From its inception, HDRF’s goal has been to accelerate the development of new and better treatments for depression. The treatment of depression remains a great challenge. Recent studies have shown that only one third of people with depression recover in response to treatment with a single antidepressant and only another one-third recover after months and months, even with multiple treatment trials (STAR*D, Rush et al 2006.)

While the advent of Prozac (the first SSRI) in 1985 was a breakthrough in its time, there has been little progress in the common treatment of depression in over 40 years. The exact physical causes of depression remain unknown, and there is no medical diagnosis for depression (like a blood test or brain scan).

To develop innovative treatments for depression, we must have a deeper understanding of the complex mood- generating systems within the brain and be able to see and measure biological markers of the illness.

To achieve this, HDRF has developed a strategy of bringing together top neuroscience researchers, from various research institutions, with areas of expertise that complement each other, while providing the significant funds necessary for this group to collaboratively develop and execute urgently needed research projects. HDRF’s approach differs from and supplements the more conventional research pathway in which separate investigators at separate institutions work independently rather than share a common strategy.

HDRF’s current research roadmap begins with a focus on animal models to illuminate the neural circuits underlying depression and ends with the testing of new treatment approaches for depressed patients. To realize this effort, HDRF launched its Depression Task Force (DTF), a select group of world-renowned researchers, in 2012. This is an outstanding collaboration of leading neuroscience experts – each of them scientific pioneers in their own right – who have agreed to work together to develop a unique program of depression research that pools the most advanced techniques in molecular biology, electrophysiology, and genetics. Each researcher is carrying out a piece of the plan in their own labs and converging their ongoing results in our powerful Data Center, located at the University of Michigan.

It is almost unprecedented for such successful investigators, each affiliated with a different university, to come together to work on a common project at a significant level of financial support (7-figure+.)

Recently, the Depression Task Force announced that — out of the 20,000 genes that make up the human body — they have identified 20 new gene targets in the brain that can lead to novel treatments for the illness. Through a series of collaborative research projects, they have found that.

these genes produce proteins whose levels get out of balance in stress-re-lated disorders like depression.