Autoimmune Encephalitis: Immune Dysregulation and Psychiatric Symptoms

Sponsored by The Ewald W. Busse, MD, ScD Lectureship Endowment Fund Dr. Mooneyham is an Associate Research Physician at the National Institutes of Health where she serves as Medical Director of the NIMH Autoimmune Brain Disorders Program and Inpatient Services Director for the NIMH Pediatric Psychiatry Unit. Dr. Mooneyham completed a triple board residency at Indiana University School of Medicine, and she is board certified in General Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Mooneyham is a former Duke Psychiatry Department faculty member (2016-2020), and she previously served as the Director for the Pediatric Consultation & Liaison Psychiatry Service, Co-Director for the Pediatric Autoimmune Brain Diseases Clinic, and Psychiatry Clerkship Director. Dr. Mooneyham was recruited to the NIMH in 2020, and her translational research efforts are centered on defining best practice in the collaborative care for pediatric patients with Autoimmune Encephalitis. She was awarded the NIMH Rookie of the year award in 2021, the NIH Clinical Center CEO Award in 2021, and a highly competitive NIH Bench to Bedside grant in 2023. Dr. Mooneyham is spearheading a pediatric translational research program exploring the immune system's role in Autoimmune Encephalitis and other immune mediated causes of psychosis and catatonia. Dr. Mooneyham's research includes deep clinical phenotyping along with the application of genomic technologies and immunophenotyping in patients with otherwise undiagnosed neuropsychiatric conditions. In this effort, she collaborates closely with the NIMH Translational Immunopsychiatry Unit which is focused on facilitating novel antibody discovery.