The American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) is pleased to announce the selection of Deanna Kelly, PharmD, BCPP, as the recipient of the 2025 Judith J. Saklad Memorial Award. Dr. Kelly is a Professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland.
This award is presented annually to a senior psychiatric pharmacy practitioner who has achieved a level of professional distinction and represents the qualities and ideals of professional enthusiasm, a passion for optimizing patient care, and continuing dedication to the practice of psychiatric pharmacy. The Saklad Memorial Award is named after the late Judith J. Saklad and will be presented at the 2025 AAPP Annual Meeting.
Deanna L. Kelly, Pharm.D., BCPP is the Dr. William and Carol Carpenter Professor of Psychiatry for Mental Illness Research at University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine. She also serves as an Affiliate Professor in the School of Pharmacy and is currently serving as the Acting Director of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Cener. Dr. Kelly received her Bachelor of Science and Doctorate in Pharmacy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. She completed residency training in psychiatric pharmacy practice at the University of Maryland in 1997 and became board certified in psychiatric pharmacy practice in 1998. Dr. Kelly has led and been involved in numerous clinical trials in schizophrenia and severe mental illness and has been active in psychopharmacology research for the past 27 years. Dr. Kelly has coauthored and authored 19 books and book chapters, published over 240 peer-reviewed articles, presented over 250 scientific posters and has given over 180 invited lectures. She has coauthored four editions of the book entitled “Pharmacologic Treatment of Schizophrenia.” She also authors the Schizophrenia chapter for “Pharmacotherapy, Principles and Practice” and an author on the soon to be released book, “Get your Brain off Grain.” She is Past President for the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP), a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), awarded the prestigious Maltz Prize for Innovative and Promising Schizophrenia Research by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation for her work on gluten and the brain in 2017, and recently named one of the top 100 women in Maryland. She is an international expert in gluten sensitivity and dietary interventions related to mental health, clozapine use, and studying new treatments. In 2024 she was named the G. Van Greene Distinguished Lecturer at Mercer University. Additionally, her work and scientific expertise has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, NPR online, Women’s Day Magazine, Gluten-Free Living, MedPage Today, Vice Media, Clinical Psychiatry News, Psychiatric News and Medscape Medical News. She can be found on twitter at @ProfDeannaK. More information can be found on her faculty page: http://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/profiles/Kelly-Deanna/.