Terry Ketter, MD— a Fellow Emeritus who was admitted into ACNP in 2011—died on November 1, 2024, at age 74 in Toronto, Canada, of a neurological disorder that he had for four years. Terry was a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford from 2000 until he became Emeritus in 2017. An internationally regarded expert in the biology and treatment of bipolar disorder, he was also the Director of the Stanford Bipolar Disorders Program. Terry earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and an MS in mathematics from the University of Sydney before he did his MD at the University of Toronto. He met his wife, Nzeera, in medical school and then did his psychiatric residency at UCSF before going to the NIMH as a Research Associate, where he served for 10 years in Robert Post’s Laboratory. There, he ran the clinical unit and conducted trials in novel pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder. He worked on developing PET to differentially predict treatment response. He showed that a so-called overactive brain predicted carbamazepine response; in contrast, a cool brain predicted response to nimodipine. Other studies looked at the relative efficacy of lamotrigine over gabapentin and placebo. He published some 100 papers while at the NIMH, of the over 400 papers he published during his career. We successfully recruited Terry to Stanford, where he started our bipolar disorders program and continued to do innovative research on novel treatment development and optimizing combinations of treatments for patients with the disorder. A major area of interest was the relationship of creativity to bipolar disorder. He pioneered in applying “numbers needed to treat or harm” to compare efficacy and safety of drugs across studies, and this has been commonly adopted by researchers and clinicians. Terry was a gifted and caring clinician who was adored by his patients for his dedication, warmth, ability to effect working relationships, and his incredible breadth of knowledge. I was always struck by how appreciative his patients were of his interest in them and his devotion to helping them feel better. Terry was a terrific teacher and mentor whose trainees similarly responded to his guidance. On a personal note, he had a tremendously wry sense of humor and a charming laugh that could light up a room.

After retiring, Terry and Nzeera Ketter traveled the globe to all continents, including Antarctica. These trips took them to exotic places such as Tibet, and they had wonderful stories to tell about them when they returned. Terry was a dog lover and was also interested in fine arts. He had learned to become a professional ethnic jewelry maker before he went to medical school, and craftsmanship continued to intrigue him throughout his life. A truly unique and kind person, he is already missed by colleagues, friends, and family.