# Dissecting and modifying temporal dynamics underlying major depressive disorder

> **NIH NIH R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $24,205

## Abstract

Project Summary of Work
The purpose of this administrative supplement application is to provide support for Dr. Alexandra Bey, a
psychiatry resident and neuroscience researcher, to expand her opportunities to carry out translational
neuroscience research during her clinical training. By conducting the project outlined in this grant, Dr. Bey will
gain invaluable experience in new scientific techniques, will study a behavior and its underlying neural
dynamics extremely important to neuropsychiatric illnesses, and obtain personalized mentorship that will
prepare her for an independent scientific career. To her accomplished skillset in molecular genetics and mouse
behavior, she will develop electrophysiology and machine learning techniques in order to advance her ability to
study neuronal circuits relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders. Through supervision by Dr. Kafui Dzirasa,
Dr. Bey will receive intensive mentorship on experimental design, data analysis, manuscript publication, and
grant-writing in order to prepare her to run a research group and compete for independent funding.
Additionally, through regular counsel from a committee of preeminent clinician-scientists, Dr. Bey will obtain
guidance and support for developing as a psychiatrist-neuroscientist as well as obtain relevant clinical
exposure to patients with autism. Dr. Bey and Dr. Dzirasa have developed the following research project to
investigate the neural dynamics of sleep. Furthermore, sleep as a behavior is quantifiable, translational, and
frequently disrupted in many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. At present, there is very limited
understanding of neural networks underlying sleep architecture. Dr. Bey’s experience with generating and
characterizing different genetic mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders uniquely poise her to advance her
skillset to include techniques to truly dissect neural circuits, networks, and their dynamics. Utilizing Dr.
Dzirasa’s expertise in in vivo electrophysiology, our collaborator Dr. David Carlson’s expertise in machine
learning, we will support Dr. Bey in her efforts to: 1) obtain multisite in vivo electrophysiological recordings in
mouse models of neuropsychiatric disease during sleep and wake states, 2) utilize machine-learning
algorithms to identify altered neural circuit oscillations contributing to sleep architecture, and 3) extend this
work to include a clinically relevant genetic manipulation to examine gene x stress interaction on the dynamics
of sleep. Dr. Bey will be a key contributor to the development of each of these experiments and through their
conduct, will develop expertise in measuring and understanding neural circuit function which will allow her to
advance her career in studying the neurobiological basis of autism.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10085101
- **Project number:** 3R01MH120158-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kafui Dzirasa
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $24,205
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-03-17 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10085101

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10085101, Dissecting and modifying temporal dynamics underlying major depressive disorder (3R01MH120158-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10085101. Licensed CC0.

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