A quarter million dollar bequest from the estate of Drs. Robert and Olga Von Tauber will encourage research and innovation in psychiatry by creating new educational opportunities for fourth year residents and fellows in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science.
The bequest will be used to establish a perpetual endowment enabling fourth year residents and fellows to attend conferences and make presentations at professional organizations. “The Von Tauber Fund will allow residents and fellows who have completed significant projects to present their work at national meetings,” Department Chair Ramin Parsey, MD, PhD said. “We are grateful to the Von Taubers for encouraging research and innovation in psychiatry — especially among young professionals who are poised to make important decisions about their careers. Presenting on a national stage can be a life-changing experience.”
Funds for the endowment came from the estate of Drs. Robert and Olga Von Tauber. Robert Von Tauber, PhD was a chemist who served as Honorary United States’ Consul in Haiti. Olga Von Tauber, MD was a Viennese psychiatrist who emigrated to the United States in 1945. She practiced psychiatry on Long Island for 25 years, rising to the rank of Deputy Director of Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital. In 1968 the Commissioner of Mental Hygiene, Alan D. Miller, MD, who later became the Training Director in the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook, appointed her Director of the newly established Northeast Nassau Psychiatric Hospital. The New York Times reported that she was the first female director of a New York state psychiatric hospital. The new hospital was located on the grounds of Kings Park, but was separate from it. Dr. Von Tauber retired in 1976 when Northeast Nassau was merged with a similar facility on the grounds of Pilgrim. She was 69 years old at the time. After retirement, she joined the voluntary faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook while practicing at Nassau University Medical Center. She died in 2002 at age 95.
The Von Tauber Fund will supplement the newly-established research track for residents in Psychiatry. Residents with an interest in an academic career may opt to spend their third year designing and carrying out a research project. The Von Tauber Fund will allow them to present their findings at a professional conference during their fourth year.
Pictured above (left to right): Fourth year residents, Jesse Contovasilis, MD; Patricia Fertig, DO; Meghan Malhotra, MD; Residency Training Director, Michael Schwartz, MD; Department Chair, Ramin Parsey, MD, PhD; and Child Fellow, Rathna Mallela, MD