Dr. Niculescu, an associate professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience, will receive $1.5 million over 5 years for his research to develop blood tests for mood disorders such as bipolar disorder and depression. An objective lab test could revolutionize diagnosis and treatment for the one in five people affected by these disorders.
The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award program is different from traditional NIH grants. It is designed to support creative investigators with innovative research.
The director of INBRAIN and the Laboratory of Neurophenomics at the IU Institute of Psychiatric Research and a staff psychiatrist at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center, Dr. Niculescu also is the recipient of two National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Young Investigator Awards and a VA Merit Award. In 2007, he received the Theodore Reich Award from the International Society for Psychiatric Genetics.
To learn more about Dr. Niculescu’s research, visit www.neurophenomics.info.