Our Mission

 We launched this initiative to better understand the neurochemistry of brain disorders that afflict vulnerable young people, specifically eating disorders, addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and autism spectrum disorders. Research funding has been drastically reduced in the current era, and private philanthropy has become crucial to conduct basic and clinical research in the mental health realm. 

My motivation for catalyzing this project was my younger daughter’s struggle with anorexia nervosa. Thanks to great treatment and her own courage, my daughter is doing better, although these are lifelong struggles and she continues her brave fight. Through her battle, I have become aware of the similarities between eating disorders and analogous disorders like as addiction, OCD, and autism, and a rich body of evidence suggests that anxiety is critical in the perpetuation of these self-destructive behaviors. A body of strong science and the narratives of those with these disorders suggest that they represent maladaptive ways of dealing with anxiety in young adulthood. 

We, therefore, established the VBP to focus on understanding the neurobiology of anxiety. Central to the VBP is an internationally renowned research group studying anxiety disorders at NYU. These research teams include investigators who study the basic biology as well as the clinical behavioral science of anxiety, our overarching goal is to facilitate translation of basic scientific observations into clinical investigations focused on development of effective treatment.

Their collaborative work seeks to understand how the brain detects and responds to perceived threats, and how the associated anxiety is processed. A maladaptive attempt to negotiate this anxiety can lead to addictive behaviors, restrictive food intake, or repetitive self-harm behavior. The EBI integrates studies in rodents with brain imaging in humans. The first phase of the work involves using brain imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in rodents to map the pathways associated with adaptive versus maladaptive threat processing. The human studies explore how the development of “resilience,” through approaches to behavioral learning including cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy, attenuates and, ultimately, extinguishes the anxiety response, leading to more normal adaptive behavior.