QBI Neuroscience Seminar: 'Improving genetic risk prediction in psychiatric disorders and other complex traits'

Event Details

Date:

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Time:

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Room:

QBI Level 7 Auditorium

UQ Location:

Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/neuroscience-seminars

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Robert Maier
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland
Title: 'Improving genetic risk prediction in psychiatric disorders and other complex traits'
Abstract:
The genetic nature of psychiatric disorders was observed by clinicians long before DNA had been identified as the molecule of inheritance. Until recently this knowledge has not contributed substantially to treatment efforts or to a better understanding of the disease processes because we lacked the necessary genetic data. Advances in genotyping technologies have brought an end to this data shortage which is leading to a better understanding of the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders. Two patterns started to emerge which were uncommon in earlier studied Mendelian disorders. (i) most of the genetic part of disease risk is conferred by a large number of genetic loci of small effect, and (ii) genetic loci often influence a large number of traits at the same time. While this is true of many so-called complex traits, these two phenomena (polygenicity and pleiotropy) are particularly pronounced in psychiatric disorders. This has wide-reaching consequences for the analysis and interpretation of genetic data and provides challenges as well as opportunities. Here I will show how polygenicity and pleiotropy can be used to study the genetic heterogeneity of psychiatric disorders, and how these concepts can help to improve the prediction of genetic risk.