{{Short description|American child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} '''James Frederick Leckman''' is an American child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst<ref name=Eisner/> and the Neison Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Psychology and Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine,<ref name=Yale2025/> recognized for his research in Tourette syndrome (TS) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD).
==Personal life and education== Leckman obtained degrees in chemistry and philosophy from the College of Wooster in 1969,<ref name=Eisner/> and his MD from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in 1973.<ref name=Wooster/> He obtained his PhD in clinical science from the University of São Paulo in 2014.<ref name=Yale2025>{{cite web |url=https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/james-leckman/ |publisher= Yale School of Medicine|title= James Leckman, MD, PhD |access-date=June 26, 2025}}</ref>
Leckman is married to Hannah Hone Leckman; they have two children.<ref name=Wooster/>
==Career== After interning in San Francisco<ref name=Wooster/> at the United States Public Health Service Marine Hospital for two years (1973–1974), Leckman worked at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in adult psychiatry (1974–1976), before completing his residency in psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine in 1979.<ref name=Eisner/>
At Yale since 1979, he took several sabbaticals to study elsewhere, including a 1998 study of animal behavior at the University of Cambridge.<ref name=Eisner/> He was Director of Research for the Yale Child Study Center (1983–2010),<ref name=Yale/> where his interests include the study of the interplay between genetic and epigenetic factors in human development and Darwinism in psychopathology.<ref name=Wooster/>
Leckman is an international leader in Tourette syndrome research, and as of 2025, was the highest publisher on the topic.<ref name=Siying2025/><ref name= DSMAppraisal>{{cite journal |vauthors=Robertson MM, Eapen V |title=Tourette's: syndrome, disorder or spectrum? Classificatory challenges and an appraisal of the DSM criteria |journal=Asian J Psychiatr |volume=11 |pages=106–13 |date=October 2014 |pmid=25453712 |doi=10.1016/j.ajp.2014.05.010 |type=Review |url=https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/childrenslearningclinic/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2013/08/Robertson-Tourettes-Syndrome-Classification.pdf |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=February 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216123348/https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/childrenslearningclinic/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2013/08/Robertson-Tourettes-Syndrome-Classification.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mariam N, Cavanna AE |title=The most cited works in Tourette syndrome |journal=J. Child Neurol. |volume=27 |issue=10 |pages=1250–9 |date=October 2012 |pmid=23007298 |doi=10.1177/0883073811432887 |s2cid=2494151 }}</ref> His 1998 paper "Course of tic severity in Tourette syndrome: the first two decades"<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Leckman JF, Zhang H, Vitale A, Lahnin F, Lynch K, Bondi C, Kim YS, Peterson BS |title=Course of tic severity in Tourette syndrome: the first two decades |journal=Pediatrics |volume=102 |issue=1 Pt 1 |pages=14–9 |date=July 1998 |pmid=9651407 |doi=10.1542/peds.102.1.14 }}</ref> was among the top four most influential papers on TS as of 2025.<ref name=Siying2025/> By July 2018, his 1995 family study on obsessive–compulsive disorder was the second most cited article on the disorder.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Goodman W, Rasmussen S, Leckman JF|date=January 1, 1995 |title=A family study of obsessive-compulsive disorder |url=https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ajp.152.1.76 |journal=American Journal of Psychiatry |language=en |volume=152 |issue=1 |pages=76–84 |doi=10.1176/ajp.152.1.76 |pmid=7802125 |issn=0002-953X|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Parmar A, Ganesh R, Mishra AK|date=April 2019 |title=The top 100 cited articles on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A citation analysis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1876201818311377 |journal=Asian Journal of Psychiatry |language=en |volume=42 |pages=34–41 |doi=10.1016/j.ajp.2019.03.025|pmid=30951931 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Siying ''et al'' wrote in 2025 that he was responsible for "shaping key insights" with studies that "significantly advanced our understanding of the genetic and environmental factors influencing TS".<ref name=Siying2025/> He is frequently named as one of America's best doctors by peers.<ref name=Eisner/> According to a profile of featured researchers by the then-named Mental Health Research Association (NARSAD):<blockquote>Very few people have the clinical, research and teaching experience, the empathy for the human condition, and the curiosity Dr. Leckman has to explore such a fundamental question as human attachment. He is a world-renowned child psychiatrist and patient-oriented clinical investigator with unique expertise in the evaluation of Tourette's syndrome and early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder.<ref name=Eisner/></blockquote>
==Appointments, awards, affiliations and recognition== Leckman served as an associate editor for the ''Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wiley.com/bw/editors.asp?ref=0021-9630 |title=The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry: Editorial information |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |access-date=April 15, 2012 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He has received the following awards and recognition:
* Blanche E. Ittleson Award for Research in Child Psychiatry, 1995, from the American Psychiatric Association.<ref name=Wooster/> * Outstanding Research Mentor, awarded five times, from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.<ref name=Wooster/> * Fellows of the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychology, and American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.<ref name= Wooster/> * Member of the American College of Psychiatrists since 1991.<ref name=Wooster/> * Distinguished alumni award, College of Wooster.<ref name=Wooster>{{cite web |url= http://woosteralumni.org/s/1090/index.aspx?sid=1090&gid=1&pgid=398 |title= Distinguished Alumni Award - James. F. Leckman '69 | publisher= The College of Wooster |date= June 2001 |access-date= April 15, 2012}}</ref>
==Publications== Leckman had authored or co-authored more than 250 professional articles and 115 book chapters as of 2005,<ref name=Eisner>{{cite web |author= Eisner, Robin |date= December 15, 2005|title= Reveling in the ties that bind us: A profile of James F. Leckman, M.D. |publisher= NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association | url= http://www.narsad.org/research/profiles/profile2005-12-07.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060709091622/http://www.narsad.org/research/profiles/profile2005-12-07.html |archive-date= July 9, 2006 |access-date= April 15, 2012}}</ref> and was the author of seven books as of 2012.<ref name=Yale>{{cite web |url= http://childstudycenter.yale.edu/faculty_people/james_leckman-2.profile |title= James Frederick Leckman, MD |publisher= Yale School of Medicine | access-date= April 15, 2012}}</ref> In 2002, he was named a "Highly Cited Researcher" by the American Society for Information Science and Technology.<ref name=Yale2025/>
A 2025 bibliometric analysis of 4,011 publications between 1960 and 2024 on Tourette syndrome found that Leckman had the highest h-index (58) of the 12,860 authors involved.<ref name=Siying2025>{{cite journal |vauthors=Siying Z, Dong T, Xiantao T, Guangyi X |title=Global bibliometric analysis of Tourette syndrome research (1960-2024): trends, collaborations and emerging themes |journal=Front Neurol |volume=16 |issue= |article-number=1564511 |date=2025 |pmid=40546258 |pmc=12178870 |doi=10.3389/fneur.2025.1564511 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Leckman's books include: * ''Tourette's Syndrome -- Tics, Obsessions, Compulsions: Developmental Psychopathology and Clinical Care'', 2001, {{ISBN|978-0471113751}} * ''Pediatric Psychopharmacology: Principles and Practice'', 2002, {{ISBN|978-0195141733}} * ''Tourette's Syndrome and Tic Disorders: Clinical Understanding and Treatment'', 1988, {{ISBN|978-0471629245}}
== References== {{Reflist}}
{{Topics related to Tourette syndrome}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leckman, James F.}} Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge Category:American psychiatrists Category:College of Wooster alumni Category:Tourette syndrome Category:University of New Mexico alumni Category:Yale School of Medicine alumni Category:Yale School of Medicine faculty Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Obsessive–compulsive disorder researchers