HAROLD P. HALPERT, SPH 1964 (M.P.H.), 1966 (Dr.PH.), came to Johns Hopkins as a graduate student from the National Institute of Mental Health, where he directed a research grants program to develop coordinated approaches to the treatment of the mentally ill. Dr. Halpert died in 2007.   Dr. Halpert and his late wife, SYLVIA HALPERT, were interested in mental health issues and committed to furthering research to understand and treat mental health problems. Sylvia Halpert, who held a Ph.D. in social research, died in 1998 just after the Halperts made their commitment for this professorship. She was employed for many years at what is now Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., taught at Howard University, and maintained a private practice in psychotherapy.

WILLIAM W. EATON is the inaugural Sylvia and Harold Halpert Professor in Mental Illness and serves as chair of the Department of Mental Illness at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Eaton earned his masters and doctorate degrees in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the faculty at the School of Public Health in 1983, he served as Assistant Chief of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies at the National Institute of Mental Health, and, prior to that, was research investigator at the Jewish General Hospital and assistant professor of sociology (part-time) at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Eaton has served on numerous advisory panels including the U.S. Congress Agent Orange Advisory Panel, the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders, and various NIH study sections. He has served as president of the American Psychopathological Association. Dr. Eaton’s research has focused on the risk factors and consequences of mental disorders. He has conducted research on the incidence, natural history, and risk factors for schizophrenia using data from psychiatric case registers from around the world. Currently, his research in this area is focused on the relationship of autoimmune diseases to schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder, in collaboration with a team of investigators from Denmark. Dr. Eaton has also investigated more common mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder and the anxiety disorders, in the context of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Follow Up, a 25 year cohort study. His research team determined that major depressive disorder was predictive of the new occurrence of important physical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, and osteoporosis. Dr. Eaton has authored or edited nine books, including three editions of The Sociology of Mental Disorders, published more than 185 peer-reviewed articles, and written more than 50 chapters or other scientific articles.