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Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illness through research DIVISION OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Principal Investigators Esther M. Sternberg, M.D.   Dr. Sternberg received her M.D. degree and trained in Rheumatology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She did post-doctoral training in the Division of Allergy and Immunology, and was a Howard Hughes Associate and Instructor in Medicine at Washington University and Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, MO, before joining the National Institutes Health in 1986. Currently Chief of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior at the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Sternberg directs and Co-chairs two multi-Institute Intramural Research Programs designed to foster interdisciplinary research at NIH. She is Director of the Integrative Neural Immune Program at the National Institutes of Health, a multi-Institute NIMH-based Program aimed at facilitating interdisciplinary research among neuroscience and immunology labs and related clinical disciplines. She is also Co-chair of a new multi-Institute NIH OD-based Program on Research in Women's Health designed to foster research across all NIH Institutes in sex and gender differences and women's health. Research Interests The mission of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior (SNIB) is to advance the understanding of the role of neuroendocrine and neural factors in susceptibility and resistance to immune mediated disorders, including autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious disorders. The basic research component of the Section investigates mechanisms and effects of glucocorticoid resistance in animal models of inflammatory and behavioral syndromes. These studies are carried out at a molecular level (glucocorticoid receptor, estrogen receptor, other nuclear hormone receptors, cytokine and cytokine receptors); cellular level (immune/inflammatory responses); neuroanatomical level (neurohormone and immune molecule mRNA and peptide expression in brain; expression microarray approach to identification of candidate genes); systems level (neuroendocrine and immune responses). These studies shed light on the association between stress responsive neural systems and immune disease and have important implications for human physiology and illnesses, including depression, arthritis and inflammatory disease. A new line of study focuses on the role of these factors in susceptibility to and behavioral sequelae of exposure to inflammatory triggers and inflammation. The clinical research program of the SNIB focuses on development and application of a new method to measure neural and immune biomarkers in sweat. Representative Selected Recent Publications: Cizza G, Marques AH, Eskandari F, Christie IC, Torvik S, Silverman MN, Phillips TM and Sternberg EM. Elevated neuroimmune biomarkers in sweat patches and plasma of premenopausal women with major depressive disorder in remission: The POWER study. Biol Psychiatry. 64(10):907-911, 2008. Tait AS, Dalton M, Geny B, D’Agnillo F, Popoff M and Sternberg EM. The large clostridial toxins from C. sordellii and C. difficile repress glucocorticoid receptor activity. Infection and Immunity 75(8): 3935-3940, 2007. Butts CL, Duncan KM, Shukair SA, Harris CW, Belyavskaya E, Sternberg EM Evaluation of steroid hormone receptor protein expression in intact cells using flow cytometry. Nuclear Receptor Signaling 5: e007-013, 2007. Butts CL, Shukair SA, Duncan KM, Horn CJ and Sternberg EM. Progesterone inhibits TH1-promoting responses by dendritic cells. International Immunology. 19(3):287-96, 2007. Marques-Deak A, Cizza G, Eskandari F, Torvik S, Christie IC, Sternberg EM and Phillips T. Measurement of cytokines in sweat patches and plasma in healthy women: validation in a controlled study. J. Immunol. Methods, 315:99-109, 2006. Address: Dr. Esther M. Sternberg Integrative Neural Immune Program Section Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch, NIMH Building 5625, Room 4N13 5625 Fisher's Lane, MSC-9401 Rockville MD 20852-9401 Phone: 301) 496-9255 (office), 301-496-9255 (laboratory) Email Dr. Sternberg Fax: 301-496-6095 Lab Web Site: http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/inip/     Principal Investigators Scientists & Clinicians DIRP Labs and Branches DIRP Research Areas Office of the Scientific Director Site Map Participate in Research Contact Us Careers in Research What’s New Functional MRI Core Magnetic Resonance Core Magnetoencephalography Core Microarray Core Neurophysiology Imaging Facility Non-Human Primate Core Scientific and Statistical Computing Core Section on Instrumentation Core Transgenic Core Veterinary Medicine Resources (Staff only) Office of the Scientific Director Office of the Clinical Director Office of Fellowship Training Office of Technology Transfer Administrative Services Branch Administrative Services

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The Division of Intramural Research Programs is within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) which is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.