Dr. Robert J. Ursano Honored with 2025 MHSRS Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Contributions to Military Mental Health Research

Trailblazing Uniformed Services University psychiatrist recognized for four decades of transformative work in trauma, resilience, and suicide prevention

Dr. Robert Ursano, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at USU, was awarded the 2025

MHSRS Distinguished Service Award for his remarkable four-decade career. (Courtesy photo)

August 5, 2025 by Sharon Holland

One of military psychiatry’s most influential voices received top honors this week at the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS). Dr. Robert J. Ursano—retired Air Force Colonel, longtime psychiatry chair at the Uniformed Services University (USU), and founding director of USU’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS)—was presented with the 2025 MHSRS Distinguished Service Award during the opening session of the annual research conference in Kissimmee, Florida.

Presented by Dr. Stephen L. Ferrara, acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the award recognizes Ursano’s remarkable four-decade career advancing trauma and resilience research in support of military health.

Ursano began his journey in military medicine at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, where he launched pioneering studies on traumatic stress among Vietnam-era Prisoners of War. He joined USU in 1979 and, in 1992, became Chair of the Department of Psychiatry—a position he held for 25 years. Under his leadership, the department became a global leader in military psychiatry and behavioral health training.

Dr. Robert J. Ursano (right) accepts the 2025 Distinguished Service Award at MHSRS.

(Photo credit: Sharon Holland, USU)

In 1987, Ursano founded CSTS to meet the growing need for research, consultation, and training in traumatic stress across military and civilian settings. Over the years, he helped secure more than $200 million in research funding from organizations including the Department of Defense, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others.

Among his most groundbreaking contributions was the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS), the largest and most comprehensive study of suicide risk in military history. STARRS identified critical risk and protective factors and led to new prevention strategies that continue to inform Army health policies today. The work continues under the longitudinal follow-up study, STARRS-LS.

Ursano also co-founded the National PTSD Brain Bank in 2014, the first human brain bank dedicated to PTSD research. It took more than a decade of sustained advocacy to build this vital resource—now a cornerstone for scientific discovery in trauma-related mental illness.

Beyond the lab, Ursano’s expertise shaped national and international policy. He served on advisory boards for the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies of Sciences, and the Department of Defense, and participated in NATO forums on psychological health. He contributed to the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD and advised presidential initiatives focused on veteran suicide prevention.

His body of work includes more than 300 publications and eight books, as well as editorship of the scientific journal Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes since 1999. His research has touched every facet of military mental health—from PTSD and traumatic brain injury to disaster psychiatry, sexual assault prevention, and family violence.

Over the years, his insights helped shape clinical practice and policy for warfighters, veterans, and military families alike. His team’s use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in suicide prediction models continues to break new ground, translating data into life-saving interventions.

Ursano’s accolades are as extensive as his impact. He’s a recipient of the Department of Defense Humanitarian Service Award, the 2019 AMSUS Lifetime Achievement Award, and the highest lifetime achievement honors from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He’s also been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Physicians, and numerous other professional organizations.

“Through groundbreaking research and clinical leadership, Dr. Ursano’s legacy is woven into the very fabric of how we understand, advance, and support the psychological health of our service members—and the families who serve beside them,” said USU President Dr. Jonathan Woodson. “This recognition is richly deserved and a fitting tribute to a career that has transformed military medicine."