Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Megan Lee Fitzgerald, Ph.D., at Columbia University will utilize stem cell technology to study postmortem brain tissue of those whose depression ultimately led to suicide. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be generated from postmortem tissues, and neurons developed from these hiPSCs would allow direct examination of the equivalent of mature cells from people who died by suicide. Brain tissue will be taken from nine matched pairs of suicides and controls. Dr. Fitzgerald hopes these studies might contribute to a more complete portrait of the biological correlates of depression and suicide.