Treatment
The Center's faculty are currently testing novel psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic approaches to treat depression and suicide.
Dr. Lourival Baptista-Neto, MD
Dr. Baptista is an associate professor of psychiatry and vice-chair of Clinical Services in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In his role as vice-chair, he oversees all clinical services in psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital at CUIMC and at the ColumbiaDoctors faculty practice organization. Dr. Baptista has been in the Department of Psychiatry for more than 12 years and has focused on developing new clinical programs and expanding existing ones. He is also the co-founder of the CopeColumbia program, which aims to promote well-being and resilience among all Columbia University employees.
Recent Publications
Mellins, C. A., Mayer, L., Glasofer, D. R., Devlin, M. J., Albano, A. M., Nash, S. S., Engle, E., Cullen, C., Ng, W., Allmann, A. E., Fitelson, E. M., Vieira, A., Remien, R. H., Malone, P., Wainberg, M. L., & Baptista-Neto, L. (2020). Supporting the well-being of health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The CopeColumbia response. General Hospital Psychiatry, 67, 62-69.
Rynn, M. A., Jablonka, O., Baptista-Neto, L., & Goldberg, P.H. (2013). Anxiety Disorders. In M. McVoy & R. L. Findling (Eds.), Clinical Manual of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology (2nd ed., pp. 147-190). American Psychiatric Publishing.
Contact
Email: lb2602@cumc.columbia.edu
Phone: 646-774-5365
Office Address: 1051 Riverside Drive, Room 6002, New York, NY 10032
Dr. Michael F. Grunebaum, MD
Dr. Grunebaum’s expertise is in clinical trials to reduce suicidal risk in unipolar and bipolar depression. The first trial he led, which received NARSAD and K23 support, was in suicidal depressed patients randomized to SSRI or bupropion with suicidal ideation as a primary outcome. Dr. Grunebaum’s team found an advantage for paroxetine at reducing suicidal ideation in patients with the most severe suicidal thoughts at baseline. Subsequently, his team completed two midazolam-controlled trials testing anti-suicidal ideation effects of intravenous ketamine in unipolar and bipolar depression with clinically significant suicidal thoughts. The bipolar trial, funded by a NARSAD Independent Investigator grant, was published in Bipolar Disorders, showing promising pilot results for anti-suicidal ideation effects of ketamine and potential neurocognitive biomarkers. Dr. Grunebaum was also the principal investigator of an R01-funded trial showing that ketamine rapidly reduces suicidal ideation within 24 hours in suicidal major depressive disorder, which was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Follow-up papers reported analyses of ketamine and metabolite blood levels, and opioid-mu receptor effects, and a neurocognitive results paper is near publication. Currently, Dr. Grunebaum is the principal investigator of a recently begun R01-funded, midazolam-controlled trial testing the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of intra-muscular, sub-anesthetic ketamine for rapid reduction of suicidal thoughts in high risk, depressed emergency department patients. Positive results would support this novel, economical, and easily scalable intervention for use by busy emergency psychiatrists to rapidly reduce suicide risk in appropriate patients.
Current Projects
1. IM Ketamine for Rapid Reduction of Suicidal Thoughts in High-risk Emergency Room Patients: a Midazolam-controlled Trial
Grant: R01 MH125155
Role: Principal Investigator
Description: There is no approved treatment for rapid relief of suicidal thoughts although clinical trials, including ours, show relief of suicidal thoughts within hours of treatment with inexpensive, generic, sub-anesthetic ketamine. We propose a clinical trial of intramuscular ketamine in depressed emergency department patients with high-risk suicidality, which if successful would support a novel, easy-to-use, scalable intervention for busy emergency to implement.
Recent Publications
Grunebaum, M. F., Galfalvy, H. C., Choo, T. H., Parris, M. S., Burke, A. K., Suckow, R. F., Cooper, T. B., & Mann, J. J. (2019). Ketamine metabolite pilot study in a suicidal depression trial. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 117, 129-134.
Grunebaum, M. F., Galfalvy, H. C., Choo, T. H., Keilp, J. G., Moitra, V. K., Parris, M. S., Marver, J. E., Burke, A. K., Milak, M. S., Sublette, M. E., Oquendo, M. A., & Mann, J. J. (2018). Ketamine for Rapid Reduction of Suicidal Thoughts in Major Depression: A Midazolam-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(4), 327-335.
