Dr. Helen Mayberg is a world-renowned neurologist whose pioneering research has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of depression as a circuit-based brain disorder. She currently holds the prestigious position of Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience and serves as the Mount Sinai Professor of Neurotherapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. As Founding Director of the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics, she leads a multidisciplinary team dedicated to developing innovative neuromodulation treatments for psychiatric disorders. Her distinguished career includes previous appointments as the inaugural Sandra Rotman Chair in Neuropsychiatry at the University of Toronto and the first Dorothy C. Fuqua Chair in Psychiatric Imaging and Therapeutics at Emory University, following early academic roles at Johns Hopkins and the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio.
Dr. Mayberg's groundbreaking neuroimaging studies have systematically mapped the dysfunctional brain circuits underlying depression and their response to various treatments, establishing the foundation for modern circuit-based approaches to mood disorders. Her seminal work identifying the subcallosal cingulate cortex as a critical neural node in depression led to the development of deep brain stimulation as a therapeutic intervention for treatment-resistant depression, a paradigm-shifting innovation initially pioneered at the University of Toronto and further refined at Emory University. This revolutionary application of neuromodulation has provided hope for patients with severe depression who had exhausted all conventional treatment options, representing one of the most significant advances in depression therapeutics in recent decades. Her research integrating multimodal imaging, quantitative behavioral metrics, and clinical trial protocols has established the methodological framework for precision psychiatry approaches that continue to influence the field globally.
As a visionary leader in circuit-based therapeutics, Dr. Mayberg fosters extensive collaborations across neurology, psychiatry, engineering, and data science to advance the development of personalized neuromodulation treatments. Her laboratory serves as the epicenter for ongoing refinement of deep brain stimulation techniques, incorporating intracranial monitoring and computational approaches to optimize treatment outcomes and understand mechanisms of action in severe depression. Through her directorship at the Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics, she has built strategic partnerships with experts from the Depression and Anxiety Center, Movement Disorders Center, Epilepsy Center, and BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute, creating a vibrant ecosystem for translational neuroscience. Her current research focuses on developing imaging biomarkers and machine learning algorithms to predict individual treatment responses and optimize personalized intervention strategies for depression patients. Recognized with election to both the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine in 2022, Dr. Mayberg continues to drive the field forward with her integrative approach to understanding and treating mood disorders through advanced circuit therapeutics.
