Last week, the senior investigators of HDRF’s Depression Task Force (DTF) and forty of the young scientists in their labs convened in Durham, North Carolina for their Annual Scientific Summit. This three-day retreat gives researchers from our nine DTF laboratories the opportunity to share and discuss their latest findings.
Each day was filled with presentations, followed by lively discussions about new treatment strategies. Our scientists covered a wide array of topics including deep brain stimulation, psychedelic treatments, stress regulation, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, and newly identified gene and protein targets associated with depression.
The Depression Task Force is a consortium of scientists working together as a single unit to study how depression pathways develop in individuals with susceptible genotypes with the goal of developing more effective treatments for the disorder. Only a collaborative effort involving many scientists across many different labs can take on such a monumental mission.
The DTF’s nine senior investigators are among the world’s top neuroscientists and each head their own labs. The principal investigators are: Dr. Eric Nestler, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Dr. Huda Akil, University of Michigan; Dr. Elisabeth Binder, the Max Planck Institute in Germany; Dr. Kafui Dzirasa, Duke University; Dr. René Hen, Columbia University; Dr. Jonathan Javitch, Columbia University; Dr. Conor Listen, Weill Cornell Medicine; Dr. Helen Mayberg, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; and Dr. Michael Meaney, McGill University.
On the second day of the retreat, the junior scientists took a field trip to the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) at Duke University. The DLC is an internationally acclaimed non-invasive research center housing over 250 lemurs and bush babies across 12 species. The DLC’s research on lemurs has contributed to many areas of medical science including deepening our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and metabolic disorders, and the body’s ability to delay aging.
Due to devastating changes in their native ecosystem, lemurs are now the most endangered group of mammals in the world. Our scientists couldn’t help but feel some kinship with the primates they saw. Given the federal government’s recent budget cuts, including drastic cuts to universities and to the National Institutes of Health, the future of biomedical research in the U.S. is uncertain. More than ever before, non-profits like HDRF and the donors who support them are crucial to advancing scientific research.
To ensure that the Depression Task Force can continue their important work, donate to HDRF today. Every dollar raised directly supports our brilliant scientists. Their ground-breaking research brings us closer every day to a future without depression.