Grant Type: Discovery Research

Identifying key immune biomarkers and uncovering possibilities for new therapies by using newly developed organ-chip technology and modeling how immune changes affect living human brain cells.

Changes along the cerebellar thalamic cortical circuit may drive dysregulation of mood and sleep in bipolar disorder. Understanding this dysregulation using genetic risk models may point to potential therapeutic opportunities.

Exploring the link between reward-related behavior and disruption of circadian-regulated processes like sleep – and how the interplay may exacerbate manic symptoms. The work will complement and inform other ongoing work within bipolar-related sleep dysfunction.

Investigating the function of voltage-gated calcium channels in the causes and development of bipolar disorder and assessing their potential as drug targets using a variety of innovative molecular approaches.

Investigating the mitochondrial-related genes, metabolic changes, and the central importance of energy- and activity-related symptoms at the onset of bipolar-related episodes to expand foundational knowledge about bipolar disorder biology and translate that into pharmacological therapeutics and behavioral interventions.

Increasing our understanding of drug action and the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder to provide better insight on mechanisms of action in current treatments, improve upon the use of current treatments, and develop better alternatives.

Delineating causal mechanisms of bipolar disorder using scalable multiomic profiling and genome engineering in patient-derived neuron models.

Providing a more complete picture of the biological mechanisms underlying bipolar disorder, especially those involved in sleep and mania-like behaviors. This could guide therapeutic development by linking genetic changes to circuit and behavioral level impacts.