UC joins novel bipolar research and clinical care network
$2.3 million BD² grant funds collaborative two-pronged approach
University of Cincinnati/Lindner Center of Hope researchers have received a $2.3 million grant to join the Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²) Integrated Network, a collaborative research and clinical care model with a mission to improve care, interventions and outcomes for people living with bipolar disorder.
UC joins the University of California San Diego, The University of Texas at Austin and The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research as four new institutions joining the six inaugural institutions in the network.
Working in partnership with clinicians, researchers and people living with bipolar disorder, the BD² Integrated Network was established to expand knowledge of bipolar disorder while accelerating the translation of that knowledge into clinical care. An international site will be announced in the coming weeks.
“These new sites significantly expand the BD² Integrated Network and propel our collaborative model forward. This is another step toward realizing our mission to shorten the time it takes for research to improve treatment and care for those living with bipolar disorder,” said Cara Altimus, PhD, managing director for BD² and senior director at the Milken Institute.
The BD² Integrated Network is a novel, two-pronged approach connecting bipolar disorder research and care. It combines a traditional longitudinal cohort study of 4,000 participants and a learning health network to iteratively improve outcomes for people with bipolar disorder. Clinical sites have accelerated recruitment, with more than 500 individuals already participating in the study.
Caleb Adler, MD. Photo/University of Cincinnati.
UC’s Caleb Adler, MD, will serve as site principal investigator. Patients will be enrolled both at the Lindner Center of Hope and University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
"The BD² Integrated Network is a unique approach to bettering our understanding of bipolar disorder," said Adler, professor, vice chair of research and co-director of the Division of Bipolar Disorders Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UC’s College of Medicine and a UC Health physician. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to this important effort, a major step toward improving our care for individuals with bipolar disorder."
The four new institutions expand the BD² Integrated Network to 10 sites alongside the six inaugural sites: Brigham and Women’s Hospital-McLean Hospital, University of California Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic, University of Michigan, and UTHealth Houston.
“This eagerly anticipated expansion will bring new clinicians, scientists and participants into the network and strengthen our ability to accelerate discovery of the behavioral and biological drivers of disease in people living with bipolar disorder while advancing treatment,” said Katherine Burdick, PhD, vice chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor of psychology in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and BD² Integrated Network scientific director.
Bipolar disorder is a highly 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 BD² Integrated Network will propel clinical improvement in bipolar disorder treatment and diagnosis through the combined efforts of deep phenotyping, consensus guideline adherence and development, and integration of research and care across sites.
“This unique network model is changing the way we conduct research and measure outcomes for bipolar disorder. Our new sites will contribute to an unprecedented research and clinical care ecosystem that drives innovation for interventions and improved treatments to improve the lives of all those living with bipolar disorder,” said Mark Frye, MD, BD² Integrated Network scientific director and Stephen & Shelley Jackson Family Professor of Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic.
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Susan McElroy, MD, and Joseph Cerimele, MD, will serve as site clinical co-leads; Melissa DelBello, MD, and Francisco Romo-Nava, MD, PhD, will serve as site research co-leads; Christina Klein; PhD, will serve as the site data lead; and Corey Jones will serve as imaging lead. Other investigators at UC include Achala Vagal, MD, Brady Williamson, PhD, and Jason Keller.
Featured graphic at top of a speech bubble. Photo/bgblue/iStock Photo.
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