Bradley R Miller, MD, PhD

  • Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychiatry
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Overview

Dr. Miller is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He attended New York University as an undergraduate and then completed the MD/PhD program at Washington University, St. Louis. As a graduate student, he discovered a signaling pathway that drives axonal degeneration. This work led to new treatment avenues that are currently under investigation. He then joined Columbia University to complete the Psychiatry Residency Program, after which he completed postdoctoral training through the T32 Affective Disorders Research Fellowship program under the mentorship of René Hen and Sander Markx.

Academic Appointments

  • Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychiatry

Gender

  • Male

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • New York University, New York, NY
  • MD, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
  • PhD, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Research

Dr. Miller’s lab now focuses on bringing precision medicine to the treatment of major depression. He uses mouse models to investigate the circuit mechanisms of normal emotional behavior, and to determine how depression associated mutations alter these circuits. His work has been recognized and supported by a BBRF NARSAD Young Investigator Award, the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, and the NIMH.

Grants

  1. Circuit Mechanisms of GPR156 Mutation Effects on Emotional Behavior
    Grant: Hope for Depression Research Foundation
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Description: This project builds on a discovery that a rare mutation in a receptor expressed in the brain called GPR156 increases the risk of major depression threefold. Dr. Miller’s laboratory is investigating how this mutation alters cell signaling, gene expression, and neuronal activity in the brain and leads to enhanced sensitivity to stress.
  2. Mapping Serotonergic Activity During Emotional Behaviors in the Healthy and Stressed Brain
    Grant: K08 MH116368
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Description: Serotonin is the target of the most widely used antidepressants. It is unclear what leads to serotonin release and what the impact of serotonin release is on target brain areas. Using miniature microscopy imaging in freely behaving mice, Dr. Miller’s lab discovered that a wide range of emotionally salient stimuli, both pleasurable and aversive, trigger serotonin release throughout the brain. His lab is now determining how this serotonin release influences brain activity in target areas. Clarifying how serotonin release regulates emotional behaviors could lead to improvements on current serotonergic antidepressant medications.