Collaborators
The Genes to Mental Health (G2MH) consortium is an initiative funded under the RFA ‘Rare Genetic Disorders as a Window into the Genetic Architecture of Mental Disorders‘ by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It includes researchers from 14 institutions and seven countries across North America, Europe, and Africa.
22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) represents one of the greatest known genetic risk factors for the development of psychotic illness. Neuroimaging studies of 22q11DS offer a unique opportunity to investigate developmental trajectories of risk. The ENIGMA-22q working group aims to carry out meta-analysis of existing structural MRI and DTI data of children and adults with the 22q11.2 deletion and healthy controls. The analysis is expected to include data of over 500 cases and a comparable number of healthy individuals available from the studies of multiple groups with large cohorts of 22q11DS patients, across the US and internationally. Special points of attention will be given to differential patterns of brain development in 22q11DS patients with psychotic and/or autism spectrum symptoms. In addition, we expect to analyze developmental aspects of altered brain morphology. We also plan to compare 22q meta-analytic results to those of idiopathic schizophrenia (ENIGMA-SZ).
The International 22q11.2DS Brain and Behavior Consortium is a large-scale effort to study the genetics of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders associated with chromosome 22q11.2 deletions. With 12 million dollars in support over four years from The National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health in the United States of America, this multi-center initiative is examining phenotypes across the life span while utilizing whole genome sequencing in search of phenotype-genotype correlations with the ultimate goals of improving detection, treatment and long term outcomes.
Dr. Gur is Professor of Psychiatry Neurology and Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine where she directs the Neuropsychiatry Section and the Schizophrenia Research Center and is Vice Chair of Research Development in the Department of Psychiatry. Her combined training in Psychology, Neurology and Psychiatry has provided the tools to pursue an academic career working with basic and clinical neuroscientists to advance the understanding of schizophrenia. In directing these research endeavors, she has interacted with scientists of diverse backgrounds, conducted collaborative interdisciplinary research, mentored junior faculty and trainees, and has come to know many patients and their families. She is a member and has served in organizations including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the NIMH Council and the American Psychiatric Association task forces including the DSM-5 Psychosis work group. She is Past President of the Society of Biological Psychiatry and President Elect of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. NIMH has supported her research efforts and she has over 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Nelson B. Freimer, MD is the Maggie G. Gilbert Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Human Genetics at UCLA. He is the Founding Director of the UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics and of the UCLA Neuroscience Genomics Core. Dr. Freimer’s research focuses on the use of novel strategies for behavioral phenotyping and large-scale genomics methods to identify the genetic basis of complex traits, including such neurobehavioral disorders as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. He also leads the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge (DGC), a university-wide initiative that aims to transform our understanding and treatment of depression and thereby cut the burden that it represents to health and well-being in half by the year 2050. Within the DGC he is the PI of the UCLA-Apple Digital Mental Health Study.
The Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics (CNG) focuses on discovering the genetic basis of major psychiatric and neurological disorders, and genetically dissecting additional traits that will shed light on the development, function, or degeneration of the central nervous system.
The CNG also occupies an important niche in the educational mission of UCLA. It is the focal point on campus for training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the genetic investigation of complex traits through the Training Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics.