Welcoming the First Stahl Professor in Psychiatry

Shan H. Siddiqi, MD, joined Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in July 2026 as the inaugural Stephen M. Stahl, MD, PhD Professor in Psychiatry.

Dr. Siddiqi comes from Harvard University, where he served as associate professor of psychiatry and as director of psychiatric neuromodulation research at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital’s Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics.

Stephen M. Stahl, ’75 MD, PhD, DMedSci (Hon.), DSci (Hon.), established the professorship in 2022. In 2024, he and his wife, Shakila, generously funded the new Stephen M. Stahl Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

“As the inaugural holder of the Stahl Professorship, I am honored to inherit not just a title but a responsibility: to carry Dr Stahl’s legacy of ushering in the next generation of neurobiologically-informed psychiatry, bringing faster, safer, and more effective treatments to help those suffering from mental illness,” Dr. Siddiqi said.

Dr. Stahl is a respected psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, and educator who has written more than 60 textbooks, including the best-selling and award-winning textbook Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology and clinical manual Essential Psychopharmacology: The Prescriber's Guide.

“I am one of countless psychiatrists who learned to care for patients through his books, and I’ve watched loved ones build full lives despite serious mental illness because of that knowledge,” Dr. Siddiqi said.

This story was published in the September 2026 issue of The Philanthropist, a newsletter for supporters and friends of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Read past issues here.