My primary career goal is to become a leading neuroscientist in the field of psychiatric disorders by applying state of the art molecular and biochemical techniques to understand complex behavioral disorders. In my second year of residency, while working on an inpatient psychiatric unit, I became interested in the connection between hypothalamic feeding pathways and depression. During my clinical work I noted an interesting relationship between metabolic complications and mood disorders. Problems with appetite, body weight, diabetes, and heart disease are among the most important concerns to patients with major depression and bipolar disorder. This is to say nothing of the metabolic consequences of psychiatric medications used to treat these illnesses. Scientifically, my goal within the next five years is to become an independent investigator by combining my previous training in biochemistry with new skills in neuroscience to answer fundamental questions about the causation and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
