Research
Research at SCNWH aims to address the gap in women’s mental health research and, where possible, to translate research findings to clinical practice. The Center’s research focuses on three areas: (1) the reproductive endocrine status of women with affective disorders; (2) the neurobiological effects of hormone therapy in aging women; and (3) the combined effects of affective disorders together with metabolic and endocrine risk factors (e.g. insulin resistance and obesity) on cognition and pathological brain aging. This includes understanding gender differences in the neurobiology and clinical treatment of cognitive deficits related to the confluence of these risk factors.
By virtue of its integrated approach, the Center serves as a hub for an array of research collaborators, including experts in genetics, psychiatry, neurology, endocrinology, biophysics, and ob-gyn. Further, the SCNWH research program provides a unique opportunity for residents, fellows, doctoral students, faculty and staff to work together on a range of projects initiated by students and junior investigators as part of their training experience in women’s mental health. These studies span a range of topics including cultural approaches to mental health, the epigenetics of postpartum depression, and an exploration of risk factors for cognitive decline in women with mood disorders.
Postpartum Depression and VNS
A collaborative study with Vorso Corp that aims to observe the tolerability and efficacy of Vorso's transcutaneous electrical stimulation in subjects suffering from postpartum depression.
Prediabetes and Brain Aging
Insulin Resistance and Accelerated Cognitive Aging
The main purpose of the study is to describe the developmental trajectory of cognitive and neural biomarkers across the spectrum of metabolic dysfunction in overweight/obese adults younger than 50 years of age.
Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease
Sex Specific Interactions of Modifiable and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors of Alzheimer's Disease
A collaborative effort with the Banner Alzheimer's Institute that aims to describe the gender-specific distribution of biomarkers of premature mortality and allostatic load in relation to modifiable risk factors (IR) and non-modifiable (genetic) risk factors for AD.
Collaborators at Stanford University
Other Collaborators
Michael Bauer, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco
Andre Carvaltto, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Clinical Medicine and Translational Psychiatry Research Group Faculty of Medicine Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza Brazil
Elissa Epel, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
Margaret Gatz, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Southern California
Roger S McIntyre, M.D., FRCPC, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Nancy Pederson, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Eduard Vieta, M.D., Ph.D., Bipolar Disorders Program, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Owen Wolkowitz, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
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