With 800+ intl scientists & 900,000 participants, the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium is the largest biological investigation in the history of psychiatry.
A profoundly sad day for science as we mark the passing of our brilliant colleague and friend Dr. Pamela Sklar. A scientific visionary and pioneer taken far to early from this life.
New pre-print from the
@PGCgenetics
#Depression
Group: Multi-ancestry GWAS of depression with 685,000 cases identifies 697 independent associations, implicating known & novel drug targets.
🔗
1/n
I’m incredibly lucky to be part of PGC Africa as the Autism research network lead! If you’re interested or working on Autism research in Africa, I’d be happy to hear from you & add you to the PGC Africa neurodevelopmental network!
@patkipkemoi
Congrats to Dr Alicia Martin
@genetisaur
, who is instrumental in developing statistical methods and resources for multi-ethnic studies and underrepresented populations! She is the recipient of the 2022 Sklar Innovation Award.
#WCPG2022
1/2
@PGCgenetics
are dismayed that
@OrchidInc
’s embryo testing includes common chronic disorders such as schizophrenia
Their information on the genetics of schizophrenia refers to
@PGCgenetics
research
We’re excited to announce the first whole genome screening for embryos is available!
Parents can get 100x more data about their embryos’ genomes, empowering them to make an informed decision and give their baby the best chance at a healthy start.
ADHD shows significant genetic overlap with 43 other traits, including depression, anorexia, insomnia, smoking, neuroticism, obesity and educational outcomes
Check out this exciting study by Andrew Grotzinger (
@Andrew_Grotz
) and colleagues in
@NatureGenet
, where they examined shared genetic architecture across 11 major psychiatric disorders!
Just out:
@PGCgenetics
Genome-wide association study identifies 30 loci associated with bipolar disorder: Bipolar I strongly correlated with schizophrenia, Bipolar II with major depression.
Dr. Karmel Choi is a clinical psychologist, assistant professor
@HarvardMed
, & director of the Precision Prevention Program
@MGHPrecisionPsy
. Her research focuses on big data, resilience, and prevention in stress & mental health.
#IWD2022
@karmelchoi
Congrats to the
#NeuroGAPPsychosis
team for leadership in tackling the diversity problem in psychiatric genetic studies! They are the recipients of the 2021 Sklar Innovation Award.
#WCPG2021
1/4
Results from the new method Genomic SEM show evidence for a general "P" dimension underlying schizophrenia, bipolar, major depressive disorder, PTSD, and anxiety. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder loaded the strongest onto the genetic P-factor:
The incredible & indefatigable PGC Major Depressive Disorder Working Group. Safe travels home everyone, from
@cathrynlewis
&
@mcintosh2001
(photo:
@mja
& Marissa at PMG)
Dr Kimberley Kendall is a general adult psychiatrist at Cardiff University. Dr Kendall's work focuses on the role of rare variants such as CNVs in psychiatric disorders, and their translation to the clinic.
@DrKKendall
#IWD2022
A fantastic study by
@xiangruimeng158
@Kkuchenbaecker
and colleagues was recently published in Nature Genetics. The paper studied genetic risk for major depression across 1.8 million individuals with 54% from non-European ancestry. link: 🧵below
🧬🧠📚Want to learn more about the genetic and phenotypic similarity across major psychiatric disorders? Check out this recent systematic review by the
@JacquemontSeb
team:
Dr Sophie Legge is a post-doctoral researcher in psychiatric genetics & epidemiology
@MRCCardiff
. Her work is focused on understanding the role of genetic & environmental factors in dissecting heterogeneity in psychosis & schizophrenia.
#IWD2022
@sophlegge
New Mendelian Randomization study in JAMA Psychiatry by Karmel Choi PhD working in Jordan Smoller lab and with Karestan Koenen and others suggests a causal benefit of physical activity in reducing depression.
#mdd
#exercise
Want to know more about
#ADHD
and its overlap with other psychiatric disorders and cognition-related phenotypes? Check out this review 📖summarizing the genetic architecture of these comorbidities
#genetics
🧬
Work led by Marta Ribasés
@bcormand
& others!
