This biographical article is written like a résumé .(January 2021) |
Julio Licinio is an Australian American psychiatrist who is SUNY Distinguished Professor [1] at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He is simultaneously Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at Flinders University in Adelaide. [2] [3] Licinio has been Senior Vice President for Academic and Health Affairs, as well as Executive Dean, College of Medicine. [4] Licinio is the founding and current chief editor of three journals from Springer Nature, Molecular Psychiatry , [5] Translational Psychiatry , [6] and Discover Mental Health. [7]
His area of scientific expertise is precision medicine with a focus on pharmacogenomics, [8] as well as the biology of depression, and he has edited books on both topics. [9] [10] He has also published research on translational psychiatry, as well as on obesity and the possible link between obesity, depression, and antidepressants. [11] [12] [13]
Licinio received his MD from the Federal University of Bahia in 1982 and completed an internship in internal medicine at the University of São Paulo from 1983 to 1984. He then moved to the United States and completed training in endocrinology at The University of Chicago, and psychiatry at Albert Einstein in the Bronx as well as at Weill Cornell Medical College.[ citation needed ] In 2009, Licinio moved to Australia, where he completed a PhD in psychiatry at Flinders University in 2017.[ citation needed ] Licinio is registered as a specialist in psychiatry by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. [14]
He is board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and he is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (elected 2015), [15] the American Psychiatric Association, and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.[ citation needed ] In May 2019 Licinio completed an MBA from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University and an MS in Healthcare Leadership from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. [16]
Licinio was an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University, then he was a Unit Chief within the Clinical Neurodocrinology Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health at the NIH Intramural Research Program (1993–1999), and later was professor of psychiatry and medicine/endocrinology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA from 1999 until 2006, where he had multiple roles, such as Founding Director of three NIH funded programs: the Interdepartmental Center on Clinical Pharmacology. [2]
In 2006, he was appointed the Miller Professor of Psychiatry, Chairman of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and subsequently associate dean for project development, responsible for starting the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where he worked until 2009, [17] when he moved to Australia as Director of the John Curtin School of Medical Research. Licinio returned to the US in 2017 as Senior Vice President for Academic and Health Affairs, Executive Dean, College of Medicine, and in 2019 he was appointed SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, Medicine and Neuroscience & Physiology at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. [18]
From 1993 to 2001, Licinio was a temporary advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), co-chairing ten WHO scientific meetings in seven countries, and co-edited the resulting ten books containing the proceedings of those meetings, mostly focused on the role of dysthymia in neurological disorders. [19] [20]
In 2005–2010, Licinio was a member of the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee of Genetics Health and Society (SACGHS). [21] The key issue addressed during his term was the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which was strongly supported by the SACGHS. GINA was enacted on 21 May 2008 (Pub.L. 110–233, 122 Stat. 881) [22] as an Act of Congress in the United States, designed to prohibit the use of genetic information in health insurance and employment. [23]
Licinio was the head of the Australian node of the German-Australian Institute for Translational Medicine (GAITM), directed by Stefan R. Bornstein. [24] He has published collaboratively with 190 colleagues from 54 institutions, located in 19 countries, including Nobel Laureates Andrew Schally [25] and Rita Levi-Montalcini. [26]
Licinio directed three graduate training programs with master's degrees in translational investigation, for physician-scientists, at UCLA (supported by an NIH K30 award), [29] University of Miami (supported by an NIH K30 award), and Australian National University. He also created and obtained NIH T32, [30] NIH K12, [31] and PhRMA Foundation (2004 Center of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacology) funding for the UCLA Interdepartmental Clinical Pharmacology Training Program, of which he was founding director (1999–2006). [32] Licinio was the recipient of an NIH K24 award [33] to mentor early career physician-scientists (2002–2007). [34]
According to Google Scholar, Licinio has an h-index of 86, with 38,965 citations. [35] He has published 309 papers indexed in PubMed, [36] as well as 13 books.
