Who We Are
Introduction
On October 21st 2014, UI CDR launched with much fanfare last fall in the Moss Auditorium. Former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, an impassioned crusader for mental health advocacy, spoke to the assembled department, faculty, colleagues, and supporters.
A multidisciplinary initiative that brings together clinicians, educators, and researchers committed to personalized patient care and innovative research. We aim to improve the quality of life and their families by bringing pioneering, evidence-based approaches to detect, monitor, and treat mood disorders and depression.
As the only National Network for Depression Center (NNDC) node in Chicagoland, we are dedicated to finding ways to promote resilience and recovery across the lifespan. Annually UI CDR provides 49,000+ patient visits for young children and adolescents through adults and elderly patients. Our team science approach to pioneering research is structured to accelerate research by decades saving thousands of lives, improving countless others, and recovering millions of dollars in the process.
About the Center
As a Center, UI CDR was established to breakdown the academic silos that form in research. It provides a multidisciplinary collaborative approach modeled after the National Cancer Institute, which achieved remarkable advances in identifying and treating the cancer by placing focus on the disease, rather than the method of treatment or study. UICDR is predicated on a multifaceted approach that considers epigenetics, neuroscience, blood biomarkers, systemic issues, and other methods together—a team science approach—as the only way of understanding, treating, and beating depression. It is this collaborative and thorough approach to the fight against depression that lead UI CDR to be selected a “Center of Excellence” by the National Network of Depression Centers.
Scope of the Problem
An estimated 14.8 million U.S. adults are affected by depression costing approximately $80 billion annually in lost productivity and health care. The stigma surrounding depression can prevent many from seeking help. Availability and affordability of mental health care services, insufficient mental health care policies, and a lack of education are also barriers to treatment. In some cases, the consequence of these barriers can be permanent.
The National Center for Health Statistics recently reported a 30-year high in the U.S. suicide rate. In 2014, there were 42,773 people that completed suicide. These figures alone are staggering.
And, each represents a devastated family, loved ones in anguish, and a community in shock.
Challenges
Depression is severely undertreated, due, in part, to unavailability of services and to stigma that prevents stricken individuals from seeking treatment. To overcome these obstacles and save lives requires nontraditional interventions, alternative treatment methods, enhanced ability to screen, and developing new biomarkers that don’t rely on patient self-report. It's only through research that we have the opportunity to discover new ways of identify and treat.
Solutions
UI CDR is a multidisciplinary collaborative approach for advancing research by decades. Modeled after the National Cancer Institute that achieved remarkable advances in identifying and treating the cancer by placing focus on the disease, rather than the method of treatment or study, UI CDR aims to achieve similar results with depression. A multifaceted approach that considers epigenetics, neuroscience, blood biomarkers, systemic issues, and other methods together is the only way of understanding, treating, and beating depression.
Introductory Video
UI Center on Depression and Resilience Video
Vision
UI Center on Depression and Resilience aims to advance mood disorder treatment and research by:
- Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to the pathophysiology of mood disorders.
- Training and developing the next generation of clinicians, educators and researchers in mood disorders.
- Decreasing recurrence of depression with aim to eventually prevent it and related conditions (medical problems, anxiety, substance and alcohol misuse).
- Identifying risk biomarkers for those vulnerable to depression and/or suicide.
- Increasing the knowledge and skills to treat depression among healthcare providers.
- Providing more integrated care for patients across hospital, clinical and community systems.
- Providing new and more effective treatments to more patients.
- Securing greater stability in funding for the research, patient care, and education.
We aim to provide world-class research and clinical care in all of the areas of depression and mood disorders across all treatment modalities. We focus on helping build resilience and well-being to help patients thrive.
Our Team
UICDR is a multidisciplinary collaborative approach for advancing research by decades. Modeled after the National Cancer Institute that achieved remarkable advances in identifying and treating the cancer by placing focus on the disease, rather than the method of treatment or study, UICDR aims to achieve similar results with depression. We believe a multifaceted approach that considers epigenetics, neuroscience, blood biomarkers, systemic issues, and other methods together is the only way of understanding, treating, and beating depression.
Get to know our leadership team and individual members Meet the Team.
Results
| # | Issue | Online Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UICDR Newsletter Spring 2021 | Not available | |
| 2 | UICDR Newsletter Winter 2020 | Not available | |
| 3 | UICDR Newsletter Fall 2020 | Not available | |
| 4 | UICDR Newsletter Spring 2020 | Not available | |
| 5 | UICDR Newsletter Winter 2019 | Not available | |
| 6 | UICDR Newsletter Fall 2019 | View in browser | |
| 7 | UICDR Newsletter Summer 2019 | View in browser |
Our Partners
