Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD

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Overview

Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Quantitative Brain Biology (Brain QUANT) Institute, and the Human Neurobiology laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is Faculty at the Columbia Doctoral Program in Neurobiology & Behavior, Data Science Institute, Stem Cell Initiative, and Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute.


The Brain QUANT Institute that she founded has the mission is to apply cutting edge quantitative neuroscience methods to the human brain, to understand brain function and diseases pathogenesis. Quantitative cutting-edge technologies are applied to interrogate, at a single cell and regional level, the molecular landscape of brain biology and pathology.

 

In her lab, they focus on understanding genetic and environmental factors that shape brain function in psychiatric disorders, suicidal behavior, aging, dementias and COVID brain. The goal is to identify new treatment targets for drug discovery and inform precision medicine approaches for patient care.

 

In her practice, Dr. Boldrini specializes in affective disorders and suicidal behavior. She has experience treating emotional and behavioral problems, and cognitive dysfunctions, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, personality disorders, and stress reactions. She says: 

"I believe in individualized medicine. I focus on understanding the struggles and goals of every person I see, and I believe in establishing long term relationships with my clients and their families. I like to provide them with comprehensive support throughout the difficult times they are facing." 

 

Dr. Boldrini’s treatment strategies are informed by her research efforts, for which she was featured in the NIH Director’s Blog describing “New Evidence Suggests Aging Brains Continue to Make New Neurons,” in the LA Times for her work on “How COVID changes the brain,” and interviewed on Healthy Minds by Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein. Her research has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, and highlighted by New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University.

 

In her laboratory, Dr. Boldrini is studying brain circuits at the cellular and molecular level for understanding how the mind and the brain interact generating symptoms that make people suffer. She has shown that the human brain can make new neurons throughout our lifetime. These new neurons are necessary for learning and memory, copying with stress, healthy aging, and mental health. In the past few years, she has shown that brain inflammation, as observed in patients with COVID, leads to loss of new neurons, and that COVID patients have 10 times fewer new neurons than subjects who did not have COVID.

 

She has published over 50 scientific articles and edited 7 books on depression and suicide, stress responses, panic disorder, and atypical antipsychotics. Her research on brain biology has been published in Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Cell Stem Cell, Biological Psychiatry, Brain, Molecular Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology and other top journals.

 

She has been internationally recognized for her work on “New Neurons” in the human brain. Her research has been covered by more than 800 national and international media outlets, including: Science Friday podcast: “Do Our Brains Keep Growing As We Age?", BBC Radio 4 “The World Tonight”, BBC World Service Radio, The Scientist, Los Angeles Times, TIME, Reuters, CBS News, U.S. News & World Report, Science Daily, Forbes “Older People Can Still Produce New Brain Cells, Study Shows” and Forbes “How Scientist Are Helping New Neurons Survive In The ’Battle Field’ Of Alzheimer’s Disease”, The Economist, The Guardian, Discover Magazine, and The Scientist.

 

Dr. Boldrini is leading a very diverse laboratory, and she has been teaching and supervising graduate and undergraduate students, medical students, psychiatry residents and postdocs. She is committed to opening her lab for opportunities to raising scientists of all backgrounds.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • General Psychiatry

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Psychiatry

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Languages

  • Italian

Gender

  • Female

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Location(s)

ColumbiaDoctors - 3 Columbus Circle
3 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
Primary
Phone:
(212) 305-6001
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Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • NYP Employee Plan
  • NY Signature
  • PPO
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Medicaid Managed Care

CHP Student Health

  • CHP-NYU

Cigna

  • EPO

Emblem/GHI

  • Medicare Managed Care

Emblem/HIP

  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Fidelis Care

  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicare Managed Care

MVP Health Care

  • Medicaid Managed Care

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

RiverSpring

  • Special Needs

UnitedHealthcare

  • Behavioral Health (Columbia University Employee Plan)
  • POS

VNSNY CHOICE

  • Special Needs

WellCare

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • New Jersey Services (Medicaid Managed Care)

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Committees, Societies, Councils

2023-             Member: ACNP Scientific Communications Committee

2021-              Member: Cajal Club

2019-              Member: International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)

2018-              Member: American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)

2014-              Member: American Psychiatric Association (APA)

2013-              Member: International Academy for Suicide Research (IASR)

2008-             Member: Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP)

2007-             Member: Society for Neuroscience (SfN)

Board Certifications

  • Psychiatry

Honors & Awards

2023               Keynote Speaker, 4th Annual Advancing Cross-Disciplinary Outreach in Neuroscience (AXON) Conference, April 22, 2023, New Brunswick, NJ 

2023               Invited Lecturer, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Grand Rounds, March 1, 2023, Miami, FL 

2023               Invited Lecturer, Baylor College of Medicine Department of Neuroscience Grand Rounds, February 24, 2023, Huston, TX