Licinio is known for his research into leptin and its role in conveying a feeling of satiety. For example, in 2002, he identified three people from Turkey who suffered from a genetic disorder called leptin deficiency – the only three adults known at that time to have this disorder – all of whom were severely overweight as a result. [37] He then administered daily leptin injections to each of them, and found that after ten months, the patients had lost half of his or her original body weight. [38] [39] He discovered that despite being produced by a dispersed mass of fat cells, leptin is secreted in a highly organised manner with distinct pulsatility and circadian rhythm and that it appears to regulate the minute-to-minute rhythms of several endocrine axes, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis, and the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis. [40] [41] [42] Licinio and his colleagues were the first to suggest that leptin may have antidepressant effects, [43] a concept that was subsequently extended by other groups. [44] [45] He also contributed to pioneer the concept that leptin has pro-cognitive effects in humans. [46]
With his group, Licinio conducted work on the precision medicine and pharmacogenomics of depression that started in 2000 as part of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences NIH Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN). [47] In that project, he and his team studied a Mexican-American population with major depressive disorder in the city of Los Angeles, in the context of an extensive process of community engagement, [48] which received Certificates of Commendation both from the California State Legislature and the United States Congress. He contributed the Mexican American samples to the International HapMap Project. [49] His pharmacogenetics research has resulted in several publications on predictors of antidepressant treatment response in this population. [50] [51] [52] [53] [54]
Wong and Licinio contributed some of the earliest work on the role of cytokines and immune mediators in the brain, with implications for the underlying biology of major depressive disorder, [55] and published scientific articles on the localisation of gene expression for interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, [56] interleukin 1 receptor, type I (IL1R1), also known as CD121a (Cluster of Differentiation 121a), [57] and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) [58] in mammalian brain. They also showed that interleukin 1 receptor antagonist is an endogenous neuroprotective agent. [59] They have shown that the central and peripheral cytokine compartments are integrated but differentially regulated. [60] In collaboration with colleagues at Columbia University Licinio and his team showed that inflammation-mediated up-regulation of secretory sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase in vivo represents a possible link between inflammatory cytokines and atherogenesis. [61] Licinio's line of research examining the effects of peripheral inflammation in brain, behaviour and metabolism is ongoing in their lab. [62]
In a more recent and ongoing line of research, Licinio and collaborators are examining the effects of the human microbiota and the microbiome–gut–brain (MGB) axis in obesity with diabetes and on behaviors relevant to depression and schizophrenia, an emerging area which opens potentially novel avenues for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69]
Licinio and Wong have recently[ when? ] published a paper on the effects of climate change on mental health, [70] which Springer Nature highlighted as the leading article for their Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13: Climate Action. [71]
Licinio wrote four book reviews for Science, including a commentary on the current diagnostic system in psychiatry, the American Psychiatry Association (APA)'s "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and the controversial exhibit on Sigmund Freud at the US Library of Congress. [72] [73] [74] [75] Licinio writes a blog on science-related matters for the general public. [76] In 2018-2019 Licinio was a member of the New York State Governor's Suicide Prevention Task Force, representing the State University of New York. [77]
Licinio's wife, Ma-Li Wong, is also an expert on depression, pharmacogenomics and psychoneuroimmunology; they have worked together for over 25 years, and have co-authored over 200 papers, [78] [79] and co-edited two multi-authored books on pharmacogenomics [80] and the biology of depression. [81]
Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction.
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introduced by a group of US clinicians in the mid-1970s, the term was adopted by the American Psychiatric Association for this symptom cluster under mood disorders in the 1980 version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), and has become widely used since. The disorder causes the second-most years lived with disability, after lower back pain.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a treatment for depression and pain management. It is a novel compound that was derived from phencyclidine in 1962 in pursuit of a safer anesthetic with fewer hallucinogenic effects.
Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The effectiveness of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differences are mostly confined to side effects. Sertraline is better tolerated than the older tricyclic antidepressants. Sertraline is effective for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Although approved for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sertraline leads to only modest improvement in this condition. Sertraline also alleviates the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and can be used in sub-therapeutic doses or intermittently for its treatment.
Citalopram, sold under the brand name Celexa among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia. The antidepressant effects may take one to four weeks to occur. It is typically taken orally. In some European countries, it is sometimes given intravenously to initiate treatment, before switching to the oral route of administration for continuation of treatment. It has also been used intravenously in other parts of the world in some other circumstances.
Amitriptyline, sold under the brand name Elavil among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant primarily used to treat major depressive disorder, and a variety of pain syndromes such as neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, migraine and tension headaches. Due to the frequency and prominence of side effects, amitriptyline is generally considered a second-line therapy for these indications.
