This grant application is for a K23 Career Development Award for Olu Ajilore, MD, PhD. The objective of the applicant is to develop into an independent investigator in clinical neuroscience with the ability to use cutting edge MR Spectroscopy (MRS) and related neuroimaging approaches to examine the neurobiological basis of mood disorders. The comprehensive career development plan has three primary components;1) structured course work and seminars in the applicant's area of interest;2) mentorship utilizing both in house and external consultants to gain expertise in neuroimaging, statistics and design issues related to clinical research and 3) a specific project that will serve as a vehicle for training. Resources at the host institution, the University of California, Los Angeles, are strong in neuroimaging, mood disorders research and cognitive neuroscience and are available to the applicant to accomplish the scientific and career goals outlined in the application. External consultants were chosen carefully to complement the strengths and resources available at UCLA. The specific project was chosen to train Dr. Ajilore in techniques designed to help him pursue his research interests probing the neurochemical perturbations associated with type 2 diabetes and major depression using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Type 2 diabetes and major depression are disorders that are mutual risk factors and may share similar pathophysiological mechanisms, such as hormonal dysregulation, immunological dysfunction, and cerebrovascular changes. To further understand these shared mechanisms, the proposed study seeks to specifically measure glutamate, an important excitatory neurotransmitter, in voxels placed bilaterally in dorsolateral white matter and the subcortical nuclei regions, both areas important in the circuitry of late-life depression. The study also seeks to correlate these biochemical changes with cognitive function in patients with type 2 diabetes and major depression. With a K23 award, the combined program will provide a comprehensive training schedule to help achieve the candidate's career goals in academic psychiatry.

Public Health Relevance

This is a grant application for a K23 Career Development Award to assist the candidate's transition to becoming an independent investigator studying the brain structure and chemistry associated with diabetes and depression. Depression in diabetes is a major health issue affecting not only the progression but the consequence of diabetes. This project is designed to further understand the relationship between these two illnesses.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
1K23MH081175-01A2
Application #
7587566
Study Section
Adult Psychopathology and Disorders of Aging Study Section (APDA)
Program Officer
Chavez, Mark
Project Start
2009-06-15
Project End
2014-03-31
Budget Start
2009-06-15
Budget End
2010-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$169,668
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
098987217
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60612
Karstens, Aimee J; Ajilore, Olusola; Rubin, Leah H et al. (2017) Investigating the separate and interactive associations of trauma and depression on brain structure: implications for cognition and aging. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 32:1190-1199
Karstens, Aimee James; Rubin, Leah H; Shankman, Stewart A et al. (2017) Investigating the separate and interactive associations of trauma and depression on neurocognition in urban dwelling adults. J Psychiatr Res 89:6-13
Gonzales, Mitzi M; Ajilore, Olusola; Charlton, Rebecca C et al. (2017) Divergent Influences of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Domains on Cognition and Gray and White Matter Morphology. Psychosom Med 79:541-548
Kumar, A; Yang, S; Ajilore, O et al. (2016) Biophysical changes in subcortical nuclei: the impact of diabetes and major depression. Mol Psychiatry 21:531-6
Ajilore, Olusola; Kumar, Anand (2016) Is Emotion Regulation the Path to Remission for Late-Life Depression? Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 24:802-3
Ye, Allen Q; Zhan, Liang; Conrin, Sean et al. (2015) Measuring embeddedness: Hierarchical scale-dependent information exchange efficiency of the human brain connectome. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3653-65
Tadayonnejad, Reza; Yang, Shaolin; Kumar, Anand et al. (2015) Clinical, cognitive, and functional connectivity correlations of resting-state intrinsic brain activity alterations in unmedicated depression. J Affect Disord 172:241-50
Ajilore, O; Lamar, M; Medina, J et al. (2015) Disassociation of verbal learning and hippocampal volume in type 2 diabetes and major depression. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 30:393-9
Ye, Allen Q; Ajilore, Olusola A; Conte, Giorgio et al. (2015) The intrinsic geometry of the human brain connectome. Brain Inform 2:197-210
Cohen, Jamie; Penney, Dana L; Davis, Randall et al. (2014) Digital Clock Drawing: differentiating ""thinking"" versus ""doing"" in younger and older adults with depression. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 20:920-8

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