2022               Invited Lecturer, World Psychiatric Association, August 3-6, 2022, Bangkok, Thailand

2022               Invited Lecturer, Columbia Neurobiology and Behavior Program, September 30, 2022, Tarrytown, NY

2021               Invited Lecturer, Columbia Stem Cell Initiative Retreat, October 12, 2021, Chappaqua, NY

2021               Invited Lecturer, Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative (CTNI) Fortnightly Luncheon, June 25, 2021, New York, NY

2020               Invited Lecturer, Zuckerman Institute Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture Series, September 23, 2020, New York, NY

2020               Invited Lecturer, NIA Workshop: Neurogenesis and Aging, March 16-17, 2020, Bethesda, MD

2020               Invited Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds, Stony Brooks University, March 3rd, 2020, New York, NY

2019          Fellow, Gray Matters at Columbia University, New York, NY

2019               Publication featured in Cell Stem Cell Best of 2018: Boldrini M, Fulmore CA, Tartt AN, Simeon LR, Pavlova I, Poposka V, Rosoklija GB, Stankov A, Arango V, Dwork AJ, Hen R, Mann JJ. Human Hippocampal Neurogenesis Persists Throughout the Eighth Decade of Life. Cell Stem Cell. 2018 Apr 5;22(4):589-599.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.03.015. PMID: 29625071

2019               Invited Lecturer, 2nd Neurogenesis Conference, March 5-8, 2019, Nassau, Bahamas

2019               Invited Lecturer, 4th Eurogenesis meeting, June 11-13, 2019, Bordeaux, France

Research

In my laboratory, current research focuses on studying stem cells in the human brain and the neurogenic niche associated with them, which involves new vasculature and capillaries. Adult neurogenesis, the making of new neurons in adult life, is a mechanism of brain plasticity occurring in mammals including humans, which is necessary for learning and coping, shows adaptation to the environment and a significant response to drugs and medications.

We are studying mechanisms involved in neural cell proliferation maturation and survival in the human brain, and how these change with normal and pathological conditions. We are interested in understanding changes in neurogenesis and neuroplasticity occurring with stress exposure, medications, and aging, and how they contribute to psychiatric disorders, cognitive disfunction, suicide, or resilience.

To decipher the neurobiological mechanisms involved in these phenomena, we are combining classic and data mining techniques investigating changes at the gene, transcript, epigenome, proteome, cellular, and brain circuit level. Alterations at any of these levels, resulting from genetic and environmental factors, ultimately affect human behavior. 

Dr. Boldrini’s three main accomplishments have been showing that:

1. The hippocampus dentate gyrus is smaller in people with major depression, early life adversity and died from suicide.

2. In depressed patients treated with antidepressants adult hippocampal neurogenesis deficit and dentata gyrus volume shrinkage seen in untreated depression disappear.

3. Neurogenesis persists throughout the human lifespan into the eighth decade of life, although vascularization and neuroplasticity appear decreasing with aging, which might affect connectivity and survival of newborn and adult neurons.

 

Research Interests 

  • Psychiatry
  • Stem Cell Biology
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Neuropsychopharmacology
  • Brain Imaging
  • Animal and in vitro models of brain disorders

 

Research Interests

  • Brain Imaging
  • Models of brain aging, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders
  • Neural Degeneration and Repair
  • Neuroplasticity in brain aging, psychiatric disorders, epilepsy and suicide
  • Neuropsychopharmacology
  • Neurotransmitters systems involved in psychiatric disorders, epilepsy and suicide
  • Psychiatry
  • Stem Cell Biology

Grants

2022-2027                New technologies to identify molecular regulators of the human hippocampus neurogenic niche in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Disease

                                    NIA - R01AG076949

                                    Role: Principal Investigator        

 

2021-2024                 How the Novel Coronavirus Attacks the Brain NIAID - AI164769

Role: Principal Investigator

 

2018-2024                 Antecedents of Suicidal Behavior Related Neurobiology

                                    NIMH - 2P50MH090964

                                    Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Dr. Mann JJ)

Selected Publications

2023

  1. Deng Y, Bartosovic M, Ma S, Zhang D, Kukanja P, Xiao Y, Su G, Liu Y, Qin X, Rosoklija GB, Dwork AJ, Mann JJ, Xu ML, Halene S, Craft JE, Leong KW, Boldrini M, Castelo-Branco G, Fan R. Spatial profiling of chromatin accessibility in mouse and human tissues. Nature. 2022; 609(7926): 375–383.  Published online 2022 Aug 17. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05094-1 PMCID: PMC9452302
  2. Bartlett EA, Yttredahl AA, Boldrini M, Tyrer AE, Hill KR, Ananth MR, Milak MS, Oquendo MA, Mann JJ, DeLorenzo C, Parsey RV. In vivo serotonin 1A receptor hippocampal binding potential in depression and reported childhood adversity. Eur Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 24;66(1):e17. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.4.PMID: 36691786

