Efforts to fight depression earn national recognition
Center of Excellence advances collaborative work in prevention, treatment and advocacy

Depression expert Anthony Rothschild, MD, led the efforts resulting in the designation of UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial as the nation’s 22nd Depression Center of Excellence.

UMass Medical School and clinical partner UMass Memorial Health Care have been invited to join the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) as a Center of Excellence. The NNDC brings together researchers and clinicians at academic health science centers nationwide to improve the quality, effectiveness and availability of diagnosis, treatment and prevention for depression and related mood disorders.

An elite network comprising 22 academic medical institutions, the NNDC was founded in 2007 to advance comprehensive, multidisciplinary collaboration and networking of resources on a national scale. “Our acceptance into this network of prestigious institutions is recognition of the collaborative work in the areas of depression treatment, research and advocacy underway at UMass Medical School and UMass Memorial,” said Anthony Rothschild, MD, the Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry and professor of psychiatry. A recognized leader in mood disorders treatment and research, Dr. Rothschild, who directs the UMass Depression Specialty Clinic and the Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Psychopharmacologic Research and Treatment, led the team that prepared the competitive NNDC membership application, which neared 100 pages.

“The NNDC director and the selection committee were very impressed with how much is going on here in the area of depression,” Rothschild noted, pointing to the interdepartmental collaborations and the multidisciplinary leadership of the UMass Medical School and UMass Memorial NNDC Depression Center of Excellence Steering Committee, which includes faculty from medicine, family medicine & community health, pediatrics and emergency medicine as well as psychiatry.

In addition to leading the steering committee, Rothschild and Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH, chair and professor of psychiatry, will serve as NNDC board members. “We are grateful for the ongoing support of the leadership of UMass Medical School and UMass Memorial Health Care for our participation in the NNDC,” said Dr. Ziedonis. “The faculty and staff from many departments at both institutions are making a big difference in all our efforts to improve the lives of individuals with depression. Being invited into the NNDC recognizes our past work and also gives us great opportunities for involvement in an outstanding national network.”

About the UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial Health Care Depression Center of Excellence 

Dr. Rothschild (front row, second from right) directs the Depression Specialty Clinic. Team members, pictured here, include fellow NNDC board member Douglas Ziedonis, MD, MPH (back row, third from left).

The UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial Health Care Depression Center of Excellence includes faculty and staff from many departments, including Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Medicine, OB-GYN, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Neurology, and others. The Department of Psychiatry has specialized clinics to treat and research psychiatric disorders including the Depression Specialty Clinic, Addictions and Comorbidity Treatment Service, Neuropsychiatry Clinic, and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program.

Depression Center faculty have developed research programs in psychopharmacology, psychosocial, functional neuroimaging, basic neuroscience and epigenetics, co-occurring addictions, health services research, multi-cultural, and child and adolescent mood disorders supported by the NIH, VA, SAMHSA, Legacy Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and other sources.

Related links:

Depression experts offer hope
Study uses brain imaging to understand postpartum depression
UMass Depression Specialty Clinic
National Network of Depression Centers