Deep Sequencing and Haplotype Profiling of Mental Disorders: Towards Translating Genomic Signatures for Use in Clinical Psychiatry
NAMHC Concept Clearance — February 3, 2005
Presenter
Thomas Lehner, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chief, Genetic Basis of Mental Disorders Program
Office of Human Genetics and Genomic Resources
Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, NIMH
Description
With the initial stages of the human genome project completed and new insights into the interplay of genomic function, genomic structure and the environment in mental disorders, attention is shifting towards the translational promise of the completed human sequence and thus genomic medicine. However, there are still major obstacles that need to be addressed before genomic medicine will enter clinical practice in psychiatry. It will be necessary to see a confluence of developments in genomic technologies and epidemiological methods, such as high throughput sequencing of candidate genes or genomic regions; global single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) or haplotype analysis; improved measurements of non-genetic environmental factors; well characterized clinical phenotypes and endophenotypes; and the development of new analytical approaches. A special emphasis of this initiative will be to support applications that implement large-scale study designs that will disaggregate mental disorders into components of finite risks. These developments may be evolutionary or may be fundamentally new and may lead to paradigm shifts in the field. Applications may propose new technologies for cost effective whole genome analysis and in depth sequencing and analysis of candidate genes and genomic regions in cohort of subjects with mental disorders. Proposals for large-scale haplotype analysis and measurement of environmental and behavioral factors as well as the development of new analytical methods also are encouraged. Projects funded under this program will utilize phenotypically well-characterized samples from the NIMH human genetics initiative. Results from applications funded under this initiative will have direct implications for diagnosis, treatment and ultimately prevention of mental disorders.
