Dr. Takuya Takahashi, a postdoc in Roberto Malinow’s lab, and Dr. Haining Zhong, a postdoc in Karel Svoboda’s lab, have each been awarded Young Investigator Awards by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD). This program provides support for the most promising young scientists conducting neurobiological research relevant to schizophrenia, major affective disorders, or other serious mental illnesses and enables them to extend research fellowship training and begin careers as independent research faculty.
Dr. Takahashi is attempting to understand the cognitive deficits that are found in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia by studying how the cellular and molecular wiring mechanisms of the complex nervous system are established during development.
Dr. Zhong is studying synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, a brain structure that plays critical roles in learning and memory and is affected in schizophrenia. He lives in Huntington with his wife, Tianyi Mao. He heard his B.S. from Tsinghua University in 1996 and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002.
NARSAD’s administrative expenses are underwritten by two family foundations, enabling the organization to direct 100 percent of every dollar it raises from donors to support research. Grants are not limited to the study of schizophrenia and depression, but span a wide range of serious mental illnesses and brain diseases, including bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and autism. For more information on NARSAD and its activities, please call 516-829-0091 or visit www.narsad.org.
Written by: Communications Department | publicaffairs@cshl.edu | 516-367-8455