Grunebaum, M. F., Ellis, S. P., Keilp, J. G., Moitra, V. K., Cooper, T. B., Marver, J. E., Burke, A. K., Milak, M. S., Sublette, M. E., Oquendo, M. A., & Mann, J. J. (2017). Ketamine versus midazolam in bipolar depression with suicidal thoughts: A pilot midazolam-controlled randomized clinical trial. Bipolar Disorders, 19(3), 176-183.
Contact
Email: michael.grunebaum@nyspi.columbia.edu
Phone: 646-774-7573
Office Address: 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 42, New York, NY 10032
Dr. David J. Hellerstein, MD
Dr. Hellerstein is a research psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He serves as the director of the Depression Evaluation Service, which specializes in research on mood disorders, particularly the development of new treatments of chronic depression, bipolar depression, and treatment-resistant depression. For over three decades Dr. Hellerstein has conducted clinical trials, particularly of chronic and treatment-resistant depression, and has collaborated on many pivotal multi-site studies. His current research focuses on psilocybin, a hallucinogenic compound originally derived from mushrooms. Studies of psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression have been fast-tracked by the FDA as a potential breakthrough treatment. These studies test a single dose of psychedelic medication to determine whether it will lead to lasting relief of depression. Dr. Hellerstein has published over 130 scientific articles, reviews, and book chapters, and his neuroimaging research has been published in JAMA Psychiatry, Molecular Psychiatry, and other top journals.
Current Projects
1. The Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin in Participants with Treatment-Resistant Depression (P-TRD)
Grant: COMPASS Pathways
Role: Site Principal Investigator
Description: This study is enrolling 216 individuals with treatment resistant depression and randomly assigning them to treatment with one of three doses of psilocybin. Participants are evaluated over a 12-week period to determine the effect of psilocybin on depressive symptoms and to evaluate side effects of treatment.
2. Continued Efficacy of Psilocybin for Treatment Resistant Depression
Grant: COMPASS Pathways
Role: Site Principal Investigator
Description: This study evaluates the ongoing effects of a single dose of psilocybin treatment from the Treatment Resistant Depression study over the course of a year. The goal is to determine whether there is continued benefit, since in other studies psychedelic treatments often appear to lead to longstanding improvement.
3. Safety and Efficacy of Psilocybin for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Grant: Compass Pathways
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: Franklin Schneier, MD)
Description: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a disabling condition of “imagined ugliness” in which people are unable to stop thinking about perceived flaws in their appearance. This pilot study will treat 12 people diagnosed with BDD with a single dose of psilocybin and will determine effects on symptoms over three months as well as effects on brain circuits as measured by MRI imaging.
Recent Publications
Yuen, L. D., Chen, Y., Stewart, J. W., Arden, P., & Hellerstein, D. J. (2021). A randomized, controlled trial assessing the acute efficacy of triple chronotherapy in unipolar depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 282, 1143-1152.
Wang, Y., Bernanke, J., Peterson, B. S., McGrath, P., Stewart, J., Chen, Y., Lee, S., Wall, M., Bastidas, V., Hong, S., Rutherford, B. R., Hellerstein, D. J., & Posner, J. (2019). The association between antidepressant treatment and brain connectivity in two double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials: a treatment mechanism study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(8), 667-674.
Posner, J., Hellerstein, D. J., Gat, I., Mechling, A., Klahr, K., Wang, Z., McGrath, P. J., Stewart, J. W., & Peterson, B. S. (2013). Antidepressants normalize the default mode network in patients with dysthymia. JAMA Psychiatry, 70(4), 373-382.
