Innovations in Review 2023
Our psychiatry programs are widely respected, with nationally recognized psychiatrists and psychologists from Columbia and Weill Cornell Medicine. Clinicians and researchers are dedicated to providing innovative solutions and customized care that meets the needs of adults, adolescents, and children. Over the past year, our work has focused on tackling various challenges, such as perinatal anxiety and immunity, treatment response for OCD, eating disorders, autism subtypes, and more, with attention to providing personalized treatment approaches targeted to each individual patient.
Read more about our top research and key innovations from 2023:
Predicting OCD Treatment Response Through Brain Connectivity Patterns
Uncovering the Link Between Perinatal Anxiety and Immunity
New Program Tackles Transgender Health Disparities
Novel Brain Study Uncovers Four Different Autism Subtypes
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) often begins in childhood and continues throughout one’s life. It can be treated with varying degrees of success. To best optimize therapies for OCD, Dr. Kate Fitzgerald, a psychiatrist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, focused on elucidating developmentally sensitive mechanisms of exposure and response prevention (ERP) for patients of different ages. She conducted a study examining how resting-state functional connectivity and cognitive control predict symptom improvement with ERP. The goal—to gain an understanding of who will or will not benefit from ERP in order to craft the most appropriate treatment pathways.
NewYork-Presbyterian is deeply committed to addressing women’s mental health, particularly during pregnancy. Dr. Lauren M. Osborne, a reproductive psychiatrist and Vice Chair for Clinical Research for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NewYork- Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, served as the principal investigator on a first-of-its-kind longitudinal study which looked at the connection between perinatal anxiety and immunity. The research findings showed that the immune function in pregnant women with anxiety differs biologically from that in those without anxiety. While more analysis is needed to elucidate the causeand- effect relationship, the data gleaned critical insights into the biological underpinnings of perinatal anxiety and could lead to better treatments for understanding anxiety in pregnant patients.
Dr. Jae Sevelius, a psychologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia, was awarded a $6 million grant to improve HIV prevention and care for transgender women of color who often face significant hurdles in accessing genderaffirming care. Through the grant, Dr. Sevelius is building upon years of experience working with transgender women of color in diverse communities, launching a new program called Let’s Be. This unique program is focused on developing community-based and peer-led interventions that address the specific needs and health disparities of these individuals, with an emphasis on their mental health and well-being.
In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is common that one individual may have vastly different symptoms from another, yet all have the same diagnosis. NewYork‑Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine psychiatrist Dr. Conor Liston sought to understand the biological basis behind symptom differences and with other researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine conducted a study, leveraging machine learning, to analyze newly available neuroimaging data for patterns in brain activity and behavior. Through this work, four distinct subtypes of autism were uncovered, which might one day lead to new diagnostic methods and treatments for autism.
Building on over four decades of experience providing evidence-based inpatient and outpatient care to individuals with eating disorders, Dr. Evelyn Attia, Director of the Center for Eating Disorders at NewYork‑Presbyterian/Columbia, collaborated with Dr. Joanna Steinglass, Director of Research at the Center for Eating Disorders, and clinicians at the New York State Psychiatric Institute to develop a new treatment protocol for anorexia nervosa: Relapse Prevention and Changing Habits (REACH+). Through this work, they are specifically addressing the persistent maladaptive behaviors and habits that are hallmarks of the condition in order to prevent relapse. The goal of the program is to give people more options for recovery and better ability to battle eating disorders.
