About Jennifer Gibson

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So far Jennifer Gibson has created 67 blog entries.
11 12, 2020

Lissa

Lissa I stood at the window, looking out on all the uniform buildings surrounding the grey building I am in. Everything looked so dull. I squeezed the bit of skin between my left thumb and pointer finger as hard as I could. I had googled that trick earlier, and Wikihow had informed me that doing this will keep you from crying. I could still hear my brother screaming. I could still feel the room move as he kicked the door. I stood quietly in the corner, wanting to disappear. As the tears streamed down my face, I realized that my thumb trick didn't work. Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings and mania. My older brother has a severe form of the disorder, suffering from delusions and dangerous psychosis. He has been hospitalized five times since I was 13 years old. [...]

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16 11, 2020

Ashley

Ashley I grew up in a relatively average family. Through most of my school-aged years I considered myself pretty “normal.” But in my senior year of high school, I began to experience anxiety and depression. I isolated myself and just wanted to be left alone. It was difficult, but I thought that going off to college would resolve the issues and get me back on track Once I got to college my anxiety worsened. I had a panic attack my first week of classes. My family connected me with a psychiatrist who proceeded to prescribe me Xanax. I learned fairly quickly that if I had a feeling that I didn’t like, I could just numb it away. I also suffered an injury and quickly became dependent on the narcotics I was prescribed. While I tried [...]

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11 06, 2020

Mechanisms of Brexanolone Therapeutics in Postpartum Depression | Morrow | $48,070

Mechanisms of Brexanolone Therapeutics in Postpartum Depression 2020 Award: $48,070 Depression is associated with abnormal activation of inflammatory immune signals in the blood and the brain.  We recently discovered that the endogenous steroid allopregnanolone inhibits these signals and therefore we hypothesize that this mechanism explains the therapeutic effects of the new drug Zulresso, which is a proprietary form of allopregnanolone.  We will test this idea in women with postpartum depression in hopes of discovering new ways to treat all forms of depression. Need/Problem: The first FDA-approved medication for post-partum depression is brexanolone, but it requires IV infusion for 60 hours in a medically supervised setting with oxygen monitoring. We need to understand the mechanism of action of brexanolone to allow development of a more affordable and convenient bioavailable treatment for post-partum depression. Grant Summary: We will examine whether the anti-depressant effects of brexanolone in patients with post-partum [...]

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10 06, 2020

A Translational Approach to Identify Biomarkers of COVID-19-related Social Stress in Healthcare Workers | Zannas & Rodriguez-Romaguera | $85,000

A Translational Approach to Identify Biomarkers of COVID-19-related Social Stress in Healthcare Workers 2020 Award: $85,000 Psychosocial stress is ubiquitous in modern societies and - especially when excessive or persistent - can lead to several psychiatric disorders, including major depressive, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety disorders. As we have all observed in the news recently, one of the most vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 pandemic is our healthcare providers. Our research will integrate human studies and preclinical mouse models of social stress to understand how persistent social stress affects this population. Need/Problem: Stress-related psychiatric disorders, including major depressive, post-traumatic stress, and anxiety disorders, are the most common mental illnesses in the United States. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, both the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) predict that the number of people suffering from [...]

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9 06, 2020

Microbiome and Methylation (M&M): A Source of Information for Precision Medicine | Kimmel | $42,000

Microbiome and Methylation (M&M): A Source of Information for Precision Medicine 2020 Award: $42,000 Despite greater recognition of the need to treat Perinatal Depression and Anxiety that can affect one in five women, current treatment algorithms are still limited in the ability to personalize to individuals and the heterogenous factors that are playing a role for each woman. This project will identify profiles of the microbiome i.e., the composition and the function of the microbes that live within us and particularly in our guts, and methylation, i.e., the process by which methyl groups are added to allow for use of our genes, during the postpartum period are blueprints for the foundation of mental wellness for each woman, her child, and family. Need/Problem: Despite greater recognition of the need to treat Perinatal Depression and Anxiety that can affect one in [...]

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4 06, 2020

A Stimulus PET/MR Study of Gender Differences in Neuroinflammation in Autism | Dichter | $50,000

A Stimulus PET/MR Study of Gender Differences in Neuroinflammation in Autism 2020 Award: $50,000 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts the functioning of brain regions that process social information, but the reasons for this are unclear. In this project we will examine whether inflammation in brain regions that process social information contributes to social impairments in ASD and whether there are sex differences in brain inflammation in ASD. Results will indicate whether treatments that impact inflammation may be beneficial for those with ASD. Need/Problem: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an etiologically heterogeneous disorder that affects 1 in 54 individuals and confers a lifelong burden to most affected individuals and their families. The brain basis of ASD remains poorly understood. Grant Summary: We will use combined positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain imaging to examine whether [...]

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4 06, 2020

Identifying the Role of Parental Traits in Explaining Phenotypic Variability in Children with Neurogenetic Developmental Disorders: towards early individualized intervention | Girault | $39,718

Identifying the Role of Parental Traits in Explaining Phenotypic Variability in Children with Neurogenetic Developmental Disorders: towards early individualized intervention 2020 Award: $39,718 Children with genetic syndromes affecting brain development are at substantially increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, but symptom variability has hindered the development of effective treatments. In this project, we will determine whether family genetic background can explain symptom variability in children with neurogenetic disorders. Identifying cost-effective predictors of specific areas of risk is critical in guiding the development of personalized early interventions. Need/Problem: Children diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome are at substantially increased risk for developing neuropsychiatric disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite a known genetic cause for each syndrome, substantial clinical variability exists among children with both syndromes, suggesting an important role for genetic background in shaping [...]

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