Dr. Bo (Cloud) Cao, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta, has been recognized by the New York-based Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) for exceptional work in basic research on mental illness.
The BBRF, which awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness, acknowledged Dr. Cao's research on identifying early-stage biomarkers for Schizophrenia with a 2019 Klerman Prize Honourable Mention.
"Dr. Cao is developing translational tools for accurate and personalized diagnosis and treatment optimization for mental disorders - including Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and substance misuse," said the BBRF, in announcing the winners of its 2019 Klerman and Freedman Prizes.
The BBRF's awards, which were presented at a ceremony in New York on July 26, were created to honour the work of outstanding scientists who have been supported by the BBRF's Young Investigator Grants Program. The program provides funding for research that impacts all brain and behaviour disorders.
"The Klerman and Freedman prizes recognize innovative thinking and remarkable talent across the field of Neuropsychiatry. Recognition for scientists early in their career helps them go on to receive further funding and is a precursor to further accomplishments," said Dr. Herbert Pardes, President of the BBRF's Scientific Council, in presenting the awards.
"We applaud these researchers for their brilliant work, and we thank our generous donors who understand that support of brain and behavior research will continue to produce better treatment, and ultimately, cures and prevention for mental illness."
Dr. Nolan R. Williams, an Assistant Professor at Stanford University and Director of its Brain Stimulation Lab and Interventional Psychiatry Clinical Research Department, won the 2019 Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research.
Dr. Anna Victoria Molofsky, Associate Professor, University of California at San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, was the 2019 Freedman Prize winner for Exceptional Basic Research.
Dr. Cao's study - done in collaboration with Dr. Xiang Yang Zhang, an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and partly funded by the BBRF's NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia & Depression) Young Investigator Grant - harnessed the power of machine learning algorithms to identify patients with Schizophrenia.
By using machine learning algorithms to measure the connections between the brain's superior temporal cortex and other cortical regions, Dr. Cao and his team were able to identify first-episode drug-naïve (i.e., previously untreated) Schizophrenia patients with an accuracy of 78.6 per cent. They were also able to predict which individual patient could respond to a particular antipsychotic drug, Risperidone, with 82.5 per cent accuracy.
Dr. Cao is hoping that his study methods and findings could be used as a step by other researchers toward achieving more accurate early-stage identification and improved treatment response predictability for previously untreated individuals with Schizophrenia.
"It's a great honour to be recognized by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation for my work, and to be considered for this prestigious award," says Dr. Cao. "This gives me a strong sense of encouragement to continue. This is obviously a new field for researchers like me, and we are hopeful and excited about the potential for important discoveries."
Since 1987, the BBRF has awarded more than $394 million (U.S.) to fund more than 4,700 leading scientists around the world, leading to over $3.9 billion in additional funding.
The Young Investigator Grant Program enables scientists who are early in their careers to pursue innovative ideas in Neurobiological and Psychosocial research, gather pilot data and generate "proof of concept" for early detection, treatment, prevention and cures for mental illness.
The Klerman and Freedman Prizes are named for Gerald Klerman, M.D., and Daniel Freedman, M.D., Neuropsychiatry pioneers who played seminal roles as researchers, teachers, physicians and administrators.
The BBRF, which awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness, acknowledged Dr. Cao's research on identifying early-stage biomarkers for Schizophrenia with a 2019 Klerman Prize Honourable Mention.
"Dr. Cao is developing translational tools for accurate and personalized diagnosis and treatment optimization for mental disorders - including Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and substance misuse," said the BBRF, in announcing the winners of its 2019 Klerman and Freedman Prizes.
The BBRF's awards, which were presented at a ceremony in New York on July 26, were created to honour the work of outstanding scientists who have been supported by the BBRF's Young Investigator Grants Program. The program provides funding for research that impacts all brain and behaviour disorders.
"The Klerman and Freedman prizes recognize innovative thinking and remarkable talent across the field of Neuropsychiatry. Recognition for scientists early in their career helps them go on to receive further funding and is a precursor to further accomplishments," said Dr. Herbert Pardes, President of the BBRF's Scientific Council, in presenting the awards.
"We applaud these researchers for their brilliant work, and we thank our generous donors who understand that support of brain and behavior research will continue to produce better treatment, and ultimately, cures and prevention for mental illness."
Dr. Nolan R. Williams, an Assistant Professor at Stanford University and Director of its Brain Stimulation Lab and Interventional Psychiatry Clinical Research Department, won the 2019 Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research.
Dr. Anna Victoria Molofsky, Associate Professor, University of California at San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences, was the 2019 Freedman Prize winner for Exceptional Basic Research.
Dr. Cao's study - done in collaboration with Dr. Xiang Yang Zhang, an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and partly funded by the BBRF's NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia & Depression) Young Investigator Grant - harnessed the power of machine learning algorithms to identify patients with Schizophrenia.
By using machine learning algorithms to measure the connections between the brain's superior temporal cortex and other cortical regions, Dr. Cao and his team were able to identify first-episode drug-naïve (i.e., previously untreated) Schizophrenia patients with an accuracy of 78.6 per cent. They were also able to predict which individual patient could respond to a particular antipsychotic drug, Risperidone, with 82.5 per cent accuracy.
Dr. Cao is hoping that his study methods and findings could be used as a step by other researchers toward achieving more accurate early-stage identification and improved treatment response predictability for previously untreated individuals with Schizophrenia.
"It's a great honour to be recognized by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation for my work, and to be considered for this prestigious award," says Dr. Cao. "This gives me a strong sense of encouragement to continue. This is obviously a new field for researchers like me, and we are hopeful and excited about the potential for important discoveries."
Since 1987, the BBRF has awarded more than $394 million (U.S.) to fund more than 4,700 leading scientists around the world, leading to over $3.9 billion in additional funding.
The Young Investigator Grant Program enables scientists who are early in their careers to pursue innovative ideas in Neurobiological and Psychosocial research, gather pilot data and generate "proof of concept" for early detection, treatment, prevention and cures for mental illness.
The Klerman and Freedman Prizes are named for Gerald Klerman, M.D., and Daniel Freedman, M.D., Neuropsychiatry pioneers who played seminal roles as researchers, teachers, physicians and administrators.