel
Division of Research
[email protected]