Contact
Email: hellers@nyspi.columbia.edu
Phone: 646-774-8069
Office Address: 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 51, New York, NY 10032
Dr. Jeffrey M. Miller, MD
Dr. Miller completed his residency in psychiatry as well as post-doctoral research training at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, where he is now co-director of Brain Imaging in the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Area, and associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry. His clinical and research interests focus on mood disorders, with the goals of increasing our understanding of the neurobiology of mood disorders, predicting treatment outcome with medication and psychotherapeutic interventions, and developing more effective treatments. Dr. Miller uses PET imaging to investigate a range of molecular targets that may be perturbed in the brain in mood disorders and with respect to suicide risk, including synaptic density, monoamine neurotransmitter systems, the kappa opioid system, neuroinflammatory markers. He also uses PET imaging to identify predictors of treatment outcome and to study mechanisms of action of treatments, including ketamine and anti-inflammatory interventions. Dr. Miller has additionally used functional MRI to investigate predictors of treatment outcome with cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. In collaboration with Dr. Elizabeth Sublette and Dr. Anne-Catrin Uhlemann, Dr. Miller is conducting research investigating the role of the microbiome in mood disorders and in neuroinflammatory processes. Dr. Miller co-directs a brain imaging laboratory that includes research psychiatrists, psychologists, bioengineers, statisticians, as well as pre- and post-doctoral trainees. His research has been funded by The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, The International OCD Foundation, The Paul Janssen Fellowship in Translational Neuroscience Research, and The National Institutes of Health.
Current Projects
1. A Precision Medicine Approach to OCD Treatment: Targeting Neuroinflammation
Grant: International OCD Foundation Breakthrough Award
Role: Principal Investigator
Description: This study will apply a personalized medicine approach to this problem, to examine whether brain imaging and blood-derived markers of inflammation may predict treatment outcome with an anti-inflammatory treatment in adults with OCD.
2. Treating Self Injurious Behavior: A Novel Brain Stimulation Approach
Grant: Citronberg Fellowship
Role: Principal Investigator
Description: The goals of this study are to conduct pilot feasibility testing of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a possible treatment for non‐suicidal self‐injury (NSSI), and to investigate the possible mechanism of action of the tDCS intervention.
3. Dopaminergic Dysfunction in Late Life Depression: The D3 Study
Grant: R01 MH123660
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: Bret Rutherford, MD)
Description: This collaborative R01 project characterizes dopaminergic dysfunction in Late Life Depression and determines the degree to which it responds to pharmacologic modulation with levodopa.
4. Antecedents of Suicidal Behavior Related Neurobiology
Grant: P50 MH090964
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: J. John Mann, MD)
Description: This Conte Center project seeks to determine both resilience and vulnerability phenotypes for suicide attempts in major depressive disorder (MDD). Both phenotypes may aid estimation of risk and provide new targets for prevention intervention.
5. Noninvasive Quantification of Brain Glucose Metabolism Using a Portable Positron Emission Tomography Camera
Grant: R01 EB026481
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: Francesca Zanderigo, PhD)
Description: This study will develop a new, tissue-based, blood-free method to quantify the net influx rate of PET tracers with irreversible kinetics, validate the method using new collected [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose data, and disseminate the software routines to allow use of this method for analysis of brain imaging data acquired with current PET scanners and with new generation, portable PET cameras.
6. Familial Early-Onset Suicide Attempt Biomarkers
Grant: R01 MH108032
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: J. John Mann, MD)
Description: This project seeks to determine both resilience and vulnerability phenotypes for suicide attempts in major depressive disorder (MDD). Both phenotypes may aid estimation of risk and provide new targets for prevention intervention.
Recent Publications
Heyman-Kantor, R., Rizk, M., Sublette, M. E., Rubin-Falcone, H., Fard, Y. Y., Burke, A. K., Oquendo, M. A., Sullivan, G. M., Milak, M. S., Zanderigo, F., Mann, J. J., & Miller, J. M. (2021). Examining the relationship between gray matter volume and a continuous measure of bipolarity in unmedicated unipolar and bipolar depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 280(Pt A), 105-113.
Rubin-Falcone, H., Weber, J., Kishon, R., Ochsner, K., Delaparte, L., Doré, B., Raman, S., Denny, B. T., Oquendo, M. A., Mann, J. J., & Miller, J. M. (2020). Neural predictors and effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for depression: the role of emotional reactivity and regulation. Psychological Medicine, 50(1), 146-160.
Miller, J. M., Zanderigo, F., Purushothaman, P. D., DeLorenzo, C., Rubin-Falcone, H., Ogden, R. T., Keilp, J., Oquendo, M. A., Nabulsi, N., Huang, Y. H., Parsey, R. V., Carson, R. E., & Mann, J. J. (2018). Kappa opioid receptor binding in major depression: A pilot study. Synapse, 72(9), e22042.
