28th Annual International Mental Health Research Symposium

<p>Dr. Green’s clinical research laboratory explores the relationship between cognitive and social cognitive impairments in schizophrenia and activities of daily living. His team also explores the neural mechanisms of cognitive and social cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Dr. Green is a leading researcher in the evaluation of social cognitive retraining and novel pharmacological interventions to improve cognitive impairments. His laboratory also studies the determinants of community integration for homeless veterans, many of whom have psychotic disorders. His identification of the importance of cognition in schizophrenia launched the national Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) effort, and stimulated novel and innovative treatments for cognitive dysfunction.</p> <hr /> <h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sD629nm2KaQ?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>During his career, Dr. Marder has focused on pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to improving the outcomes of serious mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia. His clinical intervention research began with studies that evaluated strategies for reducing adverse side effects of antipsychotic medications, and studies that evaluated the interactions of psychosocial interventions and pharmacological approaches to improving the outcome of serious mental illnesses. Together with Dr. Green, his fellow Lieber Prize recipient, he led the NIMH-MATRICS initiative, which addressed key issues in the development of medications for improving cognition in schizophrenia.</p> <hr /> <h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n6DYu8__2Co?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>Dr. Horan conducts translational research to identify factors that contribute to difficulties in community integration among people with schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, and has been a leader in the development of innovative treatments that may help patients improve the quality of their lives. More recently, he has begun applying this translational research approach to investigations of bipolar disorder and homelessness. In addition, he has focused on the development and validation of the Social Cognitive Skills Training Program for people with psychosis. The goal of this research is to develop new treatments that enable people with psychosis to live independently, pursue personally meaningful vocational and educational goals, and develop more satisfying social networks in the community. His work has led to a deeper understanding of the impairments in motivation and social behaviors that affect the lives of many people with schizophrenia, previously viewed by most clinicians as untreatable, and led to a new sense of optimism that these problems can be addressed in the clinic.</p><hr><h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4><p>&nbsp;</p><p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nODp838wDCo?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>Dr. McCleery’s research focuses on cognitive predictors of functional outcome in schizophrenia and related conditions. Her recent work uses EEG techniques in conjunction with performance-based measures to better understand the nature of the relationships between early-stage information processing, higher-order cognition, and community functioning across phases of illness in schizophrenia.&nbsp; Her work is also informed by developmental psychopathology in order to gain a nuanced understanding of the trajectory of cognition over the course of illness to identify potential critical periods and targets for intervention, as well as possible mechanisms of change.</p> <hr /> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8OaSwTS7NWc?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>Dr. Schulze’s research focuses on genotype-phenotype relationships in psychiatric disorders. He coordinates a German-wide center grant on longitudinal psychosis research and spearheads an international study on the genetic basis of response to lithium treatment in bipolar disorder, comprising several research groups from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. In addition, he and his team have embarked on population-based genetic studies in Ethiopia, focusing on the interplay of khat abuse (a plant that is used as a drug), trauma, and psychosis. Within the framework of a German government-funded, multi-site network, he is entrusted with the job of setting up a national federated biobanking and phenotyping platform.</p> <hr /> <h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IP9NtH6mTsc?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>Dr. McMahon’s research is aimed at discovering and characterizing genes involved in mood and anxiety disorders in order to develop better methods of diagnosis and treatment. For more than a decade, his work has focused on pharmacogenomics, including genetic studies of antidepressant outcome, lithium response, and treatment-resistant depression. Still in its early stages, pharmacogenomics underlies the increasing interest in personalized and precision medicine, promising to reduce trial and error in the selection of the most effective treatments, while minimizing adverse events.</p> <hr /> <h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/duEbIc-mRXA?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p>Building on Pat Goldman-Rakic’s groundbreaking studies, Dr. Miller’s work in primates has broken new ground in the understanding of cognition. Using innovative experimental and theoretical approaches to study the neural basis of high-level cognitive functions, his laboratory has provided insights into how categories, concepts, and rules are learned, how attention is focused, and how the brain coordinates thought and action. The laboratory has innovated techniques for studying the activity of many neurons in multiple brain areas simultaneously, providing insight into how different brain structures interact and collaborate. This work has established a foundation upon which to construct more detailed, mechanistic accounts of how executive control is implemented in the brain and its dysfunction in diseases such as autism, schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder, and has led to new approaches relevant to severe mental illnesses in children and adults.</p> <hr /> <h4>Prizewinner Video:</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_HxD5ORVQqo?rel=0" width="100%"></iframe></p>