CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati (UC)/Lindner Center of Hope will join a nationwide research and clinical care network focused on bipolar disorder.
Through a $2.3 million grant, the organization is joining the Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²) Integrated Network. The network's mission is to improve care, interventions and outcomes for those living with bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder is a complex and heterogeneous disorder. Among those who have it, more than 70% are misdiagnosed at least once. It takes an average of seven years to diagnose the disorder and less than 50% of people diagnosed find effective treatment.
UC is among four new institutes joining the network: the University of California San Diego, The University of Texas at Austin and The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. The network will announce an international site in the near future.
“These new sites significantly expand the BD² Integrated Network and propel our collaborative model forward. This is another step toward realizing our mission to shorten the time it takes for research to improve treatment and care for those living with bipolar disorder,” said Cara Altimus, managing director for BD² and senior director at the Milken Institute.
The BD² Integrated Network was established to expand knowledge of bipolar disorder and turning it into clinical care, taking a two-pronged approach. Through the network, there is a combination of a longitudinal cohort study of 4,000 participants and a learning health network to improve outcomes for those with the disorder.
More than 500 individuals are already participating in the study.
UC's Dr. Caleb Adler will become the site principal investigator and patients will be enrolled at the Lindner Center of Hope and University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
"The BD² Integrated Network is a unique approach to bettering our understanding of bipolar disorder," said Adler, professor, vice chair of research and co-director of the Division of Bipolar Disorders Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at UC’s College of Medicine and a UC Health physician. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to this important effort, a major step toward improving our care for individuals with bipolar disorder."
By opening these four new sites, the BD² Integrated Network has expanded to 10 total sites. Originally, the network had six inaugural sites: Brigham and Women’s Hospital-McLean Hospital, University of California Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic, University of Michigan and UTHealth Houston.
“This eagerly anticipated expansion will bring new clinicians, scientists and participants into the network and strengthen our ability to accelerate discovery of the behavioral and biological drivers of disease in people living with bipolar disorder while advancing treatment,” said Katherine Burdick, vice chair for Research, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor of psychology in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and BD² Integrated Network scientific director.
The network aims to push forward clinical improvement in the treatment and diagnosis of the disorder by focusing on several efforts, such as deep phenotyping, consensus guideline adherence and development and integration of research and care across sites.
“This unique network model is changing the way we conduct research and measure outcomes for bipolar disorder. Our new sites will contribute to an unprecedented research and clinical care ecosystem that drives innovation for interventions and improved treatments to improve the lives of all those living with bipolar disorder,” said Dr. Mark Frye, BD² Integrated Network scientific director and Stephen & Shelley Jackson Family Professor of Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic.
