BD² Inaugural All-Investigator Meeting

By: Cara Altimus, PhD, BD² Managing Director Four years ago, philanthropic leaders united with the Milken Institute and embarked on a journey to launch a new research initiative focused on bipolar disorder. This month, we convened all of the inaugural funded scientists, researchers, and clinicians in that research initiative, BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with …

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BD² Celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Women and girls play a critical role in unlocking answers to some of the world’s most pressing scientific questions, but inequalities and barriers continue to pose challenges to participation in STEM. Only through diversity in all areas of science—from study participants to clinicians, researchers, and leadership—can there be a truly inclusive, prosperous, and sustainable world. …

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BD² in Bipolar Disorders Journal

What could supercharged collaboration mean for bipolar disorder research? Read more from BD² Managing Director, Cara Altimus, PhD, BD² program directors, and Scientific Steering Committe chairs. Bipolar Disorders Journal: Supercharging collaboration for bipolar research—Breakthrough discoveries for thriving with bipolar disorder (BD²) “The field needs both more dedicated funding and infrastructure to bring together researchers, clinicians, and …

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2023 Milestones

Since publicly launching just over a year ago, we’ve built a connected network of 100+ scientists and clinicians, awarded more than $60 million in grants, launched first-of-its-kind research for bipolar disorder across our programs, and more. Our work continues to be driven by our commitment to removing silos, building foundational knowledge, and accelerating the translation …

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BD² Announces Research and Clinical Network to Advance Treatment for Bipolar Disorder

Washington, DC – BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder today announced the first six institutions that will launch the groundbreaking BD² Integrated Network. Brigham and Women’s Hospital-McLean Hospital, University of California Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic, University of Michigan, and UTHealth Houston together comprise the first sites that will work in …

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BD² Announces $18 Million in Grants to Understand Biology of Bipolar Disorder

Washington, D.C. – BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder today announced its first round of Discovery Research grants, totaling $18 million, bringing greater collaboration and focused funding to the field of bipolar disorder. Multidisciplinary teams of scientists and clinicians, whose leads are at Yale University, Stanford University, New York Genome Center, and the …

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BD² in JAMA Medical News

Bipolar disorder is difficult to both diagnose and treat. The disorder is characterized by a range of symptoms including hypomania and depression that vary from patient to patient, and effective medical treatment is often only found after patients try multiple ineffective treatments. JAMA Medical News details how BD² is working to better understand the genetic …

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BD² Announces First $15 Million in Grants to Advance Genetic and Biological Understanding of Bipolar Disorder

Washington, D.C. – March 30, 2023 – BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder today announced its first grants, totaling $15 million, to advance scientific understanding of the genetic and biological foundations of bipolar disorder. These first-of-their-kind efforts aim to accelerate discovery and improve diagnosis and care for the more than 40 million people …

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Why Three Deep-Pocketed Funders Joined Forces to Take on Bipolar Disorder

Source: Paul Karon, Inside Philanthropy Among serious forms of mental illness, bipolar disorder has been one of the least-funded in terms of research. In fact, it’s seen sharply diminishing support in recent years, even as federal funding for other forms of mental illness has increased. That has left the estimated 40 million people worldwide who …

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BD² Releases Five RFAs to Support Bipolar Research

Washington, D.C. – September 22, 2022 – BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder announced five Requests for Applications (RFAs) to advance bipolar research and support people living with bipolar disorder. BD² will fund multidisciplinary teams and organizations to access and expand upon new findings, accelerating the process of discovery across the entire bipolar research …

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