Dr. Gita Pathak is a geneticist focusing on integrating multi-omics data to understand neuropsychiatric disorders. She was recognized as an Early Career Investigator by the
@ISPGnet
2021, and MVP Science Program 2020.
#IWD2022
@GitaPathakPhD
Study using
@iPSYCHdk
data shows that childhood, persistent and late-onset ADHD have distinct profiles in terms of
🧬genetic variants
🧬polygenic risk load
🧬shared genetic risk with psychiatric traits
Exiting work by
@doctorveera
and team!
Very excited to share this preprint from the PGC SUI Working Group and the MVP, “Genome-wide association study meta-analysis of suicide attempt in 43,871 cases identifies twelve genome-wide significant loci" Check the 🧵 below
@uofu_hmhi
@bunsenmercury
Professor Anita Thapar is a child psychiatrist at
@cardiffuni
& key member of the ADHD group. She is a force in ADHD & neurodevelopmental disorder genetic research, making sure to translate discoveries to the clinic & public policy.
#IWD2022
@anita_thapar1
A recent study in
@BiologicalPsyc1
by
@NiamhAMullins
and many PGC folks examined genetic influences on suicide in ~30k cases and ~520k controls. They found significant genetic overlap btwn suicide attempt and numerous psychiatric disorders. Read more here:
HI EVERYONE. I'm Andrew Grotzinger (
@Andrew_Grotz
) and I'll be tweeting on behalf of PGC Cross Disorder working group (CDG) from the
@PGCgenetics
account for the next two weeks.
Curious about the mechanisms that might underlie shared genetic influences on psychopathology? Wondering what biological pathways might be involved?
Check out this stellar review in
@BiologicalPsyc1
by Phil Lee
@AnnejaneF
and
@jorsmo
!
Pain et al. performed a GWAS of antidepressant response and looked at SNP-based heritability, genetic correlations, and PRS prediction.
Check out the full article here:
#WCPG2019
Twitter Hero =
@Joni_Coleman
Astonishing ability to integrate and curate. Thanks from
@PGCgenetics
who was left in the dust and just retweeted your amazing tweets.
@ISPGnet
Personal twitter summary for
#WCPG2019
: 650* tweets, ~183K** impressions.
*Estimated - includes non-WCPG tweets and a weirdly low number of tweets on Tuesday that I don't believe.
**Approximate -
@twitter
analytics is bugged for Sat-Tues
Shared genetic effects contribute significantly to the co-occurence of autism (and ADHD) phenotypes with co-occurring physical health conditions, including epilepsy and gastrointestinal disorders.
The most recent genome-wide association study of autism identified 5 genome-wide significant loci 🧬🧬. You can find the study here:
This study was performed in 2019, but new findings are on the way!
A recent study by
@cato_romero
and colleagues (incl. the original LAVA team) examined local genetic correlations and more among 12 psychiatric disorders. Check out their pre-print:
Today we are featuring the landmark
#NeuroGAPPsychosis
study. NeuroGAP-Psychosis is the largest psychiatric 🧬 study in Africa. Goal -> recruit 43k participants in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda
Our most recent update on the genetic picture of
#bipolar
found 33 new common genetic variants associated with BD, with a strong role for calcium signalling and some possible druggable candidate genes worth following up 🧬 Read more here:
Genetic overlap between cognitive ability and major depressive disorder in the
@uk_biobank
. This study suggests substantial pleiotropy between cognitive ability and
#depression
.
@SaskiaHagenaars
For those that want to learn more about research techniques in psychiatric genetics, we got you covered!
The Video Textbook contains information on GWAS, polygenic scores, and more and even provides software tutorials.
Check it out ⬇️
Excluding admixed individuals from GWAS? Tractor enables inclusion of admixed individuals by incorporating local ancestry. The Atkinson lab is hiring!
@egatkinson
The number of genetic loci known to be associated with depression has grown substantially in the the last few years as studies have included more participants.