Contact
Email: jm2233@cumc.columbia.edu
Phone: 646-774-7613
Office Address: 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 42, New York, NY 10032
Dr. M. Elizabeth Sublette, MD, PhD
Dr. Sublette, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and research scientist at the Research Foundation for Mental Health, received an MD and a PhD in neuroscience from Downstate Medical Center, and did psychiatry residency training at North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, Zucker Hillside hospital. She has been a researcher at the New York State Psychiatric Institute since 2007. Dr. Sublette's research interests embrace translational approaches to the study of the neurobiology of mood disorders and suicide risk, including the roles of polyunsaturated fatty acids, neuroinflammation, the gut microbiome, and lipid rafts in depression and suicide etiology. She has mentored numerous junior scientists including Masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral fellows.
Current Projects
1. Inflammatory, mitochondrial, and serotonergic interrelationships in the pathogenesis of major depression
Grant: R01 MH119379
Role: Multiple Principal Investigator (with J. John Mann, MD)
Description: This project utilizes PET, fMRI, and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in a cross-sectional study of relationships between multiple mechanisms and major depressive disorder.
2. Antecedents of Suicidal Behavior Related Neurobiology
Grant: P50 MH090964
Role: Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator: J. John Mann, MD)
Description: This Conte Center project will employ a multidisciplinary approach to study how reported childhood adversity can mold the diathesis for suicidal behavior. These projects will help elucidate how early adverse experiences affect gene expression and brain biology to increase risk of suicidal behavior later in life.
Recent Publications
Ganança, L., Galfalvy, H. C., Cisneros-Trujillo, S., Basseda, Z., Cooper, T. B., Ren, X., Figueira, M. L., Oquendo, M. A., Mann, J. J., & Sublette, M. E. (2021). Relationships between inflammatory markers and suicide risk status in major depression. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 134, 192-199.
Daray, F. M., Grendas, L. N., Rodante, D. E., Errasti, A. E., Cases, G. G., Moix, C. F., Uicich, R. E., Giménez, M. I., Puppo, S., Fasolino, G. H., Portela, A., Galfalvy, H. C., & Sublette, M. E. (2021). Polyunsaturated fatty acids as predictors of future suicide attempt. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids, 165, 102247.
Sublette, M. E., Cheung, S., Lieberman, E., Hu, S., Mann, J. J., Uhlemann, A. C., & Miller, J. M. (2021). Bipolar disorder and the gut microbiome: A systematic review. Bipolar Disorders, 10.1111/bdi.13049. Advance online publication.
Contact
Email: elizabeth.sublette@nyspi.columbia.edu
Phone: 646-774-7514
Office Address: 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 42 Room 2715, New York, NY 10032
Dr. Jeff Thompson, PhD
Dr. Thompson is an adjunct associate research scientist at the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Research Area of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and also at the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression in the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.
His research focuses on developing resilience and positive mental health strategies, hostage negotiation in terrorist incidents, suicide prevention, psychological autopsies, and the use of effective communication during crisis incidents. His training material has been implemented in police agencies across the country and beyond.
Additionally, Dr. Thompson is an 18-year law enforcement veteran detective with the New York City Police Department and a former hostage negotiator. In his role at the NYPD, he currently serves as the Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator helping conduct research and outreach on the department’s suicide prevention and postvention efforts, reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and help-seeking, enhancing resilience through evidence-based practices, and raising awareness of resources available to both police officers and the public.
Dr. Thompson is the recipient of the Griffith University Arts, Education and Law's 2020 Outstanding International Alumnus Award, and The New York City Police Foundation’s 2020 Hemmerdinger Award for Excellence for Distinguished Public Service.
Recent Publications
Thompson, J. (2020). First responders and real resilience. In T. Frame (Ed.) Moral Challenges: Vocational Wellbeing Among First Responders.
Thompson, J. (2020). Enhancing resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A thematic analysis and evaluation of the warr;or21 program. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 5(2), 51-56.
Johnson, K.E., Thompson, J., Hall, J.A., & Meyer, C. (2017). Crisis (hostage) negotiators weigh in: The skills, behaviors, and qualities that characterize an expert crisis negotiator. Police Practice and Research, 19:5, 472-489.
Contact
Email: jt2768@cumc.columbia.edu
Office Address: 1051 Riverside Drive, Room 2412, New York, NY 10032