Two of the Bay Area’s preeminent psychiatrists — Stephen Douglas Field, DO, and Vikaas Sohal, MD, PhD — have been named this year's recipients of the J. Elliott Royer Award for Excellence in Psychiatry. Field and Sohal received their awards and were honored during the UC San Francisco Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty meeting on September 15.
The J. Elliot Royer Award was established in 1957 by Oakland physician J. Elliot Royer, MD, as a bequest in his will to recognize those active in the medical field in San Francisco, Alameda, or Contra Costa counties who have made significant contributions to the advancement of psychiatry or neurology. His will specified the eligibility criteria, selection process, and amount of the annual award, which alternates each year between neurology and psychiatry.
Royer Award for Excellence in Community Psychiatry
Field received the Royer Award for Excellence in Community Psychiatry in recognition for his service as the medical director for behavioral health services in Contra Costa County, where he has led transformative efforts to expand access to high-quality behavioral health care for some of the region’s most vulnerable populations. Under his leadership, the county has expanded innovative programs in crisis response, treatment-resistant depression, youth psychiatric emergency care, and services for individuals experiencing homelessness, serious mental illness, and substance use disorders.
Field is also deeply committed to education and mentorship. He teaches family medicine residents and psychiatric nurse practitioner students, supports future psychiatry residents, and has built strong partnerships across health systems and community organizations. His visionary leadership and dedication to public service have had a lasting impact throughout Contra Costa County and the Bay Area.
Royer Award for Excellence in Academic Psychiatry
This year’s recipient of the Royer Award for Excellence in Academic Psychiatry, Sohal is a professor and deputy vice chair for research in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, where he has built an internationally recognized research program focused on the neural circuits underlying cognition, mood, and psychiatric illness. His pioneering work has advanced our understanding of schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, and other neuropsychiatric disorders while helping establish the scientific foundation for novel brain-stimulation therapies.
An accomplished clinician, educator, and academic leader, Sohal has also played a central role in mentoring trainees, recruiting outstanding faculty, and strengthening UCSF's research enterprise. His scientific innovation and commitment to translating discovery into better psychiatric care have earned him national and international recognition.
As part of his award, Sohal delivered a special lecture, "Brain Oscillations, Cognition, and Emotion,” focusing on his research work during UCSF Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Grand Rounds on Oct. 6.
“Drs. Field and Sohal exemplify the complementary strengths of community service and academic discovery – and the profound impact both can have on patients, families, and society,” said UCSF School of Medicine Dean S. Andrew Josephson, MD, who announced the awards earlier this year. “I believe J. Elliott Royer, MD, the Oakland physician who established the award at UCSF, would be proud to see his legacy carried forward by two such extraordinary physicians.”
