The Conn Job
This podcast, The Conn Job, is born from my experience as a physician and mother. It's born from the ashes of loss and fueled by a burning desire to change the landscape of health care, mental health, and neurological care. The first tranche of episodes explores the intersection of neurology and psychiatry.
The Conn Job
Episode 5: The Future of Bipolar Disorder: How AI and Brain Science Are Revolutionizing Treatment
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Welcome back to The Conn Job with Dr. Ann Conn.
In this powerful and forward-looking episode, I sit down with Dr. Cara Altimus, Director at the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy, along with leaders from the BD² (Breakthrough Discoveries for Bipolar Disorder) Initiative: Dr. Emily Baxi, Integrated Network Program Director, and Dr. Daniel Pham, Director of the BD² Discovery Research Programs.
Together, they share a groundbreaking look into the future of bipolar disorder and psychosis research—one driven by brain omics, AI-powered data integration, and the largest coordinated scientific effort in history aimed at finally understanding what happens in the bipolar brain.
For me, this episode is profoundly personal. My sons, Austin and Colin, died by suicide during psychotic episodes more than a decade ago. For the first time since their deaths, the BD² initiative has given me something I thought I lost forever: hope.
Hope that the next generation won’t face the same suffering.
Hope that psychiatry is finally shifting from guesswork to precision.
Hope that we are on the verge of breakthrough change.
Episode Overview
In this episode, you’ll hear:
The BD² Integrative Network
Understanding “Brain Omics”
The role of artificial intelligence
The promise of precision psychiatry
The critical importance of brain donation
Real reasons for optimism
Why This Episode Matters
For 70 years, psychiatric treatment has relied on the same blunt tools—medications discovered by accident, trial-and-error prescribing, and systems that wait until crisis to intervene.
That era is ending.
The BD² initiative is bringing together neuroscience, genetics, big data, brain tissue research, and artificial intelligence to finally map the biological mechanisms behind bipolar disorder and psychosis. This is not incremental progress—it is transformational.
For families who have carried the unbearable weight of these illnesses, this episode offers something rare: clarity, momentum, and genuine hope for the future.
Resources Mentioned
- BD²: Breakthrough Discoveries for Bipolar Disorder Initiative
- Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy
- BD² Integrative Network
- Brain donation programs supporting psychiatric research
- Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC)
Connect further with Dr Ann Conn:
Website: https://www.annconnmd.com
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