The Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program is a comprehensive translational research program within the Eisenberg Family Depression Center.
The program engages individuals living with bipolar disorder around a common mission to discover the mechanisms that contribute to bipolar disorder, predict, and improve outcomes, and develop effective, innovative treatments. The program approaches bipolar disorder from a multidisciplinary and multidimensional perspective by engaging and collaborating with researchers locally, nationally and internationally.
The flagship project of the Prechter Program is the Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder. This is an open cohort study that enrolls individuals with bipolar disorder, as well has unaffected controls, and tracks their course of illness over their lifetime. Beginning in 2006, the study continues to actively enroll individuals and monitor outcomes. Learn more.
The Prechter Program embraces an open science approach to the study of bipolar disorder and invites researchers worldwide to access and use Prechter data and findings in their research. Learn more.
Visit the Prechter Bipolar Research Program website for more information, including the latest research findings.
The Prechter Program was established in 2001 by Waltraud “Wally” Prechter following the death by suicide of her husband, Heinz Prechter on July 6, 2001. Heinz was a successful businessman, dedicated to his family and community. Heinz lived with bipolar disorder and his legacy lives on in the Prechter Program. The Prechter family were early supporters of what is now the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, and the program has continued to grow in the Center’s collaborative environment.