| Richard Jed Wyatt | |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1939 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Fields: | Psychiatry |
| Workplaces: | National Institute of Mental Health |
| Alma Mater: | Johns Hopkins University |
| Children: | 3 |
Richard Jed Wyatt (June 5, 1939 – 7 June 2002) was an American psychiatrist and schizophrenia researcher.[1]
Wyatt was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Johns Hopkins University Medical School[1] and joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1967, where he established a schizophrenia research program. In 1972 he became chief of the neuropsychiatry branch at the NIH. He was one of the early pioneers who studied the biological basis of schizophrenia in the lab.[1] His research led to the first evidence that monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) suppressed REM sleep and could treat narcolepsy.[1]
He was a prolific writer, educator and teacher, having authored over 800 research articles and 6 books and he has trained many of today's leading neuroscientists.[1] The "Richard J. Wyatt Award" from the International Association for Early Intervention in Mental Health is named after him to honor his efforts regarding early interventions in schizophrenia.
He was married to Rollyn Simon Wyatt and later to clinical psychologist and author Kay Redfield Jamison.[2] He had three children. With Jamison he co-produced several films about manic depressive illness.[1] Wyatt died of lung cancer on 7 June 2002 at the age of 63 in Washington, D.C.[3] [4] Jamison authored a 2009 book, Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir, recounting her relationship with Wyatt and the process of grieving after his death.[5]