Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry

The Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry researches the biological and environmental basis of psychiatric disorders as well as their interaction and the genetic basis of therapy response (pharmacogenetics). As psychiatric-genetic research touches on a large number of ethically sensitive issues, the department also deals intensively with the ethical questions of this research.

Phenotype characterisation

The department has one of the largest phenotype databases with comprehensively characterised samples of patients with psychiatric disorders, their relatives, as well as controls and individuals from the general population. These are analysed by the department in large population-based samples. In addition, intermediate phenotypes and endophenotypes of psychiatric disorders and their genetic basis are investigated in a number of co-operations with partners from the CIMH, nationally and internationally.

Biobank

A comprehensive collection of biomaterials is a prerequisite for psychiatric-genetic research. The biomaterials are used to research biomarker panels which, due to their higher information content, are able to depict complex biochemical networks and therefore have a potentially greater benefit for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Blood, saliva, DNA, mRNA, plasma, serum, hair and urine are stored in the biobank of the Centre for Innovative Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Research (ZIPP). These are biomaterials from all patients, relatives and controls recruited by the department and co-operation partners, as well as from people from the general population.

At the same time, the biobank offers advice on applications, sample handling, data protection and ethical and legal standards. Biobank: CIMH Mannheim

The biobank is an observer in the German Biobank Alliance (GBA) 

Genetic analyses

The department's research focusses on the search for correlations between genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders and clinical symptoms and progression. Different types of data such as genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics and proteomics are investigated and integrated into ‘multi-omics’ analyses. A new focus is on analyses at the single-cell level.

Biostatistical analyses

A wide range of state-of-the-art statistical and bioinformatics methods are used to analyse the genetic, epigenetic and phenotypic data. These include single and multi-omics analyses, in which the information from several omics data sources is integrated, thereby improving the understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms and the prediction of the outcome measure. Standard procedures also include polygenic risk scores, which reflect a person's genetic predisposition to a particular trait or disease.

Performing biostatistical analyses is very time-consuming and computationally intensive, which is why expertise in many areas is indispensable. This cannot be achieved by a group working in isolation. The department is therefore heavily involved in international co-operations. The people in charge of the analysis are members of the Statistics Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) and the Parent and Children Epigenetics Consortium (PACE), among others, and are in active dialogue with other experienced analysts worldwide and are continuously learning about current methods and procedures. Our group has also established the International Personality Disorder Genomics Consortium. 

Ethical implications

As this research has many ethical, legal and social implications, the department also addresses these issues. In addition to theoretical questions, the department also addresses the practical solution of these questions in the research context, such as the optimal information of patients or data protection. A key focus here is also on the discussion and harmonisation with the procedures of other national and international cooperation partners, keyword: ‘Global Science-Global Ethics’.

The department works together with representatives of various disciplines, e.g. with lawyers, ethicists, philosophers, patient representatives, is an active member of the Task Force on Genetic Testing of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, advises on ethics in national (e:Med Systems Medicine: Data Protection and Ethics, TMF e.V.: Biomaterial Databases) and EU projects (Imagemend, PRISM, MiND) and plays a leading role in the BMBF e:med working group on data protection and ethics.