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Manoela V. Fogaca, Ph.D.

(Pronouns: she/her/hers)

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Office: (585) 273-5631

Research Labs

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Research

Research in the Fogaça lab focuses on understanding the molecular basis of behaviors relevant to stress and the actions of fast antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs, aiming to identify specific circuits, neuronal subpopulations and synaptic mechanisms involved in these responses. Because currently available antidepressants have serious limitations for treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), including low response rates, a significant number of treatment resistant patients, and a time-lag before there is a therapeutic response, the lab is interested in exploring new pharmacological strategies to treat MDD, including compounds that target the glutamatergic and/or the GABAergic systems in the brain, such as ketamine, ketamine-like drugs and GABA receptor modulators. To this goal, we combine molecular neuropharmacology, genetic approaches and circuit-level studies of neurobiological systems to investigate how specific subpopulations of GABAergic (notably somatostatin and parvalbumin interneurons) and glutamatergic neurons crosstalk to modulate excitation and inhibition network dynamics that lead to phenotypes relevant to stress disorders and to the actions of fast antidepressants.

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

2016 - 2022
Yale University, Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Ronald Duman and Dr. Marina Picciotto labs.

Awards

2022
K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award

2020
NARSAD Young Investigator Award

Publications

Journal Articles

5/4/2023
Fogaça MV, Wu M, Li C, Li XY, Duman RS, Picciotto MR. "M1 acetylcholine receptors in somatostatin interneurons contribute to GABAergic and glutamatergic plasticity in the mPFC and antidepressant-like responses." Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.. 2023 May 4; Epub 2023 May 04.

7/2021
Fogaça MV, Wu M, Li C, Li XY, Picciotto MR, Duman RS. "Inhibition of GABA interneurons in the mPFC is sufficient and necessary for rapid antidepressant responses." Molecular psychiatry.. 2021 Jul; 26(7):3277-3291. Epub 2020 Oct 17.

1/2021
Duman RS, Deyama S, Fogaça MV. "Role of BDNF in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression: Activity-dependent effects distinguish rapid-acting antidepressants." The European journal of neuroscience.. 2021 Jan; 53(1):126-139. Epub 2019 Dec 20.

Books & Chapters

2017
Chapter Title: Cannabinoids as Regulators of Neural Development and Adult Neurogenesis
Book Title: Lipidomics of Stem Cells
Author List: Campos AC, Paraíso-Luna J, Fogaça MV, Guimarães FS, Galve-Roperh I.
Published By: Humana Press, Springer International Publishing 2017 in Cham.

2016
Chapter Title: Cannabidiol and 5-HT1A Receptors
Book Title: Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse
Author List: Fogaça MV, Campos AC, Guimarães FS
Published By: Academic Press 2016 in Burlington, EUA

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