Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD

About
^{Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD}

Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Quantitative Brain Biology (Brain QUANT) Institute, and the Human Neurobiology laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Her research focuses on understanding underlying mechanisms of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional changes associated with brain diseases. The Brain QUANT Institute’s mission is to apply cutting edge quantitative neuroscience methods to human brain tissue to understand how the brain functions and diseases develop. Quantitative cutting-edge technologies are applied to interrogate, at a single cell and regional level, the molecular basis of brain biology and pathology.  We focus on understanding genetic and environmental factors that shape brain function in psychiatric disorders, suicidal behavior, aging, dementias and COVID brain.  Our goal is to identify new treatment targets for drug discovery and inform precision medicine approaches for patient care.  In her practice, Dr. Boldrini specializes in affective disorders and suicidal behavior. She has experience treating emotional and behavioral problems, including depression, anxiety, personality disorders, addictions, and stress reactions. "I believe in individualized medicine. I focus on understanding the struggles and goals of every person I see, and I believe in establishing long term relationships with my clients and families. I like to provide them with comprehensive support throughout the difficult times they are facing."  Dr. Boldrini’s treatment strategies are informed by her research efforts, for which she received the Columbia University Gray Matters award, and was invited to participate in a panel discussion about new treatment strategies to combat depression and anxiety.  In her laboratory, Dr. Boldrini is studying brain circuits at the cellular and molecular level, and she is interested in understanding how the mind and the brain interact generating symptoms that make people suffer. She has extensively studied neuron re-growth in the brain and has shown that the human brain can make new neurons throughout our lifetime. Neuron regeneration is learning and memory, copying with stress, healthy aging, and mental health. For the past few years, she has also been studying how neuroinflammation and COVID-19 affect brain function.  She has published over 50 scientific articles and edited 7 books on depression and suicide, stress responses, panic disorder, and atypical antipsychotics. Her research on brain biology has been published in Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Brain, Molecular Psychiatry Cell Stem Cell, Biological Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology and other top journals. Dr. Boldrini has received vast recognition for her work on COVID brain, focused on understanding how this infection, and neuroinflammation, induce brain symptoms that can be long lasting and changing people’s lives. Her work was featured in an episode of Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Today, National Geographic, The New York Times, and highlighted by New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University.  She has been internationally recognized for her work on “New Neurons” in the human brain. Her research has been covered by more than 800 national and international media outlets, including: Science Friday podcast: “Do Our Brains Keep Growing As We Age?", BBC Radio 4 “The World Tonight”, BBC World Service Radio, The Scientist, Los Angeles Times, TIME, Reuters, CBS News, U.S. News & World Report, Science Daily, Forbes “Older People Can Still Produce New Brain Cells, Study Shows” and Forbes “How Scientist Are Helping New Neurons Survive In The ’Battle Field’ Of Alzheimer’s Disease”, The Economist, The Guardian, Discover Magazine, and The Scientist.  She serves as faculty and mentor in the Columbia Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, Stem Cell Initiative, Data Science Institute, and Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute. She has been teaching and supervising graduate and undergraduate students, medical students, psychiatry residents and postdocs.