Psychiatric disease

Psychiatric disorders exact an enormous human and economic toll, yet patients still have inadequate treatment options. The high heritabilities of psychiatric disorders mean that if specific genetic risk factors could be identified, they would provide important scientific clues and suggest approaches to therapeutics. Founded in 2007, the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research brings state-of-the-art scientific tools and methods to bear on serious psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in order to find new treatments and ease the burden for patients and their families.

Stanley Center researchers and their international collaborators have led the identification of significant genetic risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder—valuable clues to the underlying biology of these conditions and thus, potential drug targets. To do so, they have assembled the world’s largest collection of DNA samples of psychiatric disease, and have developed cutting-edge tools and methods, including new models of the human brain and new analytical approaches to translate genetic findings.

Ultimately, the Center seeks not only to unravel the biology of severe psychiatric disorders and develop therapeutic approaches, but also develop genetic risk prediction and biologically based diagnostic tools—transforming psychiatric treatment.