Genetic Basis of Mood and Anxiety Disorders (GBMAD)

The Genetic Basis of Mood & Anxiety Section focuses on discovering and characterizing genes that contribute to the risk for mood and anxiety disorders, such as bipolar disorder and other serious mental illnesses. The Section comprises a diverse and interdisciplinary group of investigators including molecular biologists, psychologists, bioinformatics, and a statistical geneticist. Research projects emphasize identification of risk alleles and the ways in which these alleles shape clinical phenotypes, treatment outcomes, and gene expression. In recent years we have put major resources into rare, high-risk alleles, such as copy number variants, and the development of an induced pluripotent stem cell collection that will serve as a valuable resource for researchers. Our long-term objective is to assemble a more complete picture of the genetics and neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders that will inform diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.