2022

  1. *Soung A, Sissoko C, Nordvig A, Canoll P, Mariani M, Jiang X, Bricker T, Goldman J, Rosoklija G, Arango V, Underwood M, Mann JJ, Boon A, Dowrk A, Boldrini M, Klein R. COVID-19 induces CNS cytokine expression and loss of hippocampal neurogenesis. Brain. 2022 Aug 25:awac270. doi: 10.1093/brain/awac270. PMID: 36004663
  2. Leitner DF1,2,3, Devore S, Laze J, Friedman D, Mills JD, Liu Y, Janitz MJ, Anink JJ, Baayen JC, Idema S, van Vliet EA, Diehl B, Scott C, Thijs R, Nei M, Askenazi M, Wisniewski T, Thom M, Aronica E,  Boldrini M, Devinsky O. Serotonin Receptor Expression in Hippocampus and Temporal Cortex of TLE Patients by PGES Duration. Epilepsia. 2022 Aug 21. doi: 10.1111/epi.17400. PMID: 36053862
  3. Deng Y, Bartosovic M, Ma S, Zhang D, Kukanja P, Xiao Y, Su G, Liu Y, Qin X, Rosoklija GB, Dwork AJ, Mann JJ, Xu ML, Halene S, Craft JE, Leong KW, Boldrini M, Castelo-Branco G, Fan R. Spatial profiling of chromatin accessibility in mouse and human tissues. Nature. 2022 Sep;609(7926):375-383. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05094-1. Epub 2022 Aug 17. PMID: 35978191 
  4. Ammothumkandy A, Ravina K, Wolseley V, Tartt AN, Yu PN, Corona L, Zhang N, Nune G, Kalayjian L, Mann JJ, Rosoklija GB, Arango V, Dwork AJ, Lee B, Smith JAD, Song D, Berger TJ, Heck C, Chow RH, Boldrini M, Liu CY, Russin JJ, and Bonaguidi MA. Altered adult neurogenesis and gliogenesis in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Nat Neurosci, 2022 Apr;25(4):493-503. doi: 10.1038/s41593-022-01044-2. Epub 2022 Apr 5.PMID: 35383330

2021

  1. *Klein R, Soung A, Sissoko C, Nordvig A, Canoll P, Mariani M, Jiang X, Bricker T, Goldman J, Rosoklija G, Arango V, Underwood M, Mann JJ, Boon A, Dowrk A, Boldrini M. COVID-19 induces neuroinflammation and loss of hippocampal neurogenesis. Res Sq. 2021 Oct 29:rs.3.rs-1031824. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1031824/v1. Preprint. PMID: 34729556
  2. Lopez-Morinigo JD, Boldrini M, Ricca V, Oquendo MA, Baca-García E. Aggression, Impulsivity and Suicidal Behavior in Depressive Disorders: A Comparison Study between New York City (US), Madrid (Spain) and Florence (Italy). J Clin Med. 2021 Jul 9;10(14):3057. doi: 10.3390/jcm10143057.PMID: 34300222 
  3. *Boldrini M, Peter D. Canoll, Robyn S. Klein.  How the novel coronavirus affects the brain. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 26. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0500. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33769431

2019

10. Calati R, Boldrini M, Bensassi I, Maller JJ, Meslin C, Ritchie MWK, Courtet P, Artero S, Lopez-Castroman J.  Commentary on smaller hippocampal volume in current but not in past depression in comparison to healthy controls: minor evidence from an older adult sample. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol. 2019 Apr 28:891988719845504. doi: 10.1177/0891988719845504. PMID: 31030625

  1. *Boldrini M, Galfalvy H, Dwork AJ, Rosoklija GB, Trencevska-Ivainovska I, Palovski G, Hen R, Arango V, Mann JJ. Resilience Is Associated with Larger Dentate Gyrus while Suicide Decedents with Major Depressive Disorder have Fewer Granule Neurons. Biol Psychiatry. 2019 May 15;85(10):850-862. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.12.022. PMID:  30819514

2018

  1. Besnard A, Langberg T, Levinson S, Chu D, Vicidomini C, Scobie KN, Dwork AJ, Arango V, Rosoklija GB, Mann JJ, Hen R, Leonardo ED, Boldrini M, Sahay A. Targeting Kruppel-like factor 9 (Klf9) in excitatory forebrain 1 neurons protects against chronic stress-induced dendritic spine enlargement and maladaptive fear responses. Cell Reports, 2018 Jun 12;23(11):3183-3196. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.05.040. PMID: 29898391
  2. *Boldrini M, Fulmore CA, Tartt AN, Simeon LR, Pavlova I, Poposka V, Rosoklija GB, Stankov A, Arango V, Dwork AJ, Hen R, Mann JJ. Human Hippocampal Neurogenesis Persists Throughout the Eighth Decade of Life. Cell Stem Cell. 2018 Apr 5;22(4):589-599.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.03.015. PMID: 29625071
  3. Pillai RLI, Zhang M, Yang J, Boldrini M, Mann JJ, Oquendo MA, Parsey RV, DeLorenzo C.  Will imaging individual raphe nuclei in males with major depressive disorder enhance diagnostic sensitivity and specificity?Depress Anxiety. 2018 Jan 24. doi: 10.1002/da.22721. PMID: 29365217

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov