Genetic linkage of schizophrenia and related studies

这是对职业生涯中期研究人员奖的竞争性续签申请的修订，该奖项是1995年作为独立科学家奖(K02)资助的，根据K24患者相关研究机制要求续签。研究主题一直是精神分裂症和(最近)主要情绪障碍的遗传学合作研究。申请人是一名精神病学家，他从事的研究工作包括为这些研究招募家庭和进行临床评估，将统计遗传学的进展应用于临床研究的设计，以及组织和协调大型合作以收集新样本并对现有样本进行多中心联系研究。申请人已转到一所拥有出色的研究和研究培训环境的机构。需要职业奖励支持，以提供足够的保护时间，专注于拟议的以患者为导向的研究计划，并积极参与指导开始研究的受训人员。目前的获奖期包括完成对精神分裂症的基因组扫描；在非常大的多中心样本中组织了一系列精神分裂症候选区域的连锁研究；创建和初步测试精神障碍的新维度评定量表；近亲繁殖人群中情绪障碍的试点数据收集；计算机模拟研究；启动了两个大型系谱收集，一个是严重抑郁症的(作为六个站点合作的协调员)，另一个是精神分裂症的(作为九个站点之一的PI)；以及辅导活动。拟议奖励提供的受保护时间将允许开发新的研究重点，重点是衡量精神障碍中的精神病理学的维度方法，根据该领域的进展组织新的大型合作，职业发展活动，以增强分子和统计遗传学的知识，并作为教师和导师参加为期四年的精神病学住院医师研究资助临床学者研究计划。其他活动将包括：资助的主要抑郁症和精神分裂症的多中心系谱收集和基因组扫描；完成以前的精神分裂症基因组扫描项目；合作努力确定特定的易感基因；协调一个资助的项目，继续进行精神分裂症的多中心联系和关联研究；完成孤立人群情绪障碍数据的收集，并开发相关的人口模拟软件和遗传分析战略。

This is a revision of a competing renewal application for a Midcareer Investigator Award which was funded as an Independent Scientist Award (K02) in 1995, with this renewal requested under the K24 mechanism for patient related research. The research theme has been collaborative studies in the genetics of schizophrenia and (more recently) major mood disorders. The applicant is a psychiatrist who has pursued a career of research in the recruitment and clinical assessment of families for these studies, the application of advances in statistical genetics to the design of clinical studies, and the organization and coordination of large collaborations to collect new samples and to carry out multicenter linkage studies of existing samples. The applicant has moved to an institution with an outstanding research and research training environment. Career award support is needed to provide sufficient protected time to focus on the proposed program of patient- oriented research and active involvement in mentoring of beginning research trainees. The current award period has included completion of a genome scan of schizophrenia; organization of a series of linkage studies of schizophrenia candidate regions in very large multicenter samples; creation and initial testing of a new dimensional rating scale for psychotic disorders; pilot data collection of mood disorders in an inbred population; work on computer simulation studies; initiation of two large pedigree collections, one of major depression (as coordinator of a six-site collaboration) and one of schizophrenia (as PI of one of nine sites); and mentoring activities. The protected time made possible by the proposed award will permit development of a new research focus on dimensional approaches to measuring psychopathology in psychotic disorders, organization of new large collaborations based on advances in the field, career development activities to enhance knowledge of molecular and statistical genetics, and participation as a teacher and mentor in a funded Clinical Scholars Research Program for psychiatry residents in a four-year research training track. Other activities will include the funded multicenter pedigree collections and genome scans of major depression and schizophrenia; completing a previous schizophrenia genome scan project; collaborative efforts to identify specific susceptibility genes; coordinating a funded project to continue multicenter linkage and association studies of schizophrenia; and completion of the isolated population mood disorders data collection and development of related population simulation software and genetic analysis strategies.