As part of the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Depression and Anxiety Center for Discovery and Treatment is one of the leading centers for the study of mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We work to understand the causes of these illnesses and create treatments to improve the lives of patients and their families.
The establishment of the Depression and Anxiety Center is an evolution of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at Mount Sinai, founded by Dr. Dennis Charney in 2006. The Program quickly became one of the major research programs in the Department, with continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health over the past decade.
Our ongoing research aims to develop cutting-edge antidepressants, psychotherapy strategies, and device-based therapies (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation). We also conduct experimental work, both within and independent of clinical treatment studies, aimed at identifying the biological (e.g., genetic, epigenetic, immunological), neurobiological (e.g., functional and structural brain), and psychological factors that contribute to the onset, progression, and course of mood and anxiety disorders. Given the interdisciplinary nature of our research, we work closely with our colleagues in The Friedman Brain Institute, the BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII), the Precision Immunology Institute (PrIISM) and the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics, and many departments and divisions across the School of Medicine and within the Mount Sinai Health System.
In addition to our broader efforts to advance treatment and understand the basis of mood and anxiety disorders, we are also working towards understanding some of the most difficult problems within the domain of mood and anxiety disorder research. We are actively researching new therapies for treatment-resistant depression, seeking to advance our understanding of the onset and progression of suicidal thinking, and trying to understand the highly comorbid nature of anxiety and depression. Further, among a dearth of new psychiatric treatments, our close collaborations with basic science researchers means we are able to move promising new therapeutics into human clinical trials rapidly.
For the clinician and scientist, we offer cutting-edge research advances, which are frequently published in a variety of journals. For potential patients and those suffering from mood and anxiety disorders, we offer an integrated series of research studies in innovative treatments, many involving brain imaging to help us understand these disorders. We provide all study services free of charge to eligible participants, including evaluations and diagnoses. Whatever your reason for visiting our website, we hope you’ll find something that might help you or someone you love.
