| | Principal Investigators
| Husseini K. Manji, M.D. |
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Husseini K. Manji, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.,
is the Chief of the Laboratory
of Molecular Pathophysiology and the director of the NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, the largest program of its kind in the world. He is also a visiting professor in the Departments of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Duke University. Dr. Manji received his B.S. (Biochemistry) and M.D. from the University of British Columbia. Following psychiatry residency training, he subsequently completed fellowship training in psychopharmacology at the NIMH and obtained extensive additional training in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the NIDDK. Dr. Manji is a previous recipient of numerous research awards, including the A. E. Bennett Award for Neuropsychiatric Research, the Ziskind-Somerfeld Award for Neuropsychiatric Research, the NARSAD Mood Disorders Prize (Nola Maddox Falcone Prize), the Mogens Schou Distinguished Research Award, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)’s Joel Elkes award for distinguished research, and the Canadian Association of Professors in Psychiatry Award. Dr. Manji is currently editor of Neuroscience Perspectives, Biological Psychiatry, associate editor of the journal Bipolar Disorders, and sits on the Editorial Board of the official journal of the CINP. |
| Research Interests |
| The major focus of his ongoing research is the investigation of disease- and treatment-induced changes in gene and protein expression profiles that regulate neuroplasticity and cellular resilience in mood disorders. In broad terms, his laboratories' scientific goals are to capitalize upon recent insights into our understanding of the signaling pathways mediating the effects of mood stabilizers, in order to understand the pathophysiology of severe mood disorders and to develop improved therapeutics. Current preclinical projects include genomics and proteomics strategies to study interacting signaling networks in the CNS, morphometric and histochemical analyses of brain tissue from transgenic and knockout mice models of neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as human postmortem brain tissue. The investigation of disease and treatment-induced changes in neuroplasticity is a major focus of the preclinical laboratory. Current clinical studies involve the use of signal transduction modifiers (e.g. protein kinase C inhibitors) not only to investigate the pathophysiology of mood disorders, but also as potential novel therapeutics for mood disorders. Clinical studies also involve the use of morphometric brain imaging to study of the neurotrophic effects of mood stabilizing agents, and the use of "plasticity enhancers" as novel treatment strategies to alter the course and trajectory of severe recurrent mood disorders. |
| Representative
Selected Recent Publications: |
- Schloesser RJ, Huang J, Klein PS, and Manji HK:
Cellular plasticity cascades in the pathophysiology and treatment of bipolar disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews, in press, 2007. (View PDF)
- Martinowich K, Manji HK, Lu B:
The Role of BDNF in Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Nature Neuroscience, 10:1089-1093, 2007. (View PDF)
- Hasler G, Gould TD, Drevets WC, Gottesman II and Manji HK:
Toward Constructing an Endophenotype Strategy for Bipolar Disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 60: 93-105, 2006. (View PDF)
- Zarate CA, Singh JB, Carlson PJ, Brutsche NE, Ameli R, Luckenbaugh DA, Charney DS and Manji HK:
A Randomized Trial of an NMDA Antagonist in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 63:856-864, 2006. (View PDF)
- McMahon FJ, Burnevich S, Charney DS, Robert R, Rush AJ, Wilson AF, Sorant AJ; Papanicolaou G, Laje P, Fava M, Trivedi MH, Wisniewski SR and Manji HK:
Variation in the Gene Encoding the Serotonin 2A Receptor is Associated with Outcome of Antidepressant Treatment. Am J Human Genetics, 78: 804-814, 2006. (View PDF)
- Zhou R, Gray N, Yuan, Li X, Chen JS, Chen G, Damschroder-Williams P, Du J, Zhang L, Manji HK:
The anti-apoptotic, GR cochaperone protein, BAG-1: A novel target for the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder. J Neurosci , 25:4493-4502, 2005.
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