Sencan Solay Unal, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the Pediatric Mood Disorder Research Program. This translational research program integrates interdisciplinary principals to understand the pathophysiology of pediatric mood disorders more accurately. The broad goals of the program are 1) to identify genetic underpinnings and liability factors for pediatric mood disorders, 2) to develop and refine functional neuroimaging methods to visualize alterations in brain function and metabolism 3) to develop biologically informed and developmentally sensitive novel therapies for children and adolescents and 4) to reduce the considerable burden caused by these disabling illnesses across different developmental stages of childhood. Pediatric mood disorders are severe and disabling illnesses and they have been linked to high levels of morbidity, substance abuse and suicide. Pharmacotherapy has been the cornerstone of the management and treatment of these illnesses. However, treatment research in child psychiatry has generally not addressed developmental differences in neurobiology or pharmacology, nor attempted to identify biological factors that may be predictors or mediators of treatment response. Identification of early neurobiologic markers of theses illnesses may provide important leads for developmentally sensitive drug leads for novel therapeutic compounds. Dr. Unal and colleagues have been using novel imaging modalities for the evaluation of functional brain anatomy of pediatric mood disorders, and to predict targeted drug leads. The most recent research project conducted by Dr. Unal and colleagues has investigated the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on phosphoinositol-associated second messenger activity and brain membrane phospholipid metabolism during adolescence, a period marked by rapid neurodevelopmental changes and neuronal pruning. Several other therapeutic agents and novel drug candidates have been studied on molecular and cellular levels as well as in pre-clinical and clinical models.