Victoria Arango, Ph.D.

Victoria ArangoVictoria Arango is a Professor of Clinical Neurobiology (in Psychiatry) in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University.

She is the Director of the Diane Goldberg Laboratory for the Molecular Imaging of Neural Disorders (MIND) and the Laboratory of Chemical Neuroanatomy. She is also the Associate Director of the Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

Research Focus

Dr. Arango pioneered anatomical studies in the brain of suicide victims including biochemical, molecular and morphometric studies — and her work was instrumental in bringing the utmost in scientific rigor to studies in postmortem human brain.

These efforts have led to important new findings and long-standing collaborations with leaders of the field. Her work has focused on identifying brain biological abnormalities in mood disorders, suicide and alcoholism.

Dr. Arango has served on many NIH study sections, and served as Chair of one for three years. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board and the Grants Review Committee for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and is a member of many scientific organizations, including the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Society of Biological Psychiatry, Society for Neuroscience, International Academy of Suicide Research and the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry.

Dr. Arango has continuously received NIH funding to study suicide for over 20 years. She has published extensively in respected national and international journals and is considered an international expert in the field of the biology of suicide.

Select Publications

1. Arango V, Ernsberger P, Marzuk PM, Chen J‑S, Tierney H, Stanley M, Reis DJ, Mann JJ. Autoradiographic demonstration of increased serotonin 5‑HT2 and β‑adrenergic receptor binding sites in the brain of suicide victims. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 1990;47:1038‑1047. PMID: 2173513

2. Arango V, Underwood MD, Mann JJ. Fewer pigmented locus coeruleus neurons in suicide victims: A preliminary study. Biol Psychiatry, 1996;39:112-120.  PMID: 8717609

3. Arango V, Underwood MD, Boldrini M, Tamir H, Hsiung S, Chen J, Mann JJ. Serotonin 1A receptors, serotonin transporter binding and mRNA expression in the brainstem of depressed suicide victims. Neuropsychopharm, 2001;25:892-903. PMID: 11750182

4. Arango V, Underwood MD, Mann JJ:  Serotonin brain circuits involved in major depression and suicideProg Brain Res2002; 136:443-453. PMID: 12143401

5. Bach-Mizrachi,H., Underwood,M.D., Kassir,S.A., Sibille,E., Tamir,H., Mann,J.J., Arango,V. Neuronal tryptophan hydroxylase mRNA expression in the human dorsal and median raphe nucleus: Major depression and suicide. Neuropsychopharmacology (Epub 9/28/05) 2006;31:814-824. PMID: 16192985

6. Prabhakaran J, Underwood MD, Parsey RV, Arango V, Majo VJ, Simpson NR, Van Heertum R, Mann JJ, Kumar JS.  Synthesis and in vivo evaluation of [18F]-4-[5-(4-methylphenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1- yl]benzenesulfonamid e as a PET imaging probe for COX-2 expression. Bioorg Med Chem 2007; 15(4):1802-1807. Epub 2006 Nov 29. PMID: 17166726

7. Boldrini M, Underwood MD, Hen R, Rosoklija G, Dwork AJ, Mann V, Arango V.Antidepressants increase neural progenitors in the human hippocampus. Neuropsychopharmacol 2009 34:2376-2389. PMID: 19606083

8. Underwood MD, Arango V. Evidence for neurodegeneration and neuroplasticity as part of the neurobiology of suicide. Biol Psychiatry, 2011 70(4):306-307 PMID:21791256

9. Bach H, Arango V, Huang Y, Mann J, Underwood MD. Neuronal Tryptophan Hydroxylase Expression in Balb/c and C57Bl/6 Mice. J. Neurochem, 2011 118(6):1067-1074. (Epub ahead of print July 2011) PMID: 21740442

10. Boldrini M, Hen R, Underwood MD, Rosoklija GB, Dwork AJ, Mann JJ, Arango V. Hippocampal angiogenesis and progenitor cell proliferation are increased with antidepressant use in major depression.  Biol Psychiatry, 2012 72(7):562-571. PMID: 22652019

11. Kumar JS, Parsey RV, Kassir SA, Majo VJ, Milak MS, Prabhakaran J, Underwood MD, Arango V. Autoradiographic evaluation of [3H]CUMI-101, a novel, selective 5-HT1AR ligand in human and baboon brain. Brain Res, 2013 1507:11-18. PMID: 23454434, NIHMSID 510215

12. Bach H, Huang Y, Underwood MD, Dwork AJ, Mann JJ, Arango V. Elevated serotonin and 5-HIAA in the brainstem and lower serotonin turnover in the prefrontal cortex. Synapse 2013. (Epub ahead of print July 23 2013) PM:23813499, NIHMS504103

13. Wu M, Shamy JL, Bedi G, Choi C-W, Wall MM, Arango V, Boldrini M, Foltin RV, Hen R. Impact of social status and antidepressant treatment on neurogenesis in the baboon hippocampus. Neuropsychopharmacol 2014 (Epub ahead of print March 5, 2014). PM:24518288.

14. Bach H, Arango V, Kassir SA, Tsaava T, Dwork AJ, Mann JJ, Underwood MD. Alcoholics have more tryptophan hydroxylase 2 mRNA and protein in the dorsal and median raphe nuclei. Alcoholism: Clin. Exp. Res, 2014. In press.

15. Boldrini M, Butt TH, Bakalian MJ, Dwork AJ, Tamir H, Rosoklija GB, Arango V, Hen     R, Mann JJ, Benzodiazepines and the potential trophic effect of antidepressants on dentate gyrus cells in mood disorders. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol, 2014. In press.

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