GWAS + snRNAseq = Cellular Maps for Schizophrenia and Diverse Brain Phenotypes
The Department welcomes Laramie Duncan, PhD on November 8, 2024 for a Special Guest Lecture at noon focusing on her research exploring genetic and environmental effects on mental health.
Dr. Duncan is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University and a trans-disciplinary researcher working at the intersection of statistical genetics, neuroscience, and psychology. The Duncan Lab uses massive datasets and primarily computational approaches to identify risk factors and mechanisms contributing to mental health problems including schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Duncan has a history of conducting high impact research (>26,000 citations) through her use of rigorous statistical procedures and domain-wide analyses. For example, her early work on gene-environment interactions revealed an approximate 100% false positive rate among published studies. Her subsequent work using genome-wide approaches, both with and leading international consortium efforts, led to multiple landmark papers about the genetics of psychiatric disorders, about trans-ancestry genetic effects, about shared genetic effects on psychiatric disorders, and about fundamental features of the human genome (published in Nature, Science, Cell, and other journals). Her most recent work leverages brain-wide data from single-cell and single-nucleus RNA sequencing studies to create the most detailed maps available to date for cell types underlying psychiatric disorders. In her presentation, Dr. Duncan will highlight how genome-wide, brain-wide analyses implicated somatostatin interneurons – and many other specific neuronal types – in schizophrenia. She will also discuss how these approaches readily recapitulate known causal findings for menopausal hot flashes, and how the approach of combining GWAS + snRNAseq data suggests new targets for drug development, new opportunities for drug repurposing, and may even afford construction of a data-driven, neurobiologically informed taxonomy for psychiatric disorders.
Join us in person in the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Auditorium or attend virtually using the following Zoom information:
Zoom Link: https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93099925320
Passcode: 884229
For more information. Please contact Shardai Key-Ward at keysj4@upmc.edu.
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. The entirety of this program will be a lecture by the speaker(s). All individuals able to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with any proprietary entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services, used on, or consumed by, patients. Registration is not required for this event. This event is free and there will be no refunds. The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Each physician should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Other health care professionals are awarded .15 continuing education units (CEUs), which are equal to 1.5 contact hours. In accordance with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education requirements on disclosure, information about relationships of presenters with commercial interests (if any) will be included in materials which will be distributed at the time of the conference. WPH is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. WPH maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. This program is being offered for 1.5 continuing education credits. The indicated number of clock hours of continuing education is provided through UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital’s Office of Educational Resources and Planning, a PA-approved provider of social work continuing education in accordance with all the applicable educational and professional standards of the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapist. These clock hours satisfy requirements for LSW/LCSW, LPC and LMFT renewal. For more information, call (412) 204-9085.
