2022 BBRF Young Investigator Grants for Inge Holtman and Marieke Begemann.

To Continue or not to Continue? Investigating the Effect of Antipsychotic Maintenance Therapy on Brain Volume in First Episode Psychosis using a Randomized Design 

Dr Marieke Begemann is awarded a 2022 BBRF YIG grant. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Project Manager HAMLETT study in the group of Prof. Iris Sommer. This BBRF grant provides Marieke with the opportunity to investigate the effects of antipsychotic medication on brain volume. This is a subproject implemented within a larger Dutch trial, entitled HAMLETT (hamlett.nl), in which first-episode patients are randomized to either continuation of their antipsychotic mediation or gradual dose reduction/discontinuation.

Identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate specific clinical symptoms associated with Major Depression Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia by (single-nucleus) transcriptome profiling. 

Dr Inge R. Holtman, Rosalind Franklin Tenure Track group leader, is awarded a Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) young investigator award, with a value of $70.000. This funding will be used to study Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, three mental illnesses that exhibit pronounced clinical and genetic overlap. This project aims to identify the neurobiological mechanisms that mediate psychiatric symptoms associated with these disorders and is based upon the Netherlands Neurogenetics Database, in collaboration with the Netherlands Brain Bank.