What's Next for Schatzberg?

An advertisement in the Psychiatric Times (page 34 of .pdf) calls for applicants for the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, a position now filled by Dr. Alan Schatzberg. The Stanford Psychiatry Department webpage currently states, in part:

Under the direction of the Chairman and Chief Alan F. Schatzberg, M.D., the Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, a center for the advancement of psychiatric practice, research and education, has three goals:

• To advance the understanding of the etiologies of psychiatric or sleep disorders and to lay the foundation for new treatment development.
• To develop innovative treatments and to deliver comprehensive services on a continuum of care to patients in a high quality efficient and compassionate manner.
• To train medical students, residents and clinical and research fellows in the science and practice of psychiatry and sleep medicine.

Looks like Schatz is out. I have noted previously that Schatzberg was deeply involved with a duplicate publication that pimped Cymbalta. Schatzberg's close involvement with Corcept, maker of mifepristone (Corlux), has also raised eyebrows. Mifepristone has been an utter failure in clinical trials, but the manufacturer has attempted to spin the data in ways that should be obvious to anyone with a smidgen of critical thinking skills. Charles Grassley has hit Schatzberg as part of the investigation into the tangled web of conflicted interests involving psychiatrists and drugmakers. There is also some evidence that Schatz was involved in the launch of Zyprexa for bipolar disorder.

Schatz is apparently out as department chair. I wonder who will take his place...

Thanks to an alert reader for the tip.