Junior Faculty Members Receive Research Grants
Two Division Faculty Members Receive 2012 NARSAD Young Investigator Awards
Dr. Hirofumi Morishita and Dr. Kristen Brennand were each recently awarded the 2012 NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to pursue the following ideas.
Hirofumi Morishita, MD, PhD - Dr. Morishita has formed a hypothesis that links the onset of schizophrenia to two major developmental events: maturation of GABAergic inhibitory circuits and myelination. He and his team seek to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms mediating this novel GABA-myelin link during development and determine if it is disrupted in animal models and postmortem brains of people with schizophrenia.
Kristen J. Brennand, PhD - Dr. Brennand will create models of schizophrenia by reprogramming skin-cell samples from schizophrenia patients and healthy controls into stem cells that will then be induced to differentiate into defined sub-populations of neurons. Cellular and molecular differences between the neurons derived from patients and from controls can then be identified, addressing the unanswered question of which types of neurons are most affected in schizophrenia. The tools developed in this research could serve as the basis for screening new drug treatments.
Congratulations Drs. Morishita and Brennand!
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Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 10 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2025-2026.
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