2019 Research Grant Recipient

International Bipolar Foundation is pleased to announce the 2019 Young Investigator Research and Travel Grant recipient, totaling $10,000 USD!

Congratulations, Rebekah Huber, PhD

Rebekah is a research assistant professor within the department of psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Her goal is to examine interactions between brain and behavior for the purpose of understanding the causes, prevention, and treatment of suicide risk in youth with bipolar disorder.

Her training background in child development, psychopathology, and clinical assessment and her research experience with magnetic resonance imaging has led to a primary research interest in the use of neurocognitive assessment and neuroimaging to evaluate neurobiological correlates for suicide behavior in youth with bipolar disorder. The objective of the proposed research project is to integrate structural and functional neuroimaging to identify cognitive mechanisms associated with suicide risk in adolescents with bipolar disorder. Specifically, the proposed research will examine neurocircuitry as it relates to cognitive inhibition and decision-making in bipolar youth with suicide behavior using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in combination with focal neurocognitive assessment and rigorous measures of suicide behavior. She will oversee the recruitment, enrollment, and evaluation of study participants and assist with the administration of clinical, neurological, and neuroimaging assessments. She will work closely with Dr. Yurgelun-Todd to acquire, analyze, interpret data, and prepare future grant submission and manuscripts.

This grant will generate preliminary data and support her travel to the 2019 International Society of Bipolar Disorders Conference!