Research Discoveries

Efficacy of Rapid Postpartum Treatment Leslie Morrow, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Distinguished Professor Professor, UNC Department of Pharmacology Researchers at the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders are studying the effectiveness of the neurosteroid brexanolone, a rapid treatment for postpartum depression (PPD), a debilitating mental illness impacting at least 10-15% of women who give birth. Brexanolone is the first FDA-approved pharmacotherapy specifically developed and approved to treat PPD and relieve suffering within days. Ongoing studies surrounding its effectiveness may provide a better understanding of postpartum depression itself.

Schizophrenia Advances in Neural Circuitry Hiroyuki Kato, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor Associate Professor, UNC Neuroscience Center Schizophrenic patients can suffer from hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and auditory hallucination, or “hearing voices.” Funded by the Foundation of Hope, Dr. Kato and his research team identified critical frontal cortex mechanisms and neural circuitry that cause hypersensitivity to auditory cues. This discovery will likely identify important new therapeutic targets for a variety of neuropsychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia and autism.

Combatting Substance Use with Therapeutics Joyce Besheer, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry Professor, UNC Bowles Alcohol Center Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a devastating disease, and Dr. Besheer’s FOH-funded research portfolio has examined how stress, trauma, and other environmental and behavioral pathologies can influence alcohol drinking behavior and relapse. This research into substance use disorder is timely and relevant to identify novel targets for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, which affects 1 in 7 Americans, often in conjunction with other mental illnesses.

First Postpartum Depression Phone App Samantha Meltzer-Brody, M.D., M.P.H. UNC Department of Psychiatry Distinguished Professor and Chair Director, UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders A 2015 FOH-funded study helped develop the first mobile app for women’s mood disorders with Apple ResearchKit. Dr. Meltzer-Brody and her team at the Center for Women's Mood Disorders studied the biological basis of postpartum depression (PPD) by creating a large genetic database. The app collected data from women who also provided saliva samples by mail. This innovative digital research data collection put “mom genes” to work to determine common genetic traits that inform accessible treatments for PPD.

Markers Discovered for Psychosis Predictors Diana Perkins, M.D., M.P.H. UNC Department of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry Director of UNC Outreach and Support Intervention Services (OASIS) The research supported by the Foundation of Hope was the groundwork for Dr. Perkins' NIMH-funded studies aimed to discover predictors and mechanism for the development of psychosis in persons at clinical high-risk. In particular, she and her team have identified markers related to immune system dysregulation as important predictors of psychosis. This critical data helps providers by informing new ways to treat patients with severe mental illness. Markers Discovered for Psychosis Predictors Diana Perkins, M.D., M.P.H. UNC Department of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry Director of UNC Outreach and Support Intervention Services (OASIS) Director, Early Psychosis Interventions in North Carolina (EPI-NC) The research supported by the Foundation of Hope was the [...]

World-Renowned Women’s Mood Disorders Program David R. Rubinow, M.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine Founder, UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders Support from the Foundation of Hope created the Women’s Mood Disorders Program at UNC. This program is now world-renowned and remains the only one in the country with an inpatient peripartum unit and with an NIH T32 training fellowship. Among other accomplishments, studies by the program investigators have demonstrated the following: 1) Estrogen prevents both depressive symptoms and acceleration of cardiovascular disease in perimenopausal women (thus arguing for the potential re-introduction of hormone therapy in this population); and 2) The unique susceptibility of some women to mood disorders during periods of reproductive change resides, at least in part, in differential genomic responses to hormone stimuli (which has shown to be present in the [...]

PTSD Symptom Reduction in Veterans Eric Elbogen, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor of Psychiatry With support from the Foundation of Hope, Dr. Elbogen and his team identified an astonishing frequency of behavioral disorders in returning veterans as well as the lack of financial literacy, which contributed to their difficulty reintegrating. This led the team to develop several successful interventions: 1) a mobile technology-based cognitive rehabilitation in veterans with traumatic brain injury and PTSD, the first such intervention to reduce anger, aggression, impulsivity, and PTSD symptoms in this population; and 2) a financial literacy training intervention, which decreased both the emotional and financial burden of our returning troops.

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Flavio Frohlich, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology & Physiology Director, Carolina Center for Neurostimulation Led by Dr. Flavio Frohlich, UNC researchers with the Carolina Center for Neurostimulation have turned a theory of how brain circuits can be restored into promising clinical trials for treating schizophrenia, depression, and chronic pain. This research has led to the successful start-up company Pulvinar Neuro, which seeks to commercialize noninvasive brain stimulation as a means to treat mental illness. This multi-phase project was funded by several grants from the Foundation of Hope. Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Flavio Frohlich, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology & Physiology Director, Carolina Center for Neurostimulation With the support of the Foundation of Hope, Dr. Frohlich and his team [...]