Scientific Advisor, Carolina Stress Initiative
Research Synopsis
Dr. Rubinow is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Chair Emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Prior to being recruited to the University of North Carolina, he was Clinical Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Chief of the Behavioral Endocrinology Branch of NIMH. His research interests focus on neurobehavioral effects of gonadal steroids and how genetic variation contributes to differential behavioral response to changes in steroid signaling. Research methods used include administration of hormone super agonists and receptor blockers to manipulate the menstrual cycle and identify the central effects of gonadal steroids in isolation. These studies have demonstrated that, unlike mood disorders accompanying endocrinopathies, reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders represent abnormal responses to normal hormonal signals. Current NIH funded studies include investigations of continuous oral contraceptive administration in menstrual cycle-related mood disorders, estradiol effects on cardiovascular risk and mood dysregulation during the perimenopause, and biomarkers of postpartum depression. Additionally, the UNC Women’s Mood Disorders Program, which he founded, has the first and only NIH training fellowship in Women’s Mood Disorders. On the basis of his research, he was inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2012.
