Brain Imaging Return to Health R'BIRTH, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network

The rBIRTH consortium led by Eleanor Coffey at ÅAU set out to gain improved molecular understanding of mood disorders, especially anxiety and depression, while advancing biomarker diagnostics through non-invasive high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy. The network’s multidisciplinary training platform established by 9 partners in 6 European countries encompassed expertise in molecular and cellular neuroscience, clinical neuroscience and neuroimaging, chemistry and mass spectrometry and neuropharmacology. In addition, the consortium partnered with several private enterprises focusing on diagnostic assay development, medical device development and sequencing services. The project yielded 23 peer reviewed publications during the project’s active period including those from the Nature Publishing Group, namely Neuropsychopharmacology, Nature Communications and Molecular Psychiatry. At least 10 additional manuscripts were publised after the project end involving network collaborations. The scientific results have attracted considerable public attention, and were profiled on national evening news (MTV in Finland), local TV channel in Germany and national daily and evening newspapers, while at the same time generating considerable media buzz. In addition, the consortium published three reviews on molecular mechanisms of depression and psychiatric disorders and a book entitled “Systems Neuroscience in Depression” was compiled by consortium PI Prof Frodl with Harkin and Coffey as contributing authors.