Each year, more than 33,000 people in the U.S. commit suicide, and military veterans are among the at-risk groups. A USTAR researcher at the University of Utah’s Brain Institute is leading efforts in suicide research and outreach education to help veterans and the general population.
Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, Ph.D., was recently appointed the director of the Salt Lake City site of the Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) VISN 19 Rocky Mountain Network. The Rocky Mountain MIRECC is one of 23 VA sites nationwide established by Congress with the goal of researching the causes and treatments of mental disorders. The centers also promote education to put new knowledge into routine clinical practice in the VA.
The Salt Lake City MIRECC site that Yurgelun-Todd is now directing has an active clinical suicide consulting service and a multi-disciplinary research program focused on traumatic brain injury, mood disorders, and substance abuse. The MIRECC budget includes research funding to support regional investigators in these study areas. Yurgelun-Todd was instrumental in securing MIRECC funding, which is estimated to total $3,400,000 over the next five years, beginning October 2010.
“I look forward to building productive collaborations between the MIRECC, the Brain Institute, and suicide researchers from multiple institutions across the state, including the state’s Department of Health,” Yurgelun-Todd said. “The goal is to advance suicide-focused research and education. Our first concern is of course the veteran population, but we hope our efforts bring benefits to the general population as well.”
Yurgelun-Todd has already begun to work with a diverse set of researchers from multiple disciplines. She cites Douglas Gray, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, who is an expert in suicide risk and prevention, and David Rudd, Ph.D., the U of U’s newly appointed dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science, whose research focuses on clinical suicidology and cognitive therapy.
According to William McMahon, M.D., chair of the U of U’s Department of Psychiatry, Yurgelun-Todd will have a “catalyzing effect” on collaborative research in Utah. “Dr. Yurgelun-Todd's research approach using neuropsychology and brain imaging will greatly complement our department's ongoing studies of the epidemiology, toxicology and genetics of suicide. Together, these approaches will help us better prevent the fatal outcome of what is likely an interaction of complex risk factors.”
Yurgelun-Todd is a licensed psychologist and an internationally recognized expert in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. She joined the U of U as a USTAR professor of psychiatry and a Brain Institute investigator in July 2008. Before coming to Utah, Yurgelun-Todd directed the Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Boston, MA, and was a faculty member of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry.
In addition to her administrative duties at the MIRECC, Yurgelun-Todd will pursue multiple research projects under the VA’s auspices. She recently won a VA Merit Review Grant ($1,040,000) to study neurobiological correlates of suicide in veterans with traumatic brain injuries.
“We’re seeing a number of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have experienced trauma associated with IEDs. Some of the soldiers caught in these roadside bomb blasts report the effects of being bodily shaken,” Yurgelun-Todd said. “We are studying the neurobiological and psychological changes associated with traumatic brain injury.”
“Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, we’ll attempt to document the course of these injuries, including the patient’s ability to focus, concentrate and think efficiently. This study and others that MIRECC will support have neurobiology at their core but draw upon many disciplines such as behavioral sciences and biochemistry.”
The ultimate goal is the development of rapid and effective interventions which may be implemented with potentially suicidal patients, Yurgelun-Todd said. “In our research and clinical work, we want to prevent suicides and improve quality of life for our returning veterans as well as the general public. We also want to better understand risk factors and disseminate that information broadly to the medical and other communities.”
###
About the Brain Institute
The Brain Institute is a coordinating center for neuroscience research and education at the University of Utah. With 140 faculty members from 35 academic departments, the Brain Institute is a bona fide interdisciplinary organization in which the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. The primary mission of the Brain Institute is to cultivate collaborations between neuroscientists, engineers, physicians and community partners to accelerate brain research, and to translate research findings into new treatments for individuals suffering from neurological diseases, neuropsychiatric disorders, and central nervous system injuries. For more information visit brain.utah.edu.
About USTAR
The Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) is a long-term, state-funded investment to strengthen Utah's "knowledge economy” and generate high-paying jobs. Funded in March 2006 by the State Legislature, USTAR is based on three program areas. The first area involves funding for strategic investments at the University of Utah and Utah State University to recruit world-class researchers. The second area is to build state-of-the-art interdisciplinary facilities at these institutions for the innovation teams. The third program area involves teams that work with companies and entrepreneurs across the State to promote science, innovation, and commercialization activities. For more information, go to www.innovationutah.com or follow http://twitter.com/Innovationutah.
About the MIRECC of the VA Rocky Mountain Network (VISN 19)
The mission of the VISN 19 MIRECC is to study suicide with the goal of reducing suicidality in the veteran population. To carry out this mission, members of the VISN 19 MIRECC will: 1) Focus on cognitive and neurobiological underpinnings that may contribute to suicidality; 2) Develop evidence-based educational and clinical materials to identify and optimally treat veterans who are suicidal; 3) Provide consultation regarding assessment and treatment planning for highly suicidal veterans; 4) Mentor researchers in the area of suicidology; and 5) Collaborate with others in the study and treatment of veterans who are at risk of suicide. For more information, visit http://www.mirecc.va.gov/visn19/ or contact Cheryl Garn at cheryl.garn@va.gov or 801.582.1565 ext. 2821.
Contacts:
Jason Youngstrom, Brain Insitute, 801-587-1201, jason.youngstrom@utah.edu
Michael O’Malley, USTAR, 801-652-5578, momalley@utah.gov