Depression is a mental state of low mood and aversion to activity. It affects more than 280 million people of all ages. Depression affects a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings, and sense of well-being. Depressed people often experience loss of motivation or interest in, or reduced pleasure or joy from, experiences that would normally bring them pleasure or joy.
Imipramine, sold under the brand name Tofranil, among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) mainly used in the treatment of depression. It is also effective in treating anxiety and panic disorder. Imipramine is taken by mouth.
Dysthymia, also known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD), is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically a disorder primarily of mood, consisting of similar cognitive and physical problems as major depressive disorder, but with longer-lasting symptoms. The concept was used by Robert Spitzer as a replacement for the term "depressive personality" in the late 1970s.
Desipramine, sold under the brand name Norpramin among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) used in the treatment of depression. It acts as a relatively selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, though it does also have other activities such as weak serotonin reuptake inhibitory, α1-blocking, antihistamine, and anticholinergic effects. The drug is not considered a first-line treatment for depression since the introduction of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, which have fewer side effects and are safer in overdose.
Clomipramine, sold under the brand name Anafranil among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA). It is used in the treatment of various conditions, most-notably obsessive–compulsive disorder but also many other disorders, including hyperacusis, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, trichotillomania, body dysmorphic disorder and chronic pain. It has also been notably used to treat premature ejaculation and the cataplexy associated with narcolepsy.
Fluoxetine, sold under the brand name Prozac, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, bulimia nervosa, panic disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. It is also approved for treatment of major depressive disorder in adolescents and children 8 years of age and over. It has also been used to treat premature ejaculation. Fluoxetine is taken by mouth.
Esketamine, sold under the brand names Spravato and Ketanest among others, is the S(+) enantiomer of ketamine. It is a dissociative hallucinogen drug used as a general anesthetic and as an antidepressant for treatment of depression. Esketamine is the active enantiomer of ketamine in terms of NMDA receptor antagonism and is more potent than racemic ketamine.
Management of depression is the treatment of depression that may involve a number of different therapies: medications, behavior therapy, psychotherapy, and medical devices.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions.
The relationship between antidepressant use and suicide risk is a subject of medical research and has faced varying levels of debate. This problem was thought to be serious enough to warrant intervention by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to label greater likelihood of suicide as a risk of using antidepressants. Some studies have shown that the use of certain antidepressants correlate with an increased risk of suicide in some patients relative to other antidepressants. However, these conclusions have faced considerable scrutiny and disagreement: A multinational European study indicated that antidepressants decrease risk of suicide at the population level, and other reviews of antidepressant use claim that there is not enough data to indicate antidepressant use increases risk of suicide.
Gustavo Turecki is a Canadian psychiatrist, suicidologist, neuroscientist who is a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair Tier in Major Depressive Disorder and Suicide. He is the sitting Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, the Scientific Director of the Douglas Research Centre, and the Psychiatrist-in-Chief of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. He works at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, where he heads both the McGill Group for Suicide Studies and the Depressive Disorders Program, and is the co-director of the Douglas Bell-Canada Brain Bank.
Arketamine (developmental code names PCN-101, HR-071603), also known as (R)-ketamine or (R)-(−)-ketamine, is the (R)-(−) enantiomer of ketamine. Similarly to racemic ketamine and esketamine, the S(+) enantiomer of ketamine, arketamine is biologically active; however, it is less potent as an NMDA receptor antagonist and anesthetic and thus has never been approved or marketed for clinical use as an enantiopure drug. Arketamine is currently in clinical development as a novel antidepressant.
Hydroxynorketamine (HNK), or 6-hydroxynorketamine, is a minor metabolite of the anesthetic, dissociative, and antidepressant drug ketamine. It is formed by hydroxylation of the intermediate norketamine, another metabolite of ketamine. As of late 2019, (2R,6R)-HNK is in clinical trials for the treatment of depression.
Harris Eyre is an Australian neuroscientist, entrepreneur and author. He is focused on advancing the field of brain capital. It is believed the world is increasingly relying on brain capital, where a premium is put on brain skills and brain health, and that investing in building brain capital is fundamental to meet modern societal challenges and to drive innovation. He is pioneering the brain-positive economic transition which is a global goal to stop and reverse the loss of brain capital.
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