John Brekke, the Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, the first national society honoring excellence in the research and practice of social work.

Brekke was officially inducted May 6 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., along with 11 other leaders in various social service fields. In all, the new fellows have been responsible for leading more than 200 research studies at all levels of the public and private sectors and are among the most sought after consultants in the country.

"I am deeply honored to be a fellow in the academy," said Brekke, who also serves as the School of Social Work's associate dean for research. "It is even more meaningful because the election must be supported by a majority of the other fellows, so it is a recognition from my most esteemed colleagues."

The society, which was created in 2009 with the support of professional social work organizations such as the Saint Louis Group and the Council on Social Work Education, recognizes distinguished academics and practitioners for high-impact work that advances social good. Members will participate in national discussions of social policy by serving as experts before Congress and other agencies charged with advancing the public good.

"I want to help model this academy on successful academies in other disciplines and professions," said Brekke. "I have had discussions with fellows in physics, for example, and they have some very useful guidelines that should be considered in social work."

Brekke is among the leaders of the Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute, a USC health research center emphasizing the mental and physical well-being of people living in densely populated urban areas. The institute was recently awarded a prestigious five-year, $56.8 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institute of Health to connect interdisciplinary, investigative teams of scientists to clinical and community researchers and practitioners with a goal of accelerating the translation of laboratory discoveries into practice.

Last year, Brekke was the recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research, a competitive, national funding program focused on addressing challenging health policy issues. He was also appointed to the advisory board of the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics, an interdisciplinary group designed to foster collaborative research and analysis among scholars and policymakers at the USC Gould School of Law.

Since 1989, Brekke has been the principal investigator on five longitudinal studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and one funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This work has focused on the improvement of community-based services for individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness. He is currently a principal investigator on three NIMH grants, including a project that seeks to speed the use of evidence-based practices into community-based treatment for individuals with schizophrenia and another that examines the transformation of community-based mental health services at the levels of policy implementation, organizational change and consumer outcomes.

"AASWSW fellows, like John, reflect the highest values and standards in social work and represent the most outstanding and accomplished in their field," said Marilyn Flynn, dean of the School of Social Work. "The nomination is a very fitting honor for John to acknowledge his cumulative achievements in mental health services research."