Investing in Scientific Discovery: The Vital Partnership Between Federal Agencies and UMN Psychology
Over the past 75 years the United States (US) has been the go-to place for science world-wide–for research and study, expert care and clinical trials. Since the 1950s the United States federal government, on a bipartisan basis, has invested money in scientific research on college and university campuses on account of the talent and resources already in place. This investment has paid off in spades, resulting in innumerable advances in the well-being of our citizenry.
Across the country, faculty-run labs comprise a large portion of research and development (R and D) in the US (25%). Colleges and universities account for an even larger share of basic research produced–research that routinely leads to innovation. The numbers are higher still for health care research. The training and education these labs provide are also significant. Most R and D in the US is done by people with either a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Master of Arts (MA) in science and many of those degree holders have spent some time in a college or university research lab. And for decades many labs have welcomed highly-educated and committed international graduate students and visiting scholars, who have also contributed to scientific discoveries made possible by the innovative and productive research infrastructure the US has helped build on college and university campuses. Educating the next generation of scientists and clinicians from the US and across the world is integral to how research is conducted across the US, which the government has recognized and supported for decades.
The Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota (UMN) has been a strong contributor to and partner in such advancements. In fact, during WW2 in the 1940s, Minnesota psychologists such as Marvin Dunnette helped develop personality tests that allowed for the rapid mobilization of troops by streamlining selection and placement decisions, paving the way for a robust and long-standing tradition of Minnesota Psychology research partnering with the federal government to answer the big challenges facing our nation and world. Today, the department continues this strong partnership with the US federal government, with over 50 active federally sponsored research projects at any given time, with majority funding coming from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Here we explore some of the federally-funded research our scientists are currently engaged in, which we continue to expect will lead to better outcomes for all of us.
The next-big thing in restoring hearing: The Auditory Nerve Implant (ANI)
Auditory, Perception and Cognition (APC) Lab: directed by Andrew Oxenham, PhD
Andrew Oxenham joined the Psychology faculty in 2006. Oxenham's research interests are broadly in auditory perception and neuroscience, including a focus on hearing loss and cochlear implants. Oxenham employs three research scientists, who are principal investigators on their own grants while supporting the lab, a post-doctoral scholar, four graduate students, a lab manager, two full-time graduate research assistants, and 4-6 undergraduate research assistants, depending on the semester. The APC Lab is currently working on 5 major projects, four of which are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and one in collaboration with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. These projects include collaborations across the University with departments such as biomedical engineering and otolaryngology, as well as collaborators in other countries, as Oxenham is an internationally renowned expert in the psychology of auditory perception.
In discussing the value of his research, Oxenham noted that "hearing loss is considered a major modifiable risk factor for dementia." Therefore, by addressing hearing loss we can improve the quality of life for countless individuals, while also relieving society of the financial burdens of caring for those with dementia.
Oxenham's lab has extensively studied the cochlear implant (CI), the most successful breakthrough in restoring hearing loss to date. We now know that damage to the hair cells in the cochlea is known to be the reason for most hearing loss. Thus, a standard cochlear implant works by by-passing the damaged hair cells and directly stimulating the auditory nerve. The CI captures sound with a microphone that is part of an external transmitter broadcasting to an implanted receiver, which in turn sends electrical impulses to a series of 12 to 24 electrodes embedded in the cochlea. The signal from these electrodes is then picked up by the auditory nerve and sent to the brain for interpretation.
Although CIs can restore some speech recognition, if not hearing itself, outcomes are variable. On average, about half of the people with CIs can hear 60% or more of most words in a quiet environment while the other half hear less, with some gaining little or no benefit. The reason for this wide variability remains something of a mystery, making it difficult to predict the success of a CI implant for any given patient. For all implants, the quality of hearing is still compromised–12-24 CI electrodes cannot compete with the original 3500 sensory hairs in our ears. Oxenham and his colleagues have learned much from their work with CIs and they are now taking these findings further.
Currently, Oxenham is working with collaborators to develop another form of neural prosthesis, the auditory nerve implant (ANI), which will bypass the inner ear and the damaged sensory hairs altogether. The ANI consists of similar transmitter and receiver components developed for CIs which then transmit signals from an external microphone to a series of electrodes implanted directly on the auditory nerve. According to a recent article, Oxenham and others noted being influenced by scientific breakthroughs in successfully implanting microelectrodes into peripheral nerves. By bringing his knowledge of how the auditory nerve works in turning noise into hearing and understanding, Oxenham is working with fellow scientists to determine whether an ANI–a neural prosthesis for the dauditory nerve–can approximate human hearing better than CIs. Oxenham is working with Hubert Lim, a professor in Otolaryngology and Biomedical Engineering and contact principal investigator on this project, the Development and Translation of an Intracranial Auditory Nerve Implant, with funding awarded by the National Institute of Neurodisorders and Stroke as part of the NIH BRAIN Initiative.
