Psychiatric Genomics Research Stream

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder with a strong genetic component

Led by Professor Bryan Mowry, QCMHR’s Psychiatric Genomics Research Group is based at the Queensland Brain Institute. The Mowry Group‘s work is focused on identifying risk genes for schizophrenia, and profiling the roles of these genes using neuroimaging and animal models. A second focus is to serve the need to develop more effective medications for patients by using zebrafish to identify novel or repurposed drugs.

In addition to work conducted within the laboratory, the group has conducted large-scale, collaborative studies of genetically isolated populations in Chennai, India, and Sarawak, Malaysia. This work has involved recruiting and diagnosing thousands of individuals with schizophrenia and related disorders and conducting genetic analyses on DNA extracted from blood samples. This group has also contributed to large consortia at both the national (Australian Schizophrenia Research Bank) and international (Psychiatric Genomic Consortium) levels. These collaborations have resulted in huge strides in our understanding of the complex genetics behind this complex disorder.

The group’s work in identifying risk genes and understanding the role they play in schizophrenia development and progression will be vital in providing better-targeted therapies for this debilitating disorder in the future.

Research areas include:

• Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS)
• DNA, RNA Sequencing
• Gene Expression and editing
• Neuroimmunology of schizophrenia
• Zebrafish models and functional genetics
• Microscopy
• Drug discovery
• Chemical genetics
• Statistical genomics and computational biology
• Applications of deep learning in biomedicine