Professor Lea Davis at
@VanderbiltU
is a major reason why we can share PGC data efficiently and responsibly! She is an expert in the genomics of complex phenotypes and has made important contributions to many PGC groups including OCD
#IWD2022
What impact does MDD have on brain gene expression? How does that relate to genetics of MDD? A review by
@EmilyKozik3
@LauraHuckins
@MattGirgenti
integrates transcriptome, genetics & environment to explore predispotion, illness onset & disease trajectory.
Earlier this year,
@josefinwerme
and colleagues published LAVA 🌋, a novel framework for evaluating local heritability and genetic correlation 🧬
@NatureGenet
:
Terrific meeting of the PGC Major Depressive Disorder Working Group. Lots of new analyses, novel findings, exciting initiatives & future plans
#WCPG2021
#mentalhealth
❓How do GWAS variants functionally contribute to
#anorexianervosa
disease risk, symptomatology, and clinical presentation?
New paper by
@jsj8duke
et al investigated this by exploring the associations between AN genetics and clinical phenotypes
🧵1/6
Structural MRI data from
@enigmabrains
show that case vs. control brain differences are correlated between SCZ and BD, OCD, MDD, and ASD, and correlations in MRI traits were correlated with the
#genetic
correlations derived from
#GWAS
. .
@PGCgenetics
Starting tomorrow (3/15), the
@PGCgenetics
Major Depressive Disorder (
#PGCMDD
) group is kicking off their two-week Twitter takeover. Stay tuned for posts from our members about everything
#depression
and
#genetics
!
Meta-analyses for suicide death (SD) and suicidal behavior (SB) were performed in individuals of European ancestry. One locus was identified for SD and two were replicated for SB that remained significant after conditioning on MDD.
As the PGC MDD two-week twitter takeover draws to a close, we'd like to thank our amazing co-chairs
@cathrynlewis
&
@mcintosh2001
for helping progress
#depression
genetics further and of course the one & only
@karmelchoi
for organising this years takeover. See you all soon 👍🧬
The
@PGCgenetics
hosts genetic summary results for use by researchers. Any use for commercial testing or for testing of unborn individuals violates the terms by which PGC & our collaborators’ data are made available
During our
@PGCgenetics
PTSD Working Group &
@ISTSSnews
Twitter takeover, we are featuring Anne Stevenson today.
@annehstevenson
is the student rep of the ISTSS Genomics and Trauma special interest group. Twitterverse, please reach out to her and say hello! 1/4
Dr Kaarina Kowalec is assistant professor at the University of Manitoba. Dr Kowalec's work aims to identify precision medicine approaches to neurological diseases & psychiatric disorders, specifically schizophrenia.
@KaarinaKowalec
#IWD2022
Each day this week will cover a unique theme, ranging from the longitudinal course of
#depression
to understanding its heterogeneity. Stay tuned here at
@PGCgenetics
and share any related questions.
Earlier this year we identified the first genome-wide significant variants for
#ADHD
(Ditte Demontis et al., 2019; ). We are busy genotyping new samples to run the biggest GWAS of
#ADHD
yet. Stay tuned!
Dr. Brenda Penninx is Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology
@PsychRes
who leads the multi-site Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA).
#IWD2022
Hello World...for the next fortnight, psychiatric genetics goes afrofuturist...we profile prospects, people, projects and publications centred on continental Africa and the diaspora. Asante sana!
There are many different types of genetic variations. A lot of research in the area talks about common variants (usually SNPs), but as you can see from this illustration, there are lots of different types of variants! To find out more about them read:
Dr Tyne Miller is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She works on genomewide association studies for Tourette Syndrome and tic disorders.
#IWD2022
@science_tyne
Prof Barbara Franke is chair of
@DondersInst
, co-lead of PGC ADHD and co-founder of
@enigmabrains
. She is a leader in ADHD research by integrating many approaches to help shape our understanding of the biology of ADHD.
#IWD2022
@BFranke_lab
Did you hear about Grady Trauma Project (GTP)? The large-scale study investigates impact of
#stress
and
#trauma
related risk factors for
#PTSD
and related behavioral&physical health comorbidities in a high risk, highly trauma exposed urban population of Black Americans in Atlanta