Washington, D.C.—The American Psychiatric Association (APA) members have chosen Mark Rapaport, M.D., as the medical society’s next president-elect. Rapaport is the Founding CEO, Emeritus, of the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah, the William H. and Edna D. Stimson Presidential Endowed Chair, and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah.

Rapaport has published more than 200 peer-reviewed research papers and has had peer-reviewed research funding since 1992. His work has focused on the interactions between the brain and the immune system as well as clinical psychopharmacology and complementary medicine. He has been a mentor to hundreds of trainees through the New Investigator Program that he started for the, meeting which is now the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) annual meeting.

He also co-founded, with Deborah J. Hales, M.D., and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the APA journal Focus which is designed to help busy clinicians stay up to date with advances in the field of psychiatry. Focus was the first major journal in the field to devote entire issues to LGBTQ+ and underrepresented minority mental health concerns.

“I’m truly honored to step into the role as APA president-elect to use the convening power of the APA, and my existing relationships, to bring together leaders in policy, philanthropy, other mental health organizations, and business to create a common agenda around parity,” said Rapaport. “Together, we will flip the dialogue and make it clear that psychiatry is an investment in our shared future.”

"It’s exciting to welcome such a well-regarded leader like Dr. Rapaport onto our board,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Marketa M. Wills, M.D., M.B.A. “His focus on defeating stigma, compassionate patient care, research and education as well as his long-term involvement with APA positions him well as we look toward our field’s future.”

Among Dr. Rapaport’s priorities as APA president, when he assumes that role in May 2026, are to:

• Work toward true mental health parity by uniting APA further with academics, clinicians and entrepreneurs.
• Stop stigma against people with mental illness and substance use disorders by building on the strengths of existing public education campaigns.

Rapaport chairs a Grand Challenge called "Stop Stigma Together" that has more than 300 organizations involved in a decades long movement to eliminate the prejudice, guilt, shame, and lack of parity that our patients and out field face. He also is partnering with the Ad Council on the "Love, Your Mind" campaign to normalize mental health.

Rapaport is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA. Prior to his current academic position, he was the Reunette Harris chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, the chief psychiatric officer for Emory Healthcare, and a founding co-director of the Emory Brain Health Center, among other appointments. He attended the UC San Diego School of Medicine, where he served as chief resident.

Dr. Rapaport’s term as president-elect of the APA will begin this May at the conclusion of the APA Annual Meeting, when current President-Elect Theresa Miskimen-Rivera, M.D. begins her one-year term as president.

Among the other successful candidates for the APA’s Board of Trustees are:

Secretary

• Gabrielle L. Shapiro, M.D.

Minority/Underrepresented Representative (M/UR) Trustee.

• Kamalika Roy, M.D., M.C.R.

Area 3 Trustee

• Kenneth Certa, M.D.

Area 6 Trustee

• Lawrence Malak, M.D.

Resident-Fellow Member Trustee-Elect (RFMTE)

• Tariq Salem, M.D.

The results of the election are not official until the APA Board of Trustees confirms them at its March meeting.

American Psychiatric Association

The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 39,000 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information, please visit www.psychiatry.org.