Research by Matthew Girgenti, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry, has been highlighted as a Top Achievement for 2025 by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF).
The research, Single-Cell Analysis Reveals Brain Changes Underlying PTSD, was published in Nature on June 18, 2025.
It was among 16 groundbreaking discoveries by BBRF grantees, prize winners, and Scientific Council members that are advancing the understanding and treatment of mental illness.
The research which has been published throughout the year in leading peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Science, JAMA, PNAS, and Molecular Psychiatry, spans basic neuroscience, next-generation therapies, and early identification and prevention of mental illness across the lifespan.
“Each of these discoveries brings us closer to understanding the biological roots of mental illness and translating that knowledge into better care,” said Jeffrey Borenstein, MD, president & CEO of BBRF. “By investing in bold, innovative science, we are helping accelerate progress toward earlier detection, safer treatments, and improved outcomes for millions of people worldwide.”
Girgenti’s study, empowered by the latest advances in genomic technology, has provided what is likely the most detailed account to date of molecular changes that take place in the brain when someone has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The new findings shed light on PTSD pathology, identify specific and potentially targetable genetic, cell-type, and functional alterations, and indicate factors distinguishing brain changes in PTSD vesus major depressive disorder.
The data that contributed to the analysis was derived from over 2 million individual cells sampled from postmortem brains donated by patients’ families.