Enhancing Translational Mood Disorders Research at UTHSCSA

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is submitted by the Mood Disorders Translational Core Center (MD-TCC), within the Center for Biomedical Neuroscience at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The MD-TCC is comprised of a core group of preclinical and clinical investigators from the Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry who share an interest in research into the mechanisms and treatment of depression and other mood disorders. This is an active and interactive group, with ample evidence of collaborative publication and funding. The proposal is for funding to support the recruitment of two high-caliber new faculty members into this group over two years, requesting $250,000 per year in direct costs for each to support their salary and benefits as well as salary and benefits for one new laboratory research personnel slot for each, equipment and supplies as appropriate to their new research programs. One of these new faculty will be a preclinical scientist with a primary appointment in the Department of Pharmacology, and the other will be a translational/clinical scientist with a primary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry. Both will have been trained in an environment of collaborative translational research. We plan to try to coordinate the recruitment of these two scientists such that their own research interests will not only complement and integrate them into the MD-TCC, but will also complement and Integrate with each other. Possible areas in which we plan to target our search could include genetics and epigenetics of depression; etiology and treatment of co-morbid cardiovascular disease and depression; neuroimmune function and brain cytokine signaling in depression; factors affecting vulnerability and resilience in development and aging. The senior members of the MD-TCC will not only provide the new faculty members with ample opportunities for productive collaboration, but will also provide mentoring, advice and guidance in many aspects of their career development, and will provide a peer group assisting them in the development and refinement of research programs that will be competitive for renewable external funding, most notably from NIMH. The translational research activities of the MD-TCC, and those of the new faculty that this center grant will support, are consistent with the goals of the NIMH strategic plan, and of the Recovery Act. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Depression is a debilitating and costly disorder. Consistent with the goals of the NIMH Strategic Plan, the MD-TCC brings together preclinical and clinical researchers at the UTHSCSA, to foster the movement of basic science discoveries into clinical research, and ultimately to improving the treatment of depression. This proposal advances that purpose by supporting the recruitment of two new faculty into this group.