1. NISCHR Academic Health Science Collaboration Launch
NISCHR Academic Health Science Collaboration Launch
Millennium Stadium
Cardiff
3 March 2011 1

2. Neuropsychiatric Disorder Research in Cardiff.
Neuropsychiatric Disorder Research in Cardiff.
Professor Michael O’Donovan,
Deputy Director of the MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics 2

3. Content
At MRC Centre, we study major psychiatric disorders and some neurological disorders
Schizophrenia/Bipolar (Psychosis)
Depression
ADHD
Neurodegenerative (Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s)
Multiple Sclerosis
Briefly discuss why we do, what we do, and what we want to do
Summarize some findings of importance (focus on Psychiatric)

4. Age-standardized DALYs for noncommunicable diseases by major cause group, sex and country income group, 2004

5. Psychiatry’s Problem
Pathogenesis?
Diagnosis?
Treatment
The development of better treatment faces two major challenges:
a lack of understanding of pathophysiology
a diagnostic process that is therefore largely descriptive
The complexity and relative inaccessibility of the human brain together with the difficulties inherent in developing valid model systems provide major obstacles to understanding disease biology.

6. Mental illnesses are highly heritable2

7. Molecular genetics
Powerful tool for psychiatry
A window on the brain

8. Disease Mechanisms Drug Targets NMHRI Cellular Models
(BIOSI, PSYCH, MEDIC)
Disease Mechanisms Drug Targets
NMHRI
Cellular Models
Genes
MRC CNGG
Human and Clinical Research
Disease Mechanisms
Biomarkers
Diagnostics
Cell therapies
(PSYCH, MEDIC)

9. Nature 2008
Nature 2009
Nature Genetics 2008
Nature 2009

10. Converge on (specific) synaptic pathways?

11. Lancet, 2010
Archives of General Psychiatry, 2010

12. Ion channels Nature 2007 Nature Genetics 2008
Molecular Psychiatry 2009 and 2010
Ion channels

13. American Journal of Human Genetics (2009) and PloS One (2010)

14. Neuroscience and Mental health Institute
Brain imaging (CUBRIC, PETIC, EMRIC)
Behavioural Neuroscience
Stem cells as models and for transplantation
Molecular neurobiology

15. iPS cell models of brain disorders
Allows modelling of genetic complexity.
Access to clinically and genetically characterised patient populations
Expertise in stem cell work in animal models and man
Chairs in stem cell as part of URI

16. CNVs and Health Psychosis plus Developmental delay/Mental Retardation
Epilepsy
Hearing impairment
Cataracts
Cardiac Abnormalities 16

17. Summary Neuropsychiatric Disorders huge burden
Affected individuals (at best) pushed to the margins of society and among the most vulnerable
We now have tools, expertise, and samples to unlock the biology within this generation (if not sooner)
In doing so, opens up opportunities for understanding basic biology, disease modeling, developing therapeutics and better diagnostic instruments 17