Psychiatric Genomics
We use genomic approaches to understand the mechanisms and causes of psychiatric disorders.
Edinburgh investigators deploy genomic approaches for the study of psychiatric disorders and related traits. This work involves collaboration across psychiatry, psychology, and social sciences as well as longstanding partnerships with the Institute of Genetics and Cancer.
We apply genomic approaches (genetics, epigenetics, metabolomic and other) to understand the mechanisms and modifiable causes of psychiatric disorders with a view to identifying new drug treatments and other interventions.
This work builds upon UK Biobank, Generation Scotland, Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1921 and 1936, SHARE, Generation Malawi, DepGenAfrica and work with the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the new UKRI Informatics Hub for Mental Health DATAMIND.
Our work includes a strong public engagement and involvement component, led by Dr Iona Beange our Knowledge Exchange Officer, including ‘My Depression, your depression’ and 'Depression Detectives'.
Example projects
| Project title | Funder | Investigator(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Genetics Consortium | NIH | Andrew McIntosh | |
| Generation Malawi: a study of family, maternal and childhood mental health | UKRI | Andrew McIntosh | |
|
Leveraging Routinely Collected And Linked Research Data To Study The Causes And Consequences Of Common Mental Disorders |
UKRI (Mental Health Data Pathfinder) |
||
| Wellcome | David Porteous (Institute of Genetics and Cancer), Andrew McIntosh | ||
|
Depression Genetics in Africa |
Wellcome | Andrew McIntosh | |
| Airwave Health Monitoring Study | UKRI | Andrew McIntosh | |
|
CoMorMent - Predicting comorbid cardiovascular disease in individuals with mental disorder by decoding disease mechanisms (Lead: University of Oslo) |
EU Horizon Europe | Andrew McIntosh, Sue Fletcher-Watson | |
|
Exploiting Genomic Approaches To Identify The Environmental Basis Of Depression |
Wellcome (Investigator Award) | Andrew McIntosh | |
|
DATAMIND (Lead: Swansea University) |
MRC | Andrew McIntosh, Daniel Smith | |
|
My depression, your depression (Public engagement project) |
UKRI | Andrew McIntosh, Iona Beange | |
|
Depression Detectives (Public engagement project) |
Wellcome | Andrew McIntosh, Iona Beange |