The Friedman Brain Institute

Icahn Mount Sinai researchers investigate the genes and biological pathways of bipolar disorder by comparing DNA between tens of thousands of individuals with the condition and tens of thousands of healthy controls. This reveals the areas of the human genome that are involved in this condition. Then, a number of innovative technologies are used to map out how these areas of the genome result in the illness. These technologies include studying actual brain tissue from cases and controls donated postmortem, as well as neural cell lines. All these approaches enable researchers to understand the impact of genetic variation on the function of brain cells and risk for this severe mental illness, generating new ideas for drug development.

In the future, we will likely be conducting clinical trials or mechanistic studies regarding the depression component of bipolar disorder, which typically predominates. At Icahn Mount Sinai, our diverse team of basic and clinical researchers is dedicated to translating these research findings into clinical care.

Scientists in this research area include: 

• Alexander Charney, MD, PhD
• Panos Roussos, MD, MS, PhD
• Georgios Voloudakis, MD, PhD
• James Murrough, MD, PhD
• Manish Jha, MBBS
• Niamh Mullins, PhD

The RECOVER trial is a prospective, multi-center, randomized, controlled, blinded trial demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as adjunctive therapy versus a no-stimulation control in subjects with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). VNS therapy is an implantable device that is currently Food and Drug Administration-approved for TRD. A recent five-year observational study demonstrated that up to two-thirds of patients with TRD respond to VNS therapy as adjunctive treatment, including previous responders and non-responders to electroconvulsive therapy. However, Medicare and other insurers do not routinely cover VNS therapy for TRD, and Medicare has confirmed their requirement for additional research using a randomized, sham-controlled, blinded design. The RECOVER study has been designed in partnership with, and approved by, Medicare in order to meet this need.

Scientists in this research area include:

• Amy Aloysi, MD, MPH
• Ronjon Banerjee, MD
• Martijn Figee, MD, PhD
• Chris Kelly, PhD
• James Murrough, MD, PhD
• Andrew Smith, MD, PhD