PeerJ Award Winners at WCBR 2025

The Winter Conference on Brain Research (WCBR) combines cutting-edge science with networking opportunities in an alpine atmosphere. The interdisciplinary basic and clinical research at WCBR includes the breadth of neuroscience through seminars and detailed discussions on specific issues in interactive workshops and poster sessions.

Winter Brain includes approximately 500 basic and clinical neuroscientists from all over the world. Specifically integrated into the scientific program is time allocated to network on the slopes, on cross-country trails, or the many additional activities including snowshoe tours, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, yoga, and time for planning collaborations and writing.

Igor D. Bandeira, MD, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?

I’m a Brazilian physician-scientist with a background in psychiatry and clinical research. My work focuses on interventional psychiatry, with particular emphasis on clinical trials investigating rapid-acting antidepressants and noninvasive brain stimulation for mood disorders across the lifespan.

At Stanford, I co-led the Wellcome LEAP-funded clinical trial investigating accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation (Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy) for anhedonic depression under the mentorship of Dr. Nolan R. Williams. In collaboration with Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg, I also co-led a randomized clinical trial—supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention—evaluating whether low-dose buprenorphine can sustain the antisuicidal and antidepressant effects of ketamine.

Broadly, I’m committed to advancing precision psychiatry and expanding access to evidence-based treatments for individuals affected by depression and suicidality.

What first interested you in this field of research?

During medical school, I explored several specialties before gradually becoming drawn to the complexity of human behavior and psychopathology. What ultimately shaped my path was the mentorship I received early on. Under the guidance of Dr. Rita Lucena at the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), I led a pioneering clinical trial investigating transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in children with ADHD. That experience sparked my fascination with neuromodulation and laid the foundation for much of my future work.

Later, through a Science Without Borders Scholarship, I completed part of my medical training at the University of Sydney (Australia), where I worked with Dr. Ian B. Hickie at the Brain and Mind Centre. During this time, I deepened my interest in youth mental health and received my first formal training in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), further strengthening my commitment to developing innovative treatments in psychiatry.

After returning to Brazil, I began my PhD at the same institution under the mentorship of Dr. Lucas Quarantini, where I transitioned into psychopharmacology research, focusing on ketamine and its enantiomers—esketamine and arketamine—for both treatment-resistant and bipolar depression. This marked my entry into the field of rapid-acting antidepressants and eventually led me to continue this line of work at Stanford.

Depression is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders globally, and suicide remains a leading cause of death among young people. Despite their devastating impact, effective treatment options remain limited—most traditional antidepressants take several weeks to work, a delay that can be critical for individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts. This urgency has driven my commitment to developing and advancing rapid-acting interventions.

What has always fascinated me—and continues to motivate my work—is the paradox of suicidal ideation emerging in the face of our innate evolutionary drive to survive. Understanding how such self-destructive thoughts arise, even in the context of a brain designed for self-preservation, is one of psychiatry’s most compelling challenges. The field became a natural fit for me, allowing me to merge my scientific curiosity with a desire to help individuals facing some of the most complex and misunderstood mental health conditions.

Over the past decade, the field of interventional psychiatry has begun to consolidate, encompassing advanced psychopharmacology and procedural treatments such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), rTMS, and ketamine. Coincidentally, my training unfolded in parallel with this evolution—I had the opportunity to work with these emerging treatments before the field had a formal name. Being part of this transformation from its earliest stages has been profoundly meaningful, and it continues to drive my commitment to advancing innovative, personalized, and scalable solutions for those living with mood disorders and suicidality.

Can you briefly explain the research you presented at WCBR 2025?

The work I presented at WCBR 2025 was part of a larger randomized clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04116528) investigating whether a four-week course of low-dose buprenorphine could sustain the antisuicidal and antidepressant effects of a single intravenous ketamine infusion in individuals with treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation.

My presentation focused on an exploratory analysis examining whether chronic pain influenced treatment outcomes following ketamine administration. We used the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), a self-report instrument that assesses both pain intensity and pain interference—with interference referring to how pain affects a person’s ability to function in daily life.

Our findings showed that ketamine led to significant reductions in both depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, regardless of chronic pain status. However, among participants with chronic pain, improvements in pain—particularly in functional interference—were associated with greater reductions in suicidal ideation. Although reductions in pain severity showed only a trend, pain interference scores significantly improved, suggesting that sub-anesthetic doses of ketamine may also offer benefits for pain-related outcomes in this population.

How will you continue to build on this research?

We recently completed participant recruitment for the trial and are now focused on data analysis and manuscript preparation. Over the next few months, I’ll be working closely on our primary outcome—whether low-dose buprenorphine helps sustain the antisuicidal effects of ketamine.

Following that, we’ll begin analyzing secondary outcomes and exploratory variables, including the chronic pain-related data I presented at WCBR 2025. I hope to replicate and expand those findings in a peer-reviewed publication soon.

Looking ahead, my long-term goal is to develop personalized therapeutic strategies for individuals with treatment-resistant depression, bipolar depression, and suicidal behavior. I plan to continue my career in academic psychiatry by applying for U.S. residency training, where I can further integrate clinical practice and research to address complex psychiatric conditions.