Focus Areas in the Genomic Medicine Cycle
Major leadership positions
Director of Research, Learning and Emotional Assessment Program
MGH Department/Division
Psychiatric & Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit | Child Psychiatry
MGH Unit(s)
Psychiatry | Center for Genomic Medicine
Overview
We study neuropsychiatric illness and related outcomes across the lifespan.
Our research aims to promote a better understanding of the development of neuropsychiatric illness across the lifespan by investigating risk mechanisms, phenotypic variation, and moderators of youth trajectories. We have a particular interest in how genetic influences and cognitive capacities contribute to risk and resilience and whether these constructs can be leveraged in the clinical setting to improve patient outcomes. We use various strategies (genomics, cross-diagnostic traits, and computational approaches) to study psychopathology predictors and correlates that may be targets for intervention. This work seeks to lay the foundation for improved diagnostics, evidence-based assessment, risk stratification, and personalized care.
Priority Projects
- Translating genomic discoveries to the child psychiatry clinic: Polygenic risk scores as objective indicators and tools for risk stratification
- Genomic and phenotypic correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and adolescents
- Leveraging genomics to clarify the relationship between cognition, ADHD and functional outcomes across the lifespan
- Understanding the relationship between genomic variation and psychiatric comorbidity
Lab Members
| Name: | Email: | Role: |
|---|---|---|
| Pieter J Vuijk PhD | PVUIJK [@] mgh.harvard.edu | Staff scientist/ biostatistician |
| Maya Koven | MKOVEN [@] mgh.harvard.edu | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Lauren Fleming | lfleming11 [@] mgh.harvard.edu | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Lauren Wolfe | LEWOLFE [@] mgh.harvard.edu | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Phoebe Parker | pparker3 [@] mgh.harvard.edu | Clinical Research Coordinator |
The Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM) comprises one of the largest and most vibrant hubs of genomic medicine research in the world. The CGM includes 46 faculty collaborating to define the ‘genomic medicine cycle’ – which envisages a genomics community seeking to advance research from basic genomics research to ultimately using genome information for diagnostics and targeted therapeutics. All of our investigators are faculty at Harvard Medical School, and many members of our community are also investigators at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
