On episode 41 of A Chat with Uma, we pick up right where we left off with Dr. Maya Schumer—a psychiatric neuroscientist who studies bipolar disorder, the very illness she lives with. In Part 2, Maya walks us through her PhD and Postdoc research thus far: the largest functional-MRI meta-analysis ever published at the time, 3 independent risk-cohort replications, and analyzing first-episode mania datasets. We dig into the honest reality of doing cutting-edge science while your brain is the very object of study—managing chronic suicidality, navigating disclosure, unlearning internalized (& reinforced) stigma, and redefining resilience beyond survival.
Dr. Maya Schumer is a psychiatric neuroscientist & postdoctoral researcher who studies—& has lived experience with—Bipolar Disorder. Maya received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2023 mentored by Dr. Mary Phillips, where she used task-based functional neuroimaging & coordinate-based meta-analysis to identify reproducible & replicable neural network markers of bipolar disorder risk. Currently, Maya is a postdoctoral fellow at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Mentored by Dr. Dost Öngür, Maya examines resting-state functional connectivity patterns & neural network dynamics across different stages & mood states in bipolar disorder, with an overall goal to model its dynamic nature.
Topics Discussed (+ Timestamps):
(00:00:00) Welcome back to Maya! Quick recap of Part 1 & why you need it for context! LISTEN HERE
(00:09:20) How Maya survived a PhD while in hell: mentors, support, and scope-control
(00:11:00) fMRI 101—bold signals, task vs. resting state, and default-mode rumination
(00:14:58) The heterogeneity problem: why three decades of bipolar imaging rarely replicate
(00:17:30) Building a 205-study meta-analysis & finding new network players in the neurobiology of bipolar disorder
(00:24:46) The shocking shortage of mania/mixed-state scans—and why it matters for biomarkers
(00:26:56) Young-adult risk cohorts & the 169-item Mood Spectrum Self-Report
(00:29:54) Replicating mania- vs. depression-specific connectivity across three datasets
(00:33:00) Maya’s postdoc research: first-episode mania, mixed states, & siblings at risk
(00:41:36) Discovering a stigma-smashing research environment at McLean
(00:44:24) From patient to PI: lining up K-award goals while battling urgency & perfectionism
(00:59:00) Compliance vs. acceptance: managing stability without pathologizing every human feeling
(01:05:50) Internalized ableism, masking mania, & the myth of “functional” bipolar
(01:14:06) Time lost to our illnesses, managing the standards of academia, & recalibrating worth
(01:20:00) When the work keeps you alive but the workload can kill you
(01:38:00) How our illnesses are simultaneously sensationalized AND stigmatized
(01:44:50) Final reflections: will to live, redefining resilience, & building a new future for our field
Connect with Maya
- LinkedIn
- X/Twitter: @SchumerMaya
- Read her research on ResearchGate
- Email: maya.schumer@gmail.com
Connect
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