Dr. Mazen Kheirbek

One Mind Janssen Rising Star Translational Research Award

Illuminating Circuit Based Targets for Treatment of Depression. University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Kheirbek’s lab is mapping hippocampal–amygdala circuits to reveal how they shape resilience and emotional regulation, with implications for mood disorder treatment.

Dr. Mazen Kheirbek is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF, where he leads a systems neuroscience research group in the Center for Integrative Neuroscience. His lab investigates the neural circuits that drive emotional behavior, using a multidisciplinary toolkit including behavioral analysis, optogenetics, imaging, and computational modeling. Notably, his team has uncovered key mechanisms by which the hippocampus and amygdala contribute to stress susceptibility, resilience, and emotion regulation. Dr. Kheirbek earned his Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of Chicago and completed postdoctoral training at Columbia University. His work has been recognized with honors including the One Mind Rising Star Award, Pew Biomedical Scholar Award, and McKnight Memory and Cognitive Disorders Award.