FSU Ph.D. student enriches understanding of global science and depression through Fulbright Fellowship

Depression is a worldwide epidemic on track to become second only to cardiovascular disease in terms of global disease burden. Recent Florida State University graduate Nella Delva is helping address this epidemic through groundbreaking research in Berlin, Germany, as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Delva, who graduated with her Ph.D. from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at FSU’s College of Medicine in May, spent the past year expanding her studies with enhanced technology at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin as a recipient of the Fulbright Study/Research Award.

“Participating in the Fulbright Program was really the best decision, even though I didn’t really think that this whole idea would ever come to life,” Delva said.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between U.S. citizens and people of other countries. The primary source of funding is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments, host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant recipients are selected based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields, with the program operating in over 160 countries worldwide.

“It enriches you in ways you didn’t think it would, in your personal life and critical thinking as well,” Delva said.

Her Fulbright award allowed her to join one of Germany’s top research centers — part of the Helmholtz Association, the country’s largest scientific organization. Delva’s research focuses on dopamine, a brain chemical less studied than serotonin in depression research. Specifically, she is exploring D1 receptors, a type of dopamine receptor found on certain neurons in the brain’s cerebral cortex.

“My dissertation really started by wanting to understand a subset of cells in the brain — molecular markers of new depressive disorders — and how they impact behavior,” she said.

With access to advanced technology at the Max Delbrück Center, Delva used induced pluripotent stem cells — adult cells reprogrammed into an embryonic-like state — to model how changes in dopamine receptors affect brain function. Her work has since expanded to look at other molecular modifiers of stress and neurodevelopment.

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