Mental Disorders

This project is part of a larger research effort involving investigators working closely across five universities: Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, UC Irvine, and UC Davis. Our goal is to characterize gene expression changes in post mortem brain tissues of those who suffered from severe mental disorders, including major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. We are supported by the Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Consortium Fund and NIMH Silvio O. Conte Centers for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders. At SHGC, we use (1) other microarray platforms to complement our collaborators’ efforts on Affymetrix Genechips, (2) Serial analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) for unbiased discovery and comparison of transcripts, and (3) RT-PCR for validation of preliminary findings or hypotheses. We also play a key role in technical evaluation and implementation, and in analyzing the large amount of data we collect in these experiments.

One of our early findings has been published recently (Human Molecular Genetics, 13 (6): 609-616), and was profiled in Nature News (http://www.nature.com/nsu/040126/040126-20.html).