The
new center, led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti, MD, PhD, Saunders Family Chair and
Professor of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine, is a partnership between several
institutions and will employ a team of 30 researchers.
“It
is essential to understand how resilience, also commonly known as mental
toughness, can be enhanced in order to master daily life’s challenges,” said
Dr. Pasinetti, Principal Investigator for the new center.
“This center grant will pull together diverse
levels of expertise from Mount Sinai’s Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience,
Genetics and Genomic Sciences and the Friedman Brain Institute to advance the
understanding of how to promote psychological and cognitive resilience through
the use of botanical dietary supplements.
“Our
plan is for the center’s research to result in safe, easily assessable and
applicable drugs or dietary supplements to alleviate the means of stress
leading to depression.”
Over
the past decade, there has been increased focus on the study of resilience,
which is the ability to maintain normal psychological and physical functioning
and avoid serious mental illness, even when exposed to stress and trauma.
Psychological
stressors such as social stress or sleep deprivation may trigger mood disorders
such as depression and anxiety. The grant will create a new Mount Sinai
research center that seeks to understand the role of supplements derived from
grapes, known as polyphenols, in potentially protecting against stressful
events.
In
addition, scientists will also study the role of human gut bacteria and related
genetics (the microbiome) in the promotion of psychological health.
“Mount
Sinai is proud to be a leader in interdisciplinary studies on the understanding
and promotion of resilience,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel
Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, President for
Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System and co-author of the book, Resilience:
The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges.
“Dr.
Pasinetti has assembled an outstanding team of interdisciplinary scientists to
advance understanding of the mechanisms through which complex botanical dietary
supplements may affect human health and resilience.”
This
research is supported by a grant (AT008661) from the NIH's Office of Dietary
Supplements (ODS) and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative
Health (NCCIH), and will be dispensed over five years, pending available funds.
Partnering institutions of the newly-funded center include Purdue University,
Rutgers University and the University of North Texas.
About
the Mount Sinai Health System
The
Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing
distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing
biomedical education.
Structured
around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System
has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient
services—.from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The
System includes approximately 6,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12
minority-owned free-standing ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140
ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City,
Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health
centers.
Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine
at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National
Institutes of Health funding per investigator. Seven departments at The Mount
Sinai Hospital and one at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEE) ranked
nationally in the top 25 in the 2015-2016 “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News
& World Report. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in
seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report.
For
more information, visit http://www.mountsinaihealth.org/or find Mount Sinai on
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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