Most genome studies conducted to date that have aimed to identify DNA variations associated with various psychiatric illnesses have depended upon samples drawn from populations composed mostly of people of European ancestry.
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a complex disease that varies notably in different patients, clinically, cognitively, and in terms of brain function. The reliance on traditional disease classifications (e.g., DSM categorical diagnoses) has yielded an incomplete understanding of the illness. To overcome this, we have applied empirical approaches to classify individuals along neurobiologically relevant dimensions into more homogenous subgroups.
Psychosis, which involves hallucinations, delusions, and other distortions of thought and perception, is often associated with schizophrenia. But it also occurs in other disorders, including major depression. Psychosis is less well understood in this context, which is to be expected since most depression studies exclude patients who experience psychosis symptoms.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of Toronto
Clinician Scientist
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
2020 Young Investigator Grant
An international team has reported the development of a new online-based resource that could significantly advance brain research and ultimately aid in the clinical diagnosis and early detection of a wide range of psychiatric illnesses.
Researchers studying the stories that people with PTSD tell about their traumatic experiences and then analyzing them in terms of the way they are represented in the brain by measuring patterns of firing neurons have found evidence that trauma memories are “an alternative cognitive entity” quite distinct from other representations of memory, including sad memories.
Extensive research over several decades, some of it led by investigators supported by BBRF, has demonstrated that stress, including psychosocial stress (stress that arises from social interactions) is one of the most important risk factors for depression.
Great effort has therefore been devoted to research seeking to reveal precisely how stress perturbs the biology of the brain and other bodily systems to produce the diverse range of depression symptoms.
Until recently, an overwhelming amount of work on mental health disorders was conducted exclusively in males. This has led to a lack of understanding of sex differences in these disorders. We need to understand how they occur, are expressed, and can be treated in both men and women. Our work focuses on understanding where sex differences occur and where they do not, and how we can use this understanding to help affected individuals.
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We are pleased to present you with the 2022 Leading Research Achievements by BBRF Grantees, Prizewinners & Scientific Council Members.
View our 2023 Leading Research Achievements
This list illustrates some of the major research achievements from 2023.
In 2023 we funded more than $10.2 million in Young Investigator Grants. We expect the grant recipient scientists will make exciting discoveries over the next few years. Grantees are selected by our Scientific Council.
Faculty Instructor
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2020 Young Investigator Grant
