Kristin Bigos, PhD
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
Languages
- English
Gender
FemaleAbout Kristin Bigos
Primary Academic Title
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Background
Dr. Kristin Bigos is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on neuropsychiatric drug development and a precision medicine approach to the treatment of mental illness.
The Bigos Lab uses functional MRI as a biomarker to test the neural effects of drugs designed to treat symptoms of mental illness. Her lab currently has a pharmacoMRI study to develop a treatment for cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Other studies aim to identify patient-specific variables including sex, race, and genetics that impact drug clearance and clinical response to better select and dose antipsychotics and antidepressants.
Dr. Bigos received her B.S. in Premedicine from the Pennsylvania State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Clinical Brain Disorders Branch of the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Mental Health under Dr. Daniel Weinberger. Before joining Johns Hopkins, she worked as an Investigator at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development.
Clinical Trials Summary
Recent News Articles and Media Coverage
A Step Toward Improving Cognition in Patients With Serious Mental Illness, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Learning Network (January 15, 2021)
Additional Academic Titles
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Contact for Research Inquiries
600 N. Wolfe Street
Osler 503
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: (410) 614-0453
Lab Website
The Bigos Lab
- The Bigos Lab focuses on a Precision Medicine approach to the treatment of psychiatric illness. In addition, this lab employs functional neuroimaging and genetics as biomarkers in neuropsychiatric drug development. A recent study used functional MRI to test the neural effects of a drug with the potential to treat cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Other studies aim to identify patient-specific variables including sex, race, and genetics that impact drug clearance and clinical response to better select and dose antipsychotics and antidepressants.
Research Summary
The Bigos Lab focuses on a Precision Medicine approach to the treatment of psychiatric illness. In addition, this lab employs functional neuroimaging and genetics as biomarkers in neuropsychiatric drug development. A recent study used functional MRI to test the neural effects of a drug with the potential to treat cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Other studies aim to identify patient-specific variables including sex, race, and genetics that impact drug clearance and clinical response to better select and dose antipsychotics and antidepressants.
Selected Publications
Bigos KL, Bies RR, Pollock BG, Lowy JJ, Zhang F, Weinberger DR. Genetic Variation in CYP3A43 Explains Racial Difference in Olanzapine Clearance. Molecular Psychiatry. 2011; 16:620-625
Bigos KL, Mattay VS, Callicott JH, Straub RE, Vakkalanka R, Kolachana B, Hyde TM, Lipska BK, Kleinman JE, Weinberger DR. Genetic Variation in CACNA1C Affects Brain Circuitries Related to Mental Illness. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2010; 67(9):939-45
Heide J, Zhang F, Bigos KL, Mann SA, Carr VJ, Shannon-Weickert C, Green MJ, Weinberger DR, Vandenberg JI. Differential response to antipsychotics in schizophrenia patients with KCNH2 risk alleles is correlated with affinities for the Kv11.1-3.1 potassium channel. Am J Psychiatry. 2016;173(1):53-59
Zink CF, Barker PB, Sawa A, Weinberger DR, Wang M, Quillian H, Ulrich WS, Chen Q, Jaffe AE, Kleinman JE, Hyde TM, Prettyman GE, Giegerich M, van Ginkel M, Carta KE, Bigos KL. Missense Mutation in FOLH1 is Associated with Decreased NAAG Levels and Impaired Working Memory Circuitryand Cognition. Am J Psychiatry. 2020;177(12):1129-1139
Zink CF, Giegerich M, Prettyman G, Carta KE, van Ginkel M, O’Rourke M, Singh E, Fuchs E, Hendrix C, Zimmerman E, Breakey J, Marzinke MA, Hummert P, Pillai J, Weinberger DR, Bigos KL. Nimodipine improves cortical efficiency during working memory in healthy subjects. Transl Psychiatry. 2020;10(1):372
Honors
- Catalyst Award, Johns Hopkins University, 6/1/20
- W. Leigh Thompson, MD Excellence in Research Award: Clinical Research Junior Faculty, JHU Department of Medicine, 5/1/16
- Emerging Women's Leadership Program, JHU School of Medicine, 1/1/16
- New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit (NCDEU) New Investigator Award, 5/1/13
- American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Young Investigator Travel Award, 12/1/11
- Pharmacogenetics in Psychiatry Meeting Young Investigator Travel Award, 1/1/11
- Top Poster Award, Society of Biological Psychiatry, 5/1/10
- Fellows Award for Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health, 1/1/10
- Travel Fellowship, Winter Conference on Brain Research, 1/1/10
- Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health, 9/1/05
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Student Excellence Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, 1/1/05
- Fellowship, American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, 1/1/04
Graduate Program Affiliations
Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Memberships
- American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
- Society of Biological Psychiatry
- American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics,
Chair, Mental Health and Addiction Community
Additional Training
National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, 2011, Clinical Brain Disorders Branch