Maya Schumer!

YouTube video by Metabolic Mind A Psychiatric Neuroscience Researcher Finds Relief From Bipolar With Ketogenic Therapy

youtu.be/Cma8432bLvs

Maya Schumer, PhD | THINK + SMART

www.metabolicmind.org/thinksmart/e...

But I *am* in REMISSION/STABLE, not just from keto but also a combo of lithium, IV ketamine and TMS. And as a researcher and psychiatric neuroscientist @mcleanhospital.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social , I want to live to find out how/why. I share my story with @metabolicmind.bsky.social 🧠🥑🥩4/5

That I was only capable, and deserving, of less, and yes-some of that is my internalized stigma…which is perpetuated by ongoing public and structural/systemic stigma. I am NOT “cured”, a word that many in the field of metabolic psychiatry *would not* use.
3/5

contemplating death daily, I believed that I not only had to die but I also didn’t deserve to live—namely because I just couldn’t stay well enough to participate in the world. I was mourning my former life, while convinced that I had lived “long enough” for someone with SMI…2/5

I have one of those truly treatment-resistant and volatile cases of bipolar 1 disorder that finally, after 11+ years, stabilized because of a #KetogenicDiet. Remission seemed like a myth or, at best, a cruelly-unattainable state/goal. At my lowest and most suicidal…1/5

x.com/metabolic_mi...

If you didn’t attend #ACNP2026 and missed this study group, check out the Perspective authored by the panelists on this topic:

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Happy to see this conversation happening. As someone who withdrew from their 1st attempt at PhD due to mental health, way back in the mid-90's, it was very difficult to overcome that obstacle when applying to PhD programs again. I was always seen as a risk...even after completing a masters degree.

Thank you for sharing your story. The panelists of this study group also authored a perspective on this topic. We hope this call to action continues to help decrease the stigma and systemic barriers that researchers w/ lived experience face.

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Thank you, Dr Manning!

Thank you for this glowing endorsement! We agree and are very appreciative of the panelists for their thoughtful suggestions for improving the culture and removing barriers that researchers with lived experience face.

So grateful that have heard these impactful researchers offer their perspectives at #ACNP2026 . These are some of the unique voices that NIH should be supporting

Diversity supplements weren’t just for folks from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds. Eligibility extended to first gen college students and researchers with disabilities, among others

Cancelling these supplements limits opportunities for the next generation of scientists, as explained here

I was just watching this online last night (I was registered online) and it was such a good session. Anyone who hasn't watched it yet and had access to the recordings should make sure they watch it while they still have access (before Feb 16 )
Thanks to the speakers for sharing their experiences

Recapping the #ACNP2026 study group, “Centering Lived Experience in Psychiatric Neuroscience Research”

We asked the panelists, what could NIH leadership do to be more supportive of trainees with non-traditional career paths, which is common among researchers with lived experience of mental illness?

From tat to shoes, @mayaschumer.bsky.social is blooming in her new postdoc in the Bipolar Research Program at @mcleanhospital.bsky.social 🌹🌹🌹

Here’s to using your platform(s) 👡to make change for researchers w/ lived experience! #ACNP2026 #FashionsOfACNP @acnporg.bsky.social @onemindorg.bsky.social

@ahmarilab.bsky.social perfect pun🙌🏻 thank you Susanne!! 🫡❤️🧠😎🤓

sooo great to meet you and @sofiyahupalo.bsky.social thank you both so much for your support enthusiasm and coordination!!🙏🏻🙌🏻🙏🏻🙌🏻 @dpn-journal.bsky.social 🧠❤️

still talking about this study group - one for the books 📚 🫶🏻

What a powerful conversation about what it’s like to navigate life and a research career with lived experience of mental illness. I’m deeply grateful for the speakers being willing to share their experiences and how we can all be more supportive of our colleagues #ACNP206 @acnporg.bsky.social

Thank you @acnporg.bsky.social and the incredibly impressive panel for the excellent, important session on sex and gender in neuropsychopharmacology research. #acnp2026

@deffinger.bsky.social at Lived Experience Panel @acnporg.bsky.social #ACNP2026:

We should be going from consultation to co-production in the integration of lived experience in research 🧠🧪

Important message from Nev Jones to sr people in the field:

Don’t treat young emerging researchers w/ lived experience as a checkbox. Asking them for a grant letter solely because of lived experience puts them in a difficult-to-impossible bind due to power dynamics @acnporg.bsky.social #ACNP2026

Thank you Susanne🙏🏻🙌🏻

Ok seriously, if you’re not at the Lived Experience study group, you need to be. What an amazing panel-these researchers with lived experience have incredible insights to share about the benefits of integrating lived experience into research. Maya Schumer:it’s additive, not adversarial #ACNP2026

Dr. Maya Schumer posing with her DPN Perspective article.

Stop by our journal table and grab a paper copy of our recent Perspective discussing barriers faced by researchers with lived experience.

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Thanks @mayaschumer.bsky.social & colleagues for writing this important article 🤩

If you're attending #ACNP2026 and would like to learn more & discuss this important topic with the authors, come to this study group👇👇 on Tues morning (1/13) at 9 AM!

See you there 😄

YouTube video by NPP - Digital Psychiatry and Neuroscience (DPN) The central role of lived experience in mental health research

Our first Deep Dive of 2026 covers a Perspective calling for recognizing & removing barriers faced by researchers with lived experience of mental illness or SUDs who work in our field.

By @umarchatterjee.bsky.social @mayaschumer.bsky.social @deffinger.bsky.social & colleagues

youtu.be/y5fymczeNFc

A powerful DPN Perspective from @umarchatterjee.bsky.social, @mayaschumer.bsky.social, @deffinger.bsky.social, @viscidula.bsky.social, Noel Vest, Michael Cahill, Brandon Staglin, & @ericjnestler.bsky.social.

DPN is grateful for the authors' dedication to writing this!