Cognitive and Metabolic impact in Patients with Affective Disorders: deciphering moderating factors for achieving better outcomes

Research project description

A PhD position is available at the Neurobiology of stress and vulnerability to psychopathology Research Group – Institut de Neurociències from the Universitat Autònoma Barcelona in collaboration with Psiconeuroendocrinology  and stress in psicosis – Mental Health Service, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari under the supervision of Silvia Fuentes, Alex Ferrer i Roser Nadal. We are looking for a highly motivated candidate that will investigate the cognitive and metabolic impact in patients with affective disorders.

Affective disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD), are associated with cognitive impairments and metabolic outcomes, exacerbating their burden.

Objectives:

1. Characterize the metabolic (blood pressure, dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular events) and cognitive (executive functioning and working memory) impact in affective disorders and their relationship with clinical indicators.
2. Examine how sex, age, clinical variables (diagnosis, severity, time of illness, polarity predominance, treatment response…), HPA axis activity, sleep patterns, childhood maltreatment, telomeric measures, and inflammatory markers moderate cognitive functioning and metabolic health in affective disorders.
3. Identify interaction effects and contributions to the heterogeneity of outcomes.
4. Explore if metabolic dysregulations are mediators of cognitive performance.

Methodology:

A clinical sample patient with affective disorders and paired healthy controls will undergo comprehensive assessments including:

·         Biological Measures:

• HPA axis activity: Hair cortisol and diurnal cortisol measures.
• Inflammatory markers (CRP, IL6).
• Telomeric length as a biological stress indicator.

·         Psychological and Environmental Factors:

• Childhood maltreatment: CTQ.
• Sleep: Questionnaires and monitoring devices.

·         Outcome Measures:

• Cognitive functioning: Neuropsychological tests
• Metabolic Health: Blood pressure, lipid profiles, BMI, glucose, CV events.

Analytical Approach:

Advanced statistical techniques, including moderation and mediation analyses and machine learning techniques, will explore relationships between moderating factors and outcomes.

Training Opportunities:

The COFUND predoc will gain interdisciplinary training in psychometrics, neuropsychological testing, biomarker analysis, and advanced analytics, including machine learning. Opportunities to collaborate on projects and present findings at conferences will provide robust professional development.

The candidate’s responsibilities will encompass collecting and analyzing data, drafting research papers, presenting results, mentoring undergraduates if needed, and active participation in group meetings

The successful candidate will be enrolled in the PhD Neurosciences doctoral program at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in the framework of the TOUCH project. TOUCH (“Towards the next generatiOn of excellent yoUng doctoral researchers on mental health by developing an intersectoral & transdisciplinary approaCH”) is a new excellent doctoral programme co-funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Actions of the European Commission and led by the UAB for the recruitment and training of 24 doctoral candidates in the field of mental health and wellbeing.

Academic background / Skills

The candidates must fulfil the following eligibility criteria from the EC: Mobility rule: candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately preceding the deadline for the programme call. Experience rule: researchers must be doctoral candidates at the date of recruitment, i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the deadline of the open calls. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but have not yet formally awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible. Candidates must hold a degree that allows admission to the official doctoral programme at UAB.

Additional requirements for a stronger application are:

Essential Criteria:

• MSc or equivalent in Experimental/Clinical Psychology, Neurosciences or related fields
• Since the research involves working with humans, the candidate must be proficient in Spanish from the outset of the program
• Proficiency in English (B2 level)
• Interest in learning computational methods
• Strong communication skills to effectively disseminate research results to diverse audiences
• Other skills: Ability to work in a team, critical thinking, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience in working with human participants
• Training/experience in conducting and analyzing Experimental and/or Clinical Psychology/Psychiatry studies
• Theoretical background in Psychobiology, Statistics and Computer Science
• Catalan oral understanding

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the investigators for further information silvia.fuentes@uab.cat

Research group/s description

Dr Fuentes and Nadal belong to the “Neurobiology of stress and vulnerability to Psychopathology” SGR Research Group and are part of the Human Lab UAB. Among their main strategic lines are the study of biomarkers of vulnerability for mental disorders including those related to stress response mechanisms, and executive functioning impairments as a transdiagnostic risk factor.  As members of the SGR, our team is also part of the Spanish Network of Mental Health (CIBERSAM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III), the Catalan Network of Technology in Mental Health (TECSAM, Generalitat de Catalunya) and the Spanish Network of Research in Stress (REIS, Spanish Ministry of Science).

Dr Ferrer belongs to the “Psiconeuroendocrinology and stress in psychosis (PSICPNEC)” SGR research group. His main research topics are the study of biological endophenotypes, including genetic, endocrinologic and neuropsychological variables in patients with affective disorders. He is also a member of the Spanish Network of Mental Health (CIBERSAM, Instituto de Salud Carlos III).