2014 Colvin Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Mood Disorders Research
Dr. Henn applies imaging, animal studies, and genetics to understanding the bases of depression and schizophrenia. His group is attempting to use animals modeling depression to identify the genes altered by aversive experience, which may contribute to depression. They are also beginning clinical tests with patients using deep brain stimulation (DBS) to inhibit the habenula, a group of neurons associated with pain processing and negative feedback encoding, as a potential treatment for depression. The successful move from the animal model to working on patients suggests this model may help to identify the pathophysiology of depression. The group feels this lies in altered excitatory transmission in the cortex and has patented a class of drugs that may reverse this.
Dr. Henn has had extensive clinical and administrative experience, chairing a department of psychiatry, running a major international research center in Germany, and recently serving as the Associate Laboratory Director for Life Sciences for 4 years at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., serves as the President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the largest private funder of mental health research grants. Dr. Borenstein developed the Emmy-nominated public television program “Healthy Minds,” and serves as host and executive producer of the series. The program, broadcast nationwide, is available online, and focuses on topics in psychiatry in order to educate the public, reduce stigma and offer a message of hope. Dr. Borenstein served as Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News, the newspaper of the American Psychiatric Association from 2012 - 2023.
Dr. Borenstein is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and serves as the Chair of the Section of Psychiatry at the Academy. He also has served as the President of the New York State Psychiatric Association. Dr. Borenstein earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his medical degree at New York University.
