Francisco Xavier Castellanos was born in
Madrid,
Spain, on November 16, 1953, to Bolivian parents. When he was four, he, his mother and his two siblings returned to
Bolivia, where they lived until he was nine, when the family moved to Washington, D.C. and a year later, to
New Orleans,
Louisiana. An avid reader, especially intrigued with science and math, he attended Catholic schools in New Orleans and later received a scholarship to
Vassar College, where he became fascinated with the work of Noam Chomsky. At Vassar, he established an independent major in
linguistics and graduated with honors in 1975. After graduation, working as a professional translator in New Orleans, during which time he translated
Jean Piaget's Epistemology and Psychology of Functions: Studies in Genetic Epistemology from French to English, Dr. Castellanos began work on a master's degree in experimental psychology at The
University of New Orleans, where he became fascinated by the discovery of endorphins. Following this interest, he applied to and was accepted at The
Louisiana State University Medical College at Shreveport. After winning several awards, including the prestigious Chancellor's Award for Overall Excellence and induction into AOA, the national medical honor society, he graduated in 1986 and continued his medical training at The
University of Kentucky, where he was one of the first graduates of the "Triple Board" program in psychiatry, pediatrics and child psychiatry. During his residency, he won the
Abraham Wikler, M.D. Award for Outstanding Psychiatry Resident and was awarded a mini-fellowship in the
American Psychiatric Association's Program for Minority Research Training in Psychiatry. In 1991, Dr. Castellanos became a Research Fellow in the Child Psychiatry Branch of the
National Institute of Mental Health, where he worked under the supervision of Dr.
Judith L. Rapoport. As a senior staff fellow, he was the head of the ADHD Research Unit and received an award for Excellence in Clinical Care and Research from the National Institute of Mental Health. During this time he also became a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2001, he left the NIMH to assume the position of Director of Research Training at the
New York University Child Study Center. Dr. Castellanos is the Brooke and Daniel Neidich Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. He is also the director of research at the NYU Child Study Center and the Director of the Phyllis Green and Randolph Cōwen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience. He is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general psychiatry. ==PGRC Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience==