Environmental Modifiers of Familial Risk for MDD

描述(由申请人提供)：职业发展和研究计划 在此指导研究科学家发展奖(KOL)提案中概述 旨在使应聘者能够独立设计和实施 考察遗传风险和环境风险的综合重要性的研究 儿童和青少年抑郁发展的因素。 抑郁症是一种慢性疾病，通常在生命的早期就开始出现 这是遗传和环境风险因素共同作用的结果。最新研究 已经表明抑郁症的遗传风险的表型表达 在青春期出现，并似乎受到 依赖行为的应激生活事件。读懂《S》 各种应激环境与遗传风险因素相互作用 对于理解如何成功地治疗抑郁症至关重要 治疗和/或预防这种使人衰弱的疾病。拟议的研究将 前瞻性地检查环境应激源的频率， 尤其是行为依赖型应激源，在青春期和 此后继续增加。研究计划的一个重要目的是 确定暴露于特定环境应激源是否会改变 家庭风险高和低的青少年患抑郁症的家庭风险 抑郁症。候选人接受过精神流行病学方面的正式培训， 在研究家庭和环境风险因素方面有研究经验 治疗儿童和青少年的抑郁症。尼尔·D·瑞安医学博士和伯尼 德夫林博士将担任共同导师。课程作业和教学读物 遗传流行病学方法、数量遗传学、分子遗传学 技术和临床访谈技术旨在补充 候选人研究培训并为他成为一名独立人士做好准备 调查员。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The career development and research plans outlined in this Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K0l) proposal are designed to enable the candidate to independently design and conduct studies that examine the combined importance of genetic and environmental risk factors for the development of depression in children and adolescents. Depression is a chronic condition that often begins early in life and appears to be the result of both genetic and environmental risk factors. Recent studies have suggested that the phenotypic expression of genetic risk for depression emerges during adolescence and appears to be moderated by the presence of behavior-dependent stressful life events. Understanding the pathway(s) by which various stressful environments interact with genetic risk factors to contribute to the onset of depression is crucial for understanding how to successfully treat and/or prevent this debilitating disease. The proposed study will prospectively examine whether the frequency of environmental stressors, particularly behavior-dependent stressors, increases during adolescence and continue to increase thereafter. An important aim of the research plan is to determine whether exposure to specific environmental stressors modifies the familial risk for depression in adolescents at high- and low-familial risk for depression. The candidate is formally trained in psychiatric epidemiology and has research experience in the study of familial and environmental risk factors for depression in children and adolescents. Neal D. Ryan, M.D. and Bernie Devlin, Ph.D. will serve as co-mentors. Coursework and didactic readings in genetic epidemiologic methods, quantitative genetics, molecular genetic techniques, and clinical interviewing techniques are designed to complement the candidates research training and prepare him to become an independent investigator.