The MGH Research Scholars Program began in 2011 to provide forward-thinking researchers with the unrestricted funding they need to take their work into new and uncharted territories. This philanthropy-funded program gives researchers the freedom and flexibility to pursue their innovative research.
The 2020-2025 Class of MGH Research Scholars includes two members of the Department of Psychiatry: Luana Marques, PhD and Yakeel T. Quiroz, PhD.
Luana Marques, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS), the Director of Community Psychiatry PRIDE at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).
Dr. Marques’ research has focused on innovative implementation models with the goal of improving access to mental health services. In the United States, we have a significant shortage in the mental health workforce, and it is estimated that we need an additional 250,000 mental health providers to sufficiently meet the demand for mental health care. There are many reasons for this persistent gap between the supply of providers and the demand for mental health services, including high rates of trauma exposure in certain communities, overburdened service organizations and a scarcity of community support.
In her research, Dr. Marques relies on the principles of implementation science to systematically evaluate, train and coach non-mental health professions to deliver evidence-based mental health treatments. Specifically, she has been leading a project to increase the capacity of youth development professionals working at three organizations in Connecticut to deliver evidence-based mental health skills to high-needs youth. This award will provide support in conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the program and will help to refine and scale the training and coaching programs.
The ultimate goal of Dr. Marques’ research is to build and foster healing communities through the implementation of innovative models that match complex challenges and needs for mental health services with cutting-edge research to increase uptake and sustainability of evidence-based treatments in high-needs populations.
Yakeel T. Quiroz, PhD is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Neuroimaging Researcher. Dr. Quiroz currently serves as the Director of the Familial Dementia Neuroimaging Lab, and the Multicultural Alzheimer’s Prevention Program (MAPP). She is also the Co-Director of the MUNDOS Neuropsychological Service at the Psychology Assessment Center, a clinical service that offers specialized cognitive testing to Spanish-speaking patients.
Her research will focus on rare genetic variants and their protective effects in individuals with familial Alzheimer’s disease. Her research lab has been studying individuals belonging to the world’s largest family with autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease due to a single mutation in the Presenilin-1 (PSNE1) gene, using cognitive testing, brain imaging and genetics to examine brain function and pathology in members of this family, decades before they show any symptoms of the disease.
In the course of this research, Dr. Quiroz has observed that certain individuals from this family do not develop dementia at the usual age. Her most recent research has revealed that a rare mutation in the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene may confer protection against familial dementia in those who carry the PSEN1 mutation.
Her research will advance our understanding of how the brain pathology associated with Alzheimer’s disease (build up of amyloid and tau proteins) impacts memory function early on in the disease process, and its role in subsequent neuronal death and cognitive decline. A better understanding of the genetic variants that appear to confer protection may help us to better understand the evolution of Alzheimer’s disease and may yield strategies for slowing its progress.
