Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience

According to Reunion Neuroscience, Post Partum Depression (PPD) is a major form of depression affecting 10-15% of all mothers of newborns, accounting for 23% of pregnancy-related death, including suicide and overdose, poisoning (CDC 2022). Women suffering from PPD often experience significant changes in mood, appetite and sleep contributing to feelings of hopelessness, lack of concentration, loss of energy, poor self-esteem and maternal disinterest.  The only viable regulatory approved therapy indicated for PPD has side effects that include sedation (with Black Box warning) and potential addiction and embryo-fetal toxicity. SSRIs, which are often prescribed off-label, take a long time for onset and only show limited efficacy, representing a concern for the safety, well-being and long-term development of the child.  There continues to be a significant unmet need for a solution that offers a faster onset of action, greater efficacy after only a single dose, with limited interruption in breast feeding and a faster return to normal daily activities.

RE104 is a patented, clinical-stage drug candidate designed as a safe, fast-acting, short duration serotonergic psychedelic therapeutic to provide lasting benefits to patients with underserved mental health disorders.   RE104 rapidly converts to the clinically-active serotonergic form of the drug, 4-OH-DIPT (4-hydroxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine) after administration.   Phase 1 clinical data indicates that RE104 shown to be generally safe and well-tolerated and was rapidly cleared from systemic circulation, produces a pharmacology similar to psilocybin with a reduced duration of the psychoactive experience. 

The Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience (CPN) is proud to be one of 37 sites in US along with John Hopkins for selected to investigate RE104 in the RECONNECT Trial, a Phase 2, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel-Group, Active Dose-Controlled study evaluating RE104 in moderate and severe PPD patients. 

The study is seeking patients experiencing a major depressive episode that began at any time starting at the beginning of the second trimester (≥14 weeks) of pregnancy through 4 weeks post delivery.  For more information, call (808) 564-6141 or NIH Info.

The Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience (CPN) mission and goal is to improve mental health through a deeper understanding of neuroscience and brain function.  It brings together & supports investigators who share a mission to understand neural mechanisms underlying psychiatric illness, to elucidate mechanisms of psychotropic drug action and to develop novel therapeutic modalities for mental illness.  CPN is part of the Clinical Research Center (CRC).

Meet Our

Multidisciplinary Team

Kore Kai Liow, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.A.N.

Neurology
Neuroscience Chair

Director, Memory Disorders Center, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Neuro COVID Clinic, Center for Neuromodulation, Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience
Principal Investigator, Clinical Research Center, BRITL (Brain Research, Innovation & Translation Labs) BCI (Brain Computer Interface) & Brain Mapping Lab
Clinical Professor of Medicine (Neurology), Graduate Faculty, Clinical & Translational Research, University of Hawai`i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Nicholas Anderson, MD

Sleep Medicine

Director, Sleep and Insomnia Center
Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine,
University of Hawai`i John Burns School of Medicine

Darren DuGas, M.D.

Neurology

Director, Video-EEG Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU)
Co-Director, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
Sub- Investigator, Epilepsy Research Unit

Natalia Gonzalez Caldito, M.D.

Neurology

Director, MS & Neuroimmunology Center
Director, ALS & Neuromuscular Center & IV Infusion Center
Sub investigator, MS & Neuroimmunology & Neuromuscular Research Unit

Eonjung Angeline Kim, M.D.

Neurology

Director, Headache & Facial Pain Center
Sub- Investigator, Headache Research Unit

Janette Abramowitz, M.D.

Neurology

Research Faculty, Brain Mapping Lab, Brain Research, Innovation & Translation Labs
Residency: Combined Neurology & Psychiatry University of Massachusetts Medical School Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School

Alexander Takayesu, M.D., M.P.H.

Psychiatry

Périnatal Psychiatry, Post Partum Dépression
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Hawaii John A Burns School of Medicine
SubInvestigator, Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience

Paul Smith, M.D.

Lifestyle Medicine

Director, Self Care & Wellness Center
Sub-investigator, Clinical Research Center
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine (Neurology), University of Hawai`i John A. Burns School of Medicine

Chris Larrinaga, APRN-BC, MSN, CNRN

Neurology, Neuroscience

Sleep Medicine
Sub-Investigator, Clinical Research Center

Nicole Evans, PA-C

Neurology, Neuroscience

Sub-Investigator, Clinical Research Center

Qi Zhi, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC

Neurology, Neuroscience

Memory Disorders
Sub-Investigator, Clinical Research Center

Qing X. Li PhD

Basic Science, Neuroscience

Professor, Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu

Our team is committed to reducing the disparity in health status of its racial and ethnic minority, rural, low-income, and other underserved populations.  We have therefore focused our efforts in caring for underserved, minority, diverse patient populations.  Click to review our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and work undertaken by Center for Neuroscience Diversity especially for the Asian Americans and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Population (AANHPI). 

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