CONTACT INFORMATIONCREDENTIALSAWARDSPUBLICATIONSManoela V. Fogaca, Ph.D.(Pronouns: she/her/hers)Contact InformationPhone NumbersOffice: (585) 273-5631Research LabsFogaça LabVisit Fogaça Lab Lab WebsiteLocationsUniversity of Rochester Medical CenterSchool of Medicine and Dentistry601 Elmwood Ave., Box 711Rochester, NY 14642Additional LinksEmailFaculty AppointmentsAssistant Professor - Department of Pharmacology and Physiology (SMD) BiographyResearchResearch 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.CredentialsPost-doctoral Training & Residency2016 - 2022Yale University, Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Ronald Duman and Dr. Marina Picciotto labs.Awards2022K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award2020NARSAD Young Investigator AwardPublicationsJournal Articles5/4/2023Fogaça 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. 7/2021Fogaça 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. 1/2021Duman 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 & Chapters2017 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, EUAVIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS