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Brought to you by the Depression Is Real Coalition, The Down & Up Show is dedicated to the reality of depression. Each week our hosts will talk with some of the world's top experts on depression, as well as people who have been impacted by this illness. The reality of depression is that it is a debilitating and potentially deadly medical condition that affects more than 15 million Americans every year. The other reality of depression is that there is hope. Dr. James Potash
The primary focus of Dr. Potash's work has been on research regarding the genetic basis of mood disorders. This work has resulted in over 50 publications. He has also collaborated on a revision of the leading textbook in the field, Manic-Depressive Illness. Dr. Potash is the principal investigator on three major grants from the National Institute of Mental Health aimed at studying the genetics of bipolar disorder, the genetics of major depression, and the epigenetics of major depression, respectively. His two areas of research emphasis have been the genetic basis of the psychotic form of bipolar disorder and the epigenetics of mood disorders. In a series of papers, he has advanced the notion that the vulnerability to the psychotic form of bipolar disorder is genetically distinctive, and that it overlaps with the vulnerability to schizophrenia. The importance of this body of results was recognized with the Robins/Guze Award for research excellence, given by the American Psychopathological Association, a leading academic group within the field, in 2003. In his work on the epigenetics of mood disorder, Dr. Potash has been guided by Dr. Andrew Feinberg, Director of the Epigenetics Center of the Institute for Basic Biomedical Science at Johns Hopkins, and a world leader in this field, which focuses on heritable gene modifications. Dr. Potash is studying epigenetic variation in the brain generally, and in the brains of people with major depression and bipolar disorder, in particular. In addition to doing outstanding research, Dr. Potash is also a
gifted clinician. He sees patients in the setting of the mood disorders
consultation clinic, the mood disorders inpatient unit, and the
outpatient clinic, all at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Potash also
helps educate the public about mood disorders through a monthly
column for ABCnews.com. For more information about Dr. Potash's
work at Johns Hopkins, see the Mood Disorders Program Webpage: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/moods |
James Potash, M.D.,
M.P.H., is a graduate of Yale. Following graduation he served in
the Peace Corps in West Africa, and there decided to be a physician.
He first completed a master's degree in public health at John Hopkins,
and then attended Hopkins medical school as well. He went on to
do residency training at Hopkins, and was selected as chief resident
in his fourth year. In 1998 he joined the faculty, where he is currently
an Associate Professor and Director of Research Programs for the
Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center in the Department of Psychiatry
and Behavioral Sciences.
