Mood Disorders Research Program
About Our Program
The Mood Disorders Research Program at the Psychiatry Research Institute at Montefiore Einstein (PRIME) is dedicated to the understanding and treatment of unipolar and bipolar mood disorders and related conditions. This program is committed to studying and furthering the application of innovative therapies for difficult-to-treat mood disorders.
Areas of Concentration
The Mood Disorders Research Program aims to rise to the challenges in mood disorders care with an unrelenting commitment to patient care and research-informed knowledge and skills. Our research seeks to improve care and outcomes for patients with unipolar and bipolar diagnoses in an environment that encourages creative, interdisciplinary research that advances the understanding and treatment of mental illness and mood disorders.
Current Projects & Research
Our team is actively involved in clinical research, evaluations and collaborations.
Our current projects include:
- Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial for Bipolar Depression (SMART-BD): a multicenter study funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study treatments for bipolar depression in real-world populations.
- A Multimodal Parent-Focused Intervention for Vulnerable Populations in the Bronx: a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study with Drs. Vilma Gabbay (multiple principal investigator—MPI), Amanda Zayde, Tamar Rubinstein and others. This study compares a mentalizing-based group intervention with a health app to mitigate stress among parents of children with psychiatric or rheumatological illnesses as well as parents who are healthcare workers.
About Jonathan E. Alpert, MD, PhD
Jonathan E. Alpert, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Professor, Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Dorothy and Marty Silverman Chair in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Jonathan E. Alpert, MD, PhD, is the Dorothy and Marty Silverman University Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience and Pediatrics. His academic interests include innovative treatments for difficult-to-treat mood disorders, childhood-onset depression, depression comorbid with other medical illnesses, multicultural mental health, health disparities, drug-drug interactions, behavioral health integration, ethical issues in the conduct of human studies and medical education.
Dr. Alpert graduated from Yale College summa cum laude with majors in psychology and philosophy. He received his MD from Yale and his PhD in behavioral pharmacology from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He completed residency training in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and in psychiatry at McLean Hospital. He joined Montefiore Einstein after 24 years at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was Director of the Depression Clinical and Research Program and Associate Chief of Psychiatry, responsible for outpatient, inpatient and emergency services. He was the first incumbent of the Joyce R. Tedlow Chair in the field of depression studies at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Alpert served on the board of the National Network of Depression Centers and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) MoodNetwork Executive Steering Committee and was the founding Chair of the Research and Scholarship Committee for the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education. He is Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Research. Dr. Alpert is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, the Society of Biological Psychiatry and the American Association for Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry. The author of over 225 publications, Dr. Alpert has received numerous recognitions for teaching, mentorship and service from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners HealthCare, the American Psychiatric Association and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.