The Todd Ouida Annual Lecture in Childhood Anxiety and Depression honors the memory of Todd Ouida. Although severe anxiety troubled Todd throughout his early childhood, he overcame the disorder and went on to have a rich high school experience, later earning a degree in psychology from U-M. He had just launched into the beginning of a promising career when he lost his life in the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks at the age of 25.

Todd’s parents, Herb and Andrea Ouida, also established the Todd Ouida Clinical Scholar Awards, which are designed to further the work of outstanding young researchers working in childhood anxiety and depression. Herb Ouida serves as a member of the Depression Center’s National Advisory Board.

Dr. Melisa P. DelBello, Vice Chair for Clinical Research, Division of Psychiatry Chair & Professor, UC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, UC Neuroscience Institute will give this year's talk.

Melissa DelBello, MD, has been a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center since 2000. She is currently the vice-chair of Clinical Research in the Division of Psychiatry, the director of Research Training and Education at Cincinnati Children's, and the co-director of the Division of Bipolar Disorders Research at the UC College of Medicine. Dr. DelBello is also a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics. Dr. DelBello’s expertise is in the field of neurodevelopment and treatment of children and adolescents with mood disorders. She has been studying pharmacological interventions for the neurofunction, neurochemistry, and outcome of adolescents with and at risk for developing bipolar disorder for over 15 years. In addition to teaching and lecturing both nationally and internationally, she has received numerous awards and honors and has authored over 200 articles, reviews and book chapters. She is the principal investigator of several NIH, foundation and pharmaceutical research grants.