Basic Science Training Program in the Neurobiology of Mental Illness

Institutional National Research Service Award Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health
T32-MH76690

The objective of the Basic Science Training Program in the Neurobiology of Mental Illness is the training of predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in a broad range of biological research methods relevant to the exploration of fundamental and translation approaches to serious mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and autism.

This new Training Program at UT Southwestern is a direct response to NIMH’s call for more basic scientists trained in a broad range of diverse, innovative basic research that is directly relevant to mental illness. In addition to the paucity of basic science researchers nationwide exploring the neurobiology of neuropsychiatric diseases, there is, conversely, a dearth of clinically-trained individuals pursuing basic research in mental illness, thus diminishing the very cross talk that is urgently needed in this field. The complexity of mental disorders demands an interdisciplinary approach to illuminate underlying disease mechanisms and to develop better diagnostic measures, treatments, and ultimately cures. Only by recruiting the best and brightest to this field can we make these strides, which are so central to NIMH’s mission.

As one of the top biomedical institutions in the U.S., UT Southwestern provides an outstanding environment in which to conduct basic, interdisciplinary biomedical research. The combination of senior and junior faculty in this training program ensures the effectiveness of our faculty in training the next generation of mental health researchers. It also ensures that junior faculty themselves will pursue mental health research throughout their careers and complements the preexisting integration of basic science research with clinical programs in mental illness already present at UTSW. This NIMH Training Program also integrates fundamental neurobiological research performed in multiple academic divisions including the Department of Psychiatry (Dr. Nestler, Chair), the Center for Basic Neuroscience (Dr. Thomas Südhof, Director), and the Center for Developmental Biology (Dr. Luis Parada, Director). Collaborations across the divisions are many and fruitful, resulting not only from the intellectual compatibility of our faculty but also the physical density of the neuroscience laboratories at UT Southwestern. The interdisciplinary approaches to mental health research are key to both understanding neuropsychiatric disorders as well as to the success of our Training Program.

Taken together with the remarkable history and rapid growth of UT Southwestern, our institution clearly offers a superb atmosphere in which to achieve our goal of training predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in basic psychiatric research.

Research programs:

• Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety)
• Schizophrenia
• Developmental Disorders (Autism, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, Rett syndrome)
• Developmental and Adult Neuroplasticity (Axon guidance, neurogenesis, synaptic function and plasticity)
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  Core Training Faculty Include:
  Bibb, James
  Cooper, Donald
  Cowan, Chris
  Eisch, Amelia
  Elmquist, Joel
  German, Dwight
  Ghose, Subroto
  Goldberg, Matthew
  Greene, Robert W.
  Henkemeyer, Mark
  Johnson, Jane
  Kavalali, Ege
  Kishi, Toshiro
  Marks, Gerald
  McClung, Colleen
  McKnight, Steve
  Monteggia, Lisa
  Nestler, Eric
  Parada, Luis
  Pieper, Andrew
  Powell, Craig
  Rothenfluh, Adrian
  Self, David
  Sudhof, Thomas
  Tamminga, Carol
  Terman, Jonathan
  Yanagisawa, Masashi
  
  

  Eric Nestler, Professor and Chair, is the Principal Investigator of this training program
  Amelia Eisch, Assistant Professor, is the Program Administrator of this training program.

- Predoctoral, postdoctoral, and summer student positions available.

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