Ron Duman
Ronald S. Duman, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology
Director of the Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities
Yale School of Medicine
Dr. Duman’s work has focused on the molecular and cellular actions of antidepressants and stress, providing the basis for a neurotrophic hypothesis of depression. This hypothesis is based on work demonstrating that chronic antidepressant treatment increases the expression of neurotrophic factors, and increases the proliferation of new neurons and glia in the adult brain. These effects counteract the atrophy and cell loss that is caused by stress and that is thought to underlie, in part, the pathophysiology of depression. These findings represent groundbreaking advances in our understanding of antidepressants and provide a framework for developing novel therapeutic agents.
Dr. Duman received his doctorate degree from the University of Texas in Houston and conducted postgraduate work at Yale University before joining the faculty there. He has written and/or co-authored over 250 original papers, reviews and book chapters, and has presented over 150 invited lectures. Dr. Duman is also on the editorial board of several prestigious journals and serves as a consultant for a number of biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Awards and Credentials
Anna-Monika Prize for depression research
Nola Maddox Falcone Prize for depression research
Janssen Prize for Research in Psychopharmacology
Congress of International Neuropsychopharmacology Basic Research Award
Talk Title: Stress and Depression: A Case of Neuronal Life and Death
Reading List – Click here for the complete PDF
- Nibuya M, Morinobu S, Duman RS, Regulation of BDNF and trkB mRNA in Rat Brain by Chronic Electroconvulsive Seizure and Antidepressant Drug Treatments. The Journal of Neuroscience 75(11): 7539-7547, 1995
- Malberg JE, Eisch AJ, Nestler EJ, Duman RS, Chronic Antidepressant Treatment Increases Neurogenesis in Adult Rat Hippocampus. The Journal of Neuroscience 20(24):9104–9110, 2000
- Shirayama Y, Chen ACH, Nakagawa S, Russell DS, Duman RS, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Produces Antidepressant Effects in Behavioral Models of Depression. The Journal of Neuroscience 22(8):3251–3261, 2002
- Ja Wook Koo*† and Ronald S. Duman, IL-1_ is an Essential Mediator of the Antineurogenic and Anhedonic Effects of Stress. PNAS 105(2):751–756, 2008
- Duman RS, Monteggia LM, A Neurotrophic Model for Stress-Related Mood Disorders. BIOL PSYCHIATRY 59:1116–1127, 2006
- Warner-Schmidt JL, Duman RS, VEGF is an Essential Mediator of the Neurogenic and Behavioral Actions of Antidepressants. PNAS epub 2007