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.