Oxenham's lab is busy with multiple other related and non-related projects.
- In collaboration with the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the lab is researching hearing loss following blast exposure and mild traumatic brain injury in an attempt to distinguish loss due to damage to the ear from damage to higher-level brain regions.
- The lab is also developing more sensitive hearing tests, as the majority of currently available tests provide only crude measures of whether or not an individual can hear a sound rather than assessing hearing abilities in more realistic listening situations.
Learn more about the federally-funded work of Oxenham and colleagues on the APC Lab website.
The next big thing in mental health: Precision medicine
Research in Adolescent Depression (RAD) Lab: directed by Bonnie Klimes-Dougan, PhD
Bonnie Klimes-Dougan has extensive experience in mental health both as a researcher and as a practicing psychologist. After completing her PhD in clinical psychology, Klimes-Dougan spent seven years as a researcher in developmental psychology at the NIH. For more than twenty years, Klimes-Dougan has been conducting research, providing clinical supervision, and teaching courses at the University of Minnesota and she is a tenured professor in the Department of Psychology. Klimes-Dougan co-directs the Research in Adolescent Depression (RAD) Lab with Katie Cullen from the Department of Psychiatry. On average, their lab includes 2 post-doctoral associates, 5 graduate students, and 15 undergraduate students. In addition to conducting research, Klimes-Dougan leads trainings for trainees and clinicians on how to assess people with mental health problems and manage life-threatening behaviors. The RAD Lab has received significant federal grants from the National Institute of Mental Health as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, plus private funding from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
In speaking of her experiences as a clinician, Klimes-Dougan recognized the frustration that many people have with the seemingly murky methods used when diagnosing and treating mental health problems. Why do some people respond to talk therapy while others do not? Why do medications work for some but others cannot find relief? How can we improve mental health diagnoses and prescribe the right treatments? Rates of adolescents experiencing at least one major depressive episode have increased, with some studies suggesting they have doubled from 8% to 16% in the past ten years. Yet, the success of treatments has remained stagnant, with 30% to 50% of patients being unresponsive to treatments. The researchers of the RAD Lab aim to improve these odds.
Klimes-Dougan sees great potential in a set of practices called 'precision medicine'. For instance, just as people differ from each other in personality and physical characteristics, people also differ in how they respond to diseases and treatments. Precision medicine is effective because diagnoses are based on the genes, environment and lifestyle of an individual, and customized treatments are prescribed that match the diagnoses with evidence-informed practices. Customized, or 'precision', medical practices have led to improvements in the treatment of different types of cancer–why not in the treatment of different types of mental health conditions? Clearly, one size no longer fits all.
Building on past federally supported projects from the agencies mentioned, Klimes-Dougan and her colleagues are now conducting the research needed to better target and tailor mental health treatments. To date, three different kinds of treatments have the most evidence for treating adolescent depression: cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In one study, Klimes-Dougan and colleagues developed a data-driven algorithm for designing treatment plans. Using data from an NIH study called TADS - Treatments of Adolescents with Depression Study - the researchers used machine learning techniques to determine if a set of individual characteristics could be correlated with a specific treatment plan with better than average outcomes. In another study, funded by the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women’s Health Seed Grant and the National Institute of Mental Health, Klimes-Dougan found that certain brain and neuroendocrine patterns predicted whether adolescents responded to different SSRIs. She has led similar work on predicting psychotherapy responses in adolescents. Although this work is preliminary, Klimes-Dougan is optimistic that such research will lead to the customized treatment plans needed to improve outcomes for adolescents seeking help for depression.
Learn more about the federally supported work of Klimes-Dougan and colleagues on the RAD-Lab website.
The APC Lab under Dr. Oxenham and the RAD Lab under Dr. Klimes-Dougan are only two of the over 40 labs in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. Because of the strong infrastructure built by multiple funding streams, including the federal government, and because of our tradition of being a welcoming and collaborative environment, Minnesota Psychology, among other departments across the nation, remain internationally renowned for their research and contributions.
