BME researcher receives NIMH Pathway to Independence Award

October 15, 2022 — Department of Biomedical Engineering researcher Ivan Alekseichuk, PhD, has been awarded the Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). 

The award will support the development of a personalized closed-loop brain stimulation system as a therapeutic for clinical depression, which is the leading cause of disability worldwide and an underlying condition for two-thirds of suicidal attempts in the U.S.

Precision neuromodulation and particularly transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) hold great promise for mental health. However, despite initial success and FDA approval, persistent variability of clinical outcomes remains a major challenge for TMS.

Personalized therapy for clinical depression

With this award, Dr. Alekseichuk will develop and validate a precise personalized brain imaging and stimulation system using real-time electroencephalography (EEG) with neuronavigated closed-loop TMS. 

The EEG will inform the system about the ongoing brain dynamics and allow targeting of specific brain states particularly susceptible to facilitation. The stimulation location will be further personalized to the individual brain anatomy with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 

Efforts aim to enhance the fundamental understanding of the prefrontal circuitry underlying depression and provide novel personalized therapy within the precision medicine framework.

Alexander Opitz, PhD, and Kelvin O. Lim, MD, will serve as co-mentors for the project, leveraging the strong connection between the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the University of Minnesota Medical School.