Psychiatry Research Institute at Montefiore Einstein (PRIME)
The Psychiatry Research Institute at Montefiore Einstein (PRIME) is committed to meaningful engagement by developing an environment that encourages creative, interdisciplinary research in the complementary fields of psychiatry and neuroscience, from neural circuits to mental health policy.
Our efforts support a broad base of science and scholarship and underscore the necessity of team science and collaboration to tackle some of medicine’s most urgent questions and intractable conditions across the lifespan, such as trauma and stress-related disorders, substance use disorders, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety, as well as to address health disparities related to mental health.
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Our Programs
The Psychiatry Research Institute at Montefiore Einstein (PRIME) was established in 2017 to provide an infrastructure for a steadily growing research enterprise that includes basic and translational studies that use a variety of state-of-the-science; emerging approaches; clinical trials that evaluate promising pharmacological, psychotherapeutic and neurostimulation-based approaches to challenging psychiatric conditions and substance use disorders; neuroimaging in populations with or at risk for mental illness and substance use disorders; and bioinformatics research relevant to behavioral health and mental illness.
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Autism & Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program
The Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program is dedicated to developing breakthrough treatments for a unique group of overlapping conditions by clarifying neurobiological mechanisms that underlie core symptom domains across these conditions and providing world-renowned care to our research participants.
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Mood Disorders Research Program
The Mood Disorders Research Program aims to improve care and outcomes for patients with unipolar and bipolar diagnoses in an environment that encourages creative, interdisciplinary research to advance the understanding and treatment of mental illness and mood disorders.
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Affect-Focused Psychotherapy Research Program
The Affect-Focused Psychotherapy Research Program is devoted to researching non-exposure-based psychotherapies, including psychodynamic, interpersonal and supportive psychotherapies, as well as investigating attachment and reflective function.
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Neural Circuits for Motivation & Arousal Laboratory
The Neural Circuits for Motivation and Arousal Laboratory is a specialized program dedicated to understanding addictive behaviors, focusing on evidence-based practices and interdisciplinary collaboration.
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Neurobiology of Metabolism, Nutrition & Stress Response Laboratory
The Neurobiology of Metabolism, Nutrition and Stress Response Laboratory seeks to advance our understanding of how the brain coordinates the response to the body’s metabolic needs and motivational drives, how the environment influences these responses and how underlying biology can lead to a broad spectrum of adaptive and disease-related outcomes.
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Neurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory
The Neurobiology of Social Behavior Laboratory uncovers and dissects neural circuits that control social behaviors to understand how these circuits are regulated under physiological and pathological conditions.
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Neurobiology of Stress-Related Memories Laboratory
Our researchers seek to understand the relationship between negative memories, negative affect and maladaptive behavior and to identify neurobiological approaches that might help the treatment of affective disorders.
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Neurodevelopmental Research Program
The Neurodevelopmental Research Program investigates how specific neuronal cell types, with emphasis on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inhibitory neurons, and their associated circuits mature and orchestrate the processing of cortical information related to behavior.
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Neuroscience of Drug Addiction & Decision-Making Laboratory
The Neuroscience of Drug Addiction and Decision-Making Laboratory comprises an interdisciplinary team that uses a broad range of approaches, drawing from molecular, systems, computational and behavioral neuroscience, to study the neural basis of reward-guided decision-making, drug addiction and motivated behavior.
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Program of Behavioral Genetics
The Program of Behavioral Genetics is a specialized program that studies the molecular basis of schizophrenia, autism and neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Risk Prediction & Prevention Laboratory
The Risk Prediction and Prevention Laboratory aims to reduce human suffering through a better understanding of the prediction and prevention of self-injurious behavior.
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Socioecological Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
The Socioecological Cognitive Neuroscience Lab studies how the brain embodies complex social structures and how these social structures, and an individual’s position within them, influence pain, emotion and health.
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Stigma Mitigation & Health Equity Laboratory
The Stigma Mitigation and Health Equity Laboratory studies strategies to mitigate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related stigmas in healthcare settings that result in improvements in the quality of care and health outcomes.
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Laboratory for Understanding the Physiology of Neuropeptides in Developing, Adult & Aging Circuits
The Laboratory for Understanding the Physiology of Neuropeptides in Developing, Adult and Aging Circuits explores how neuromodulation and inhibition shape brain circuits related to social communication and motor function.
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Youth Suicide Research Program
The Youth Suicide Research Program employs two-generation approaches to enhance risk assessments and interventions for children with suicidal thoughts and behaviors while promoting the well-being of the entire family.