Leila Nabulsi, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in computational neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC's Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) has received funding to expand research on the neurocircuitry that underlies bipolar disorder. Nabulsi was awarded the prestigious 2025 NARSAD Young Investigator Grant from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, a highly competitive grant that provides early-career researchers with crucial pilot funding to pursue new avenues in mental health research. Bipolar disorder is characterized by alternating episodes of unusually high and low mood.
Neuroimaging research to date has traced its origins to the limbic system (a group of structures in the deep brain linked to a range of emotions, cognitions and behaviors) and its connections with other centers in the brain. "Those centers are very important for emotion regulation and reward-related behavior, which are closely linked to the range of symptoms we see in individuals with bipolar disorder," Nabulsi said. "But the majority of studies conducted so far have been small-;with about 100 individuals per study-;making it unclear if findings generalize.
" With the new grant, which provides $70,000 of support in 2025, Nabulsi will expand her research program, which has already begun to pinpoint where and how bipolar disorder disrupts brain function. The project will leverage advanced analytical techniques, as well as the power of the Enhancing Neur.
