Audrey Tyrka: The Psychiatric-Metabolic Syndrome

Stockholm Psychiatry Lectures, Nov 4, 2019 at Karolinska Institutet. "The Psychiatric-Metabolic Syndrome: How Stress and Trauma Program the Body and Brain" Professor Audrey Tyrka Dr. Tyrka's (Brown University, United States) research program is focused on the biological mechanisms of risk resulting from early stress and trauma in maltreated children and adults with a history of childhood adversity. She has made important contributions to understanding the metabolic, genetic, and epigenetic mechanisms of risk. Dr. Tyrka's research is focused on understanding the link between childhood trauma and physical and psychiatric illnesses. In addition to psychiatric disorders, including major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress and trauma increase risk for medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Dr. Tyrka studies maltreated children and adults with early adversity to understand the metabolic, neuroendocrine, neuroimmune, and cellular aging pathways of risk for mood and anxiety disorders and related health conditions. The goal of this work is to elucidate the biology of risk and protection in order to inform prevention and treatment efforts. A second line of research involves efforts to advance the treatment of major depression. Our group has investigated several new treatments for depression, including novel pharmacologic and neurostimulation approaches to the treatment of major depression and treatment resistant depression.