One of the STARR Coalition’s favorite advocates is Matthew Shapiro, Associate Director of Public Affairs for NAMI New York State and winner of the distinguished Lew Yagodnik Award for 2020. Matthew’s publicly espoused, unwavering commitment to mental health research has made him a powerful ally in our fight against the stigma of mental health research.
In an interview for Spectrum News about Alkermes’s FDA-approved treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, Matthew praised the research that made the treatment possible.
“It’s very rare that new psychiatric medication comes to market. Whenever something like this happens, it’s very exciting,” said Matthew. “These are the type of innovations we really want to see developed […] because they’re desperately needed,” he continued. “Research holds so much potential and so much hope, but it can only be successful if it has participants.”