Activating Neurons in the Skin to Relieve Symptoms of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder where individuals have deficits ranging from an inability to engage in social interactions to anxiety and maladaptive fear. One approach that has been shown to relieve negative symptoms of chronic stress is social support.

2024 One Mind Rising Star Awardee Dr. Ishmail Abdus-Saboor aims to isolate some of the stress-relieving benefits of social support by targeting neurons in the skin that are activated during social touch. By discovering molecules that could activate these social touch neurons in the skin, Dr. Abdus-Saboor aims to develop a therapeutic strategy in the peripheral nervous system that could provide relief from symptoms of chronic stress and potentially other psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Ishmail Abdus-Saboor is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University in the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. He is also a Freeman Hrabowski Scholar at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received a B.S. degree in Animal Science from North Carolina A&T State University in 2006 and a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. Since opening his lab in 2018, the Abdus-Saboor lab has been generously supported by the NIH as well as ten other private foundations including Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Pew Charitable Trusts, McKnight Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Simons Foundation, United Negro College Fund, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Brain Research Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Rita Allen Foundation.

The 2024 Science & Innovation Symposium took place on September 7th at the 30th Annual One Mind Music Festival for Brain Health in Napa, CA. Watch all the inspiring talks given by presenters at the 2024 Science & Innovation Symposium in the full playlist here:    • 2024 Science & Innovation Symposium P...  

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