Tracy L. Bale, professor of neuroscience in biomedical sciences and psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, received the Daniel H. Efron Research Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).

The Efron Research Award recognizes outstanding basic research contributions to neuropsychopharmacology.

Dr. Bale was chosen for her role in deciphering the critical genes, circuits and epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to stress dysregulation as a risk factor in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric diseases including autism, affective disorders and obesity. She has used mouse models to investigate the timing and sex specificity of early life events promoting disease susceptibility, the maturation of the brain during key development periods and the epigenetic mechanisms underlying enduring effects following stress exposure.