Our research in Personalized Psychiatry focuses on understanding individual variability in response to stress and how this variability shapes vulnerability or resilience to psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. We combine unique behavioral models of dominance and submissiveness with human studies to investigate the molecular, genetic, and hormonal mechanisms underlying stress-related psychopathology.

Using a wide range of molecular and genetic tools, we identify biomarkers and biological signatures (genomic and hormonal) that distinguish between stress-resilient and stress-vulnerable individuals. We further explore key pathways, including the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, dopaminergic signaling, and genes involved in synaptic plasticity, to better understand their role in shaping behavioral and emotional outcomes.

Our approach aims to move beyond a one-size-fits-all understanding of psychiatric disorders toward the identification of individual risk profiles, laying the foundation for early diagnosis and the development of prognostic tools for populations at risk of depression, anxiety, and addiction.