To continue its groundbreaking bipolar disorder research, Northwell Health’s The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research has been awarded $2.3 million and joined the Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²) Integrated Network, a national collaborative research and clinical care initiative aimed at transforming treatment and care for people living with bipolar disorder.

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Dr. Caitlin Millett is spearheading the site. (Credit: Feinstein Institutes).

Led by Caitlin Millett, PhD, assistant professor in the Feinstein Institutes’ Institute of Behavioral Science, the site is located at Northwell Health’s Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks. The BD² Integrated Network’s novel approach is a collaborative effort to drive scientific advancements by focusing on improving patient care in near-real time through cutting-edge biotechnology, big data analytics and an unprecedented data ecosystem to address bipolar disorder. The Feinstein Institutes joins nine other institutions, including the University of Cincinnati/Lindner Center of HOPE, University of California San Diego and The University of Texas at Austin as part of this national research collaboration.

“With this grant, we will contribute to a deeper understanding about bipolar disorder, with a focus on addressing the challenges of diagnosis and treatment.,” said Dr. Millett. “We also hope to expand access to effective care for our patients.”

Bipolar disorder is a complex and heterogeneous disorder, and more than 70% of people with bipolar disorder are misdiagnosed at least once. It takes seven years on average to diagnose bipolar disorder, and less than 50% of those who are diagnosed find an effective treatment. The research from each of these sites will involve both a large-scale longitudinal study and a learning health network model, allowing for continuous feedback between research findings and clinical practice. This approach aims to translate research discoveries into improved patient care more efficiently, and will focus on in-depth patient characterization, adherence to clinical guidelines and integration of research and clinical activities.

“Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed and effective treatments remain elusive for many living with it,” said Anil K. Malhotra, MD, co-director and professor of the Feinstein Institutes’ Institute of Behavioral Science and vice chair for research with the Department of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. “This funding allows us to contribute to a national effort to improve diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately, the lives of those affected by this complex disorder.”

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50+ research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its six institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. We are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – an innovative field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. The Feinstein Institutes publishes two open-access, international peer-reviewed journals Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine. Through the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, we offer an accelerated PhD